UPDATE 16.20 GMT 24/2/23: The Berlinale has commented on the cancellation of the international premiere of Norwegian animation Just Super, stating that the film’s representatives “disregarded” concerns of Blackface raised prior to the screening.
A statement from the festival says it was made aware of “images stereotyping people of colour”, and shared these concerns with production company Qvisten Animation and the Norwegian Film Institute.
“The film’s representatives disregarded these concerns completely” according to the Berlinale statement. It goes on to say that the Monday 24 screening “did not take place in agreement with the production company”; and that a message has been added for all subsequent screenings “contextualising” the Blackface concerns “so as to avoid potentially harming any viewers”, with a disclaimer at the entrance of each cinema showing the film.
Original story below:
The Norwegian Film Institute (NFI) has said it “strongly objects” to allegations of racism against animated feature Just Super, which caused the cancellation of the film’s international premiere nine minutes before the screening was due to start on Monday, February 20 at the Berlinale.
The film, which was programmed in the Berlinale Generation Kplus section, had been due to screen at the Urania venue in Berlin at 10.00 CET on Monday, with the film team including director Rasmus A. Sivertsen in attendance for a post-screening Q&A.
However, the screening was cancelled shortly before it was due to begin, after the Anti-Racism Taskforce for European Film (Artef) had contacted the festival outlining concerns “about the film’s depictions of Blackface and animalisation of Black people”, according to a statement published today by Artef.
Just Super centres on a young girl whose father puts on a lion costume to become Super Lion, a superhero.
The statement from Artef says: “On February 18th ARTEF received several messages from colleagues who had seen the film Helt Super [the Norwegian title] in its entirety expressing concerns about the film’s depictions of Blackface and animalisation of Black people. In this film, the white heroes turn into lions that, unlike lions, have dark brown hands and partially dark brown faces and bodies which, as our colleagues pointed out, are depictions rooted in colonial thinking where Black people historically have been dehumanised and compared to animals.”
Subsequent screenings of Just Super have gone ahead this week, on Tuesday 21 at 18.00 CET at the Cubix cinemas and yesterday (Thursday 23) at 10.00 at the Zoo Palast. Two further screenings are still scheduled for tomorrow (February 25) at 09.45 at the Cubix cinemas and for February 26 at 15.30 at Cineplex Titania.
The festival contacted ticketholders, including the families and school groups who regularly attend the youth-focused Generation screenings, ahead of these screenings, with a statement that included the sentence, “In the preparations for the screening, we have been made aware that the film might contain elements that could be interpreted differently than the director intended and can appear as stereotyping People of Color.”
Festival heads Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek, plus Generation section heads Sebastian Markt and Melika Gothe, have been in discussions all week with the NFI, the film’s producers Qvisten Animation, and Artef about the cancellation, and how to proceed.
Berlinale invitation
Qvisten received the invitation to the Berlinale in December last year. Just Super previously premiered in cinemas in Norway in September 2022 through Nordisk Film Distribution, recording 110,000 admissions to date, and winning the audience award at the junior edition of Tromso International Film Festival last month. TrustNordisk handles world sales.
“We support the work of addressing institutional racism in the European film industry and identifying problems within the industry, but we strongly object to the concerns in the letter from Artef and have been adamant in our view that Just Super should be screened as announced – without interference – and are relieved to see that this now happens,” read a statement provided to Screen by the NFI, signed by NFI CEO Kjersti Mo, Qvisten Animation head of production Ellen Alveberg and Susan Wendt, TrustNordisk managing director.
“Artistic freedom and freedom of expression are under tremendous pressure in our time, and films should be screened unhindered at festivals if we are to have good discussions afterward. This concerns children`s features as well.
“Film is among the most powerful cultural expressions of our time, and in the meeting with the audience, the film’s value is triggered,” continued the statement. “Once the film has been invited to a film festival, we think it goes without saying that it will also be shown – at the time it is set, and the audience and creators have been looking forward to.”
Hatem Ben Mansour, general manager of the Norwegian Center Against Racism, has commented on the cancellation, saying, “I don’t see how this incident is ‘Blackface’.”
“My first reaction was not that this was Blackface, and I did not think that the film could have racist elements. There are lion masks, and it was not something I reacted to when I saw the images. I find that perception difficult to understand,” said Ben Mansour, who has seen the trailer and images from the film but not the full feature.
Artef statement
The 1,140-word Artef statement posted today outlines the organisation’s version of events, which began on Saturday, February 18 after receiving “several messages from colleagues who had seen the film” and had the aforementioned concerns.
The Artef steering committee then viewed the trailer and available promotional materials, and “were able to see the mentioned issues”, flagging their concerns to the Berlinale Generation team and NFI that day.
The following day [Sunday, February 19], Artef sent a letter actioned by its steering group to Markt and Gothe, outlining its concerns and requesting “an open dialogue” regarding the film and requesting a response “with urgency” given the impending premiere. Artef’s statement says Rissenbeek then contacted several members of the committee at around 15.00 CET that day, asking for a meeting.
That meeting between Artef committee members and Rissenbeek and Chatrian took place on Tuesday, February 21, in which the members “brought forward the case of harm towards BIPOC [Black, Indigenous and people of colour] audience members.”
According to Artef, the Berlinale leadership said withdrawal was not an option. A discussion about future processes to prevent similar situations from occurring then took place.
The Artef statement also notes: “We do not assume that such racist depictions were intended by the filmmakers, nor is Artef a policing body to accuse them of such intentions.”
