The Berlin Film Festival has set out its position on freedom of expression, antisemitism and showing solidarity for Palestine ahead of its 2025 edition, which runs February 13-23.
In a Q&A published on its website titled ‘Questions & Answers for a Respectful and Open Dialogue During the Berlinale’, the festival said: “We… stand by the right of our filmmakers to talk about the impulses behind their work and their experiences of the world. The Berlinale welcomes different points of view, even if this creates tension or controversy.”
The Q&A addressed controversy from last year’s closing ceremony, the last to be led by Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian, when several filmmakers voiced their solidarity for the Palestinian people on stage, leading to criticism from politicians including Berlin mayor Kai Wegner that Israel’s position was not similarly represented.
“As the new management [headed by new festival director Tricia Tuttle], we have taken a review of this very seriously and have consulted widely,” it said of the closing gala. “We understand that many people were troubled by a perceived one-sidedness, rather than individual statements made by filmmakers.”
The statement adds the festival has worked on its moderators training for this year. The festival also addressed a resolution passed by the German parliament in November that calls on public grants for culture and science projects to be dependent on adherence to a particular definition of antisemitism.
“The ‘“Antisemitism Resolution” is not a legally binding document and therefore doesn’t have an impact on the way the Berlinale is run,” the festival said. “It contains valid aspects with regard to the warning of growing antisemitism in Germany and internationally. We share the opinion along with other people in Germany, that, if legally enforced, other aspects of the resolution would interfere with the fundamental rights of free art and speech. We also disagree with the sweeping categorisation of the Berlinale 2024 in the resolution as “antisemitic”.
The document also refuted any suggestion that it has introduced a rule banning clothing or symbols that show solidarity with Palestine.
“No, this is not true,” said the Q&A. “In the autumn of 2024, an ambiguity in the general house rules of our umbrella organisation, the KBB, became known to us when it was shared on social media… The paragraph in question referred solely to a standard German legal provision regarding the wearing and use of prohibited symbols and signs that are demonstrably punishable by law, such as the swastika. Wearing or displaying other signs and symbols of national or political expression or solidarity (e.g. a watermelon pin, a Keffiyeh, etc.) is not forbidden and is fully covered by freedom of expression laws.”
The festival adds that Germany’s “very far-reaching freedom of speech law” applies to all public events, but that the phrase ‘From the River to the Sea’ “requires particular care, and there have been cases where it has been prosecuted in the state of Berlin”.
At the end of last year following an online petition posted by Film Workers For Palestine and Strike Germany which called for a boycott of the festival, Tuttle said she was “committed to having an inclusive and open festival,” which includes “making sure that Israeli and Jewish filmmakers know they are welcomed”.
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