Berlinale: U-turn on far-right AfD's invitation causes stir

The Berlin International Film Festival, or Berlinale — one of the world's major international film festivals alongside Cannes and Venice — opens on February 15 and will feature appearances by stars such as film director Martin Scorsese and the actors Kristen Stewart and Cillian Murphy.

But controversy over this year's event has begun even before the red carpet is rolled out: The invitation — and subsequent disinvitation — of politicians from Germany's far-right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has made waves.

After days of discussion, the Berlinale management duo, comprised of Dutch director Mariette Rissenbeek and Italian journalist Carlo Chatrian, withdrew invitations to five AfD politicians who had previously been asked to come to the opening gala. The politicians, they said last week, had been informed that they were "not welcome at the Berlinale."

Rissenbeek and Chatrian said in their statement that it was important "to take an unequivocal stand in favor of an open democracy" and said that the decision had been taken because of the party's "explicitly antidemocratic positions."

Representatives of the AfD responded with outrage.

Protests against the far right

In recent weeks, Germany has seen numerous protests against the far right after a report released by the German investigative network Correctiv shared details about a secret meeting attended by neo-Nazis, business people and members of the AfD and CDU political parties, amongst others, where participants discussed a secret plan for the mass deportation of millions of immigrants. 

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets as the country finds itself in a debate about whether the anti-immigration AfD party, whose popularity is rising in the polls, is a threat to Germany's democratic constitution.

It is not surprising that the discussion about how to deal with the far-right party also reached the Berlinale — one of the German capital's premiere cultural events.

In early February, more than 200 film professionals from all over the world signed an open letter expressing their outrage at the invitation of right-wing extremist politicians to the festival's opening gala.

The invitation was an example of the "hostile and hypocritical environment" that art and culture face in Berlin and Germany, the letter said.

Signatories said the presence of AfD politicians meant that the event would "not be considered a safe place for Jews, women, members of the BIPOC, LGBTI+, disabled, Roma and Sinti, or Jehovah's Witness communities, who, among others, faced persecution and genocide at the hands of another far-right, national-conservative movement in Germany."

Initially, Berlinale managing director Mariette Rissenbeek reacted via a statement on the Berlinale's Instagram account, in which she defended the decision to invite the politicians, stating that they had essentially been invited as part of a standard invitation to 100 Berlin state parliamentarians from various political parties. The decision was backed by Germany's federal commissioner for culture, the Green politician Claudia Roth.

Yet late last week, the festival's organizers made a U-turn, posting another statement on their Instagram account saying that the five invited AfD politicians were no longer on the guest list.

Berlinale: A political past

The Berlin Film Festival is considered to be more political than the Cannes or Venicefilm festivals — and it has seen its fair share of scandals.

This year, Ghanaian filmmaker Ayo Tsalithaba withdrew his Berlinale entry in protest against the German government's position on Israel. 

The first edition of the Berlin International Film Festival took place in 1951 and was led by Oscar Martay, the film officer of the US military administration in Berlin. It was the height of the Cold War, and the motto of the first edition was "Showcase of the Free World." Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca" was shown as the opening film in Berlin's opulent Titania-Palast theater on June 6, 1951. 

While the Berlinale was initially a glamorous festival showcasing films with stars like Gary Cooper, Sophia Loren, Cary Grant and Rita Hayworth in its early years, the festival's focus changed significantly from the end of the 1960s.

Political movements around the world were growing, and the Berlinale, too, entered the debates. Michael Verhoeven's Vietnam War film "O.K." sparked fierce controversy at the 1970 edition of Berlinale. The jury resigned and the competition program was canceled.

These days, too, it would seem that the cultural sphere, and especially large events like the Berlinale, can no longer avoid being political.

This article was originally written in German.