In its statement, Artef also said it has received “abhorrent emails and offensive remarks” due to its stance this week. “We do not take lightly the fact that those in the industry who created this scenario in the first place, are framing Artef’s collaborative efforts as hostile while making accusatory remarks of our work,” reads the statement.
The full statement is available to read below.
The NFI, which part-funded Artef and had individuals participating in its anti-racism awareness training, asked to be removed from the Artef website yesterday, which Artef has honoured.
Screen has contacted the Berlinale for comment.
ARTEF statement
On February 18th ARTEF received several messages from colleagues who had seen the film Helt Super in its entirety expressing concerns about the film’s depictions of Blackface and animalisation of Black people. In this film, the white heroes turn into lions that, unlike lions, have dark brown hands and partially dark brown faces and bodies which, as our colleagues pointed out, are depictions rooted in colonial thinking where Black people historically have been dehumanised and compared to animals.
After receiving the above comments, the ARTEF steering committee watched the trailer and publicly available promotional materials. In it we were able to see the mentioned issues of Blackfacing/animalisation of white characters. This was the case we brought forward to the Berlinale Generation team highlighting the harm these depictions create towards BIPOC audience members, and especially young Black children.
That same day we also reached out to the Norwegian Film Institute who suggested we contact the filmmakers. We also reached out to the director of the film Rasmus A. Sivertsen via Instagram. The aim was to have a conversation with him in order to understand the specific character development and/or Norwegian context of the story. We received no response.
On Sunday 19th of February, we sent a letter outlining the shared concerns of our colleagues to the heads of Generation, Sebastian Markt and Melika Gothe. In our letter, we requested an open dialogue regarding Helt Super. For a festival that prides itself with a strong stance on inclusion and diversity we questioned the appropriateness of a film like Helt Super. We asked them to get back to us with urgency, knowing the screening was imminent, as we wanted to avoid further harm to BIPOC audiences, and we were hoping to engage in a collaborative solution. The decision to write this letter was taken by the ARTEF steering committee and was called into action by a majority vote. We received no response from the heads of Generation.
The same day at around 15:00, some of ARTEF’s steering committee members were contacted by Mariëtte Rissenbeek, Executive Director of the Berlinale, who asked for a meeting.
On Tuesday, February 21st, members of the ARTEF steering committee met with the Executive Director Mariëtte Rissenbeek and Artistic Director Carlo Chartrian to discuss our concerns and the concerns of those that reached out to ARTEF. We brought forward the case of harm towards BIPOC audience members. As the Berlinale leadership saw the case, it was not an option to withdraw the film from the programme. Although we believed it was not the ideal choice, we suggested thinking about strategies to avoid further harm including adding a disclaimer to the film (something done in the past for sensitive topics). We encouraged a balanced conversation on the film with the filmmaker and someone who had the expertise to unpick the harmful depictions, and/or to make sure the filmmakers were not given a stage to give a one-sided narrative if a countering voice could not be found.
We also discussed what future processes could be implemented to prevent this from happening again. We spoke about what in-depth training should be made available for the programming teams to identify racist tropes in films, and also having a clause when inviting films that allows the Berlinale to question their inclusion in the programme if the film is deemed to be inappropriate for audiences after their invitation.
We stressed that choices that centred white people as the majority, and so therefore their priority, had to be reexamined, as harm is harm, regardless.
We agreed to resume conversations at a later date but were unclear on how they would proceed with the screening of Helt Super. Unfortunately none of the filmmakers were in attendance during this meeting, organised by the Berlinale.
On the 23rd of February, the Norwegian Film Institute asked to be removed from our website, indicating that they wish to cease working with and supporting ARTEF and do not wish to be publicly affiliated with us. We honoured their wish and have reached out to renew a conversation.
Throughout this chain of action, we urged for open conversation and constructive exchange with the Generation Team, with the leadership of Berlinale and the film director. We do not assume that such racist depictions were intended by the filmmakers, nor is ARTEF a policing body to accuse them of such intentions.
The question we have to ask is, ‘whose cultural heritage and historical context is to be cut from the picture to maintain the comfortable status quo?’
Meanwhile, ARTEF as an organisation, including its members as individuals, have received abhorrent emails and offensive remarks that show not only a lack of understanding of our work and mission but also how all forms of racist rhetoric are too easily employed.
We do not take lightly the fact that those in the industry who created this scenario in the first place, are framing ARTEF’s collaborative efforts as hostile while making accusatory remarks of our work.
These reactions are expected when doing anti-racist work. This highlights how little we think about the visible minorities in our industry, and more widely, in society.
Imagination is not a neutral space. It is a domain of history and culture that has real life impact. And minority representation does not mean minority worth.
ARTEF’s mission is to address institutional racism in the European film industry and work with stakeholders to create awareness about the existing problems, provide targeted education through training and guide institutions to find their solutions. Our primary focus are European film institutions responsible for upholding the structures that enable racist discrimination and exclusion. In addressing those, we prioritise the voices and lived experiences of those affected by racism in the film industry.
ARTEF is not a watchdog, we exist inside the industry and merely identify problems and the systems that support them. Equally, we hope to act as a beacon for those who have experienced or have observed things that are harmful for BIPOC in the industry. Our interest is to work with institutions, organisations, companies and networks — not against them.
It is not ARTEF’s intention to blame individuals. When we point out specific problematic examples of racism in the European film industry, it is always with the goal to circle back, and dismantle the structures that enabled this in the first place, while collaboratively rebuilding a more equitable European film industry.
Our intentions remain to continue the conversation about the structural problems that led to a film with Blackface and animalisation of Black people being played at the Berlinale. We also want to reduce the harm that these structural problems are doing to BIPOC children and adults.
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