The 74th annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, took place between 15 and 25 February 2024 in Berlin, Germany.[1] Kenyan-Mexican actress Lupita Nyong'o was named the Jury President for the main competition.[2][3] This year's Berlinale was Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek's final edition in charge, following their dismissal in 2023.[4] The festival opened with Tim Mielants' Small Things like These.[5][6]
Shortly before the Iranian film My Favourite Cake was selected for the Main Competition, filmmakers Behtash Sanaeeha and Maryam Moqadam were banned from leaving Iran to attend the Festival, had their passports confiscated, and will face a court trial in relation to their work as artists and filmmakers.[10][11] The Iranian government decision was met, once again, with international protests, following Golden Bear winners Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof arrests in 2022/2023, and numerous others censorship attempts in the last years.[12][13]
AfD Uninviting
Amid controversy, Berlinale's directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian uninvited representatives of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (German: Alternative für Deutschland, AfD) from attending the festival's Opening Ceremony Gala. The decision followes further controversies around the party statements in opposition to immigration.[14][15][16] An open letter was signed by over 200 German cultural industry professionals expressing outrage with the invitations.[17][18]
Israel–Hamas War
In the introductory press release for the 2024 festival, Berlinale opted not to mention freedom of speech as one of their core values, despite having done so in the previous year's statement.[19][20][verification needed] During the festival, hundreds of past and present Berlinale participants signed open letters criticizing Berlinale's complicity in Germany's censorship of pro-Palestine voices, including over 280 Berlinale Talents alumni,[21] over 190 filmmakers with films in the 2024 festival[22] and over 60 Berlinale contractors.[23][verification needed] In further protest, John Greyson, Suneil Sanzgiri and Ayo Tsalithaba all withdrew their films from the festival, while Maryam Tafakory, Advik Beni, and Monica Sorelle dropped out of the Berlinale Talents programme and Emilia Beatriz withdrew from the European Film Market.[24] Unlike its response to the public's outrage at the AfD invitation, Berlinale directors remained silent to the demands of their filmmakers, alumni, and contractors in support of Palestine.[24]
Throughout the festival, artists continued to use their platforms to make statements in solidarity with Palestine. On February 16, curators of the Berlinale's Forum Expanded program joined artist's expressions of solidarity, stating, "We, too, want to add our voice and share our concern by expressing that the Forum Expanded curators support the urgent call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza."[25] On February 18, pro-Palestine activists laid down on the front steps of the Gropius Bau drenched in fake blood with a sign reading, “Welcome to the Red Carpet,” while inside the building others unfurled pro-Palestinian banners from the upper floor.[26]
Protesters unfurled a "Lights Camera Genocide" banner at the 2024 European Film Market, arguing that the Berlinale and Germany are complicit in another genocide.
During the Closing Night Ceremony at the Berlinale Palast, on February 25, there were numerous pro-Palestine statements and protests during the red carpet and acceptance speeches, including from Golden Bear winner Mati Diop, and No Other Land Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, and Rachel Szor. The Teddy Award jury posted a statement in solidarity with Gaza which was met with audience applause as well as loud booing.[27][verification needed] An Instagram account linked to the Panorama section published an allegedly official statement from the festival organizers, stating "we acknowledge that our silence makes us complicit in Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing of Palestine"[28] adding: "From our unresolved Nazi past to our genocidal present – we have always been on the wrong side of history."[29] Minutes later, the Berlinale's main Instagram account stated that the Panorama account was hacked and the posts "do not represent the Berlinale's position", and announced plans to “file criminal charges against unknown persons”.[29]
During No Other Land acceptance speech, after winning the Best Documentary award, co-director Yuval Abraham stated, referring to his Palestinian co-director Basel: "I am under civilian law; Basel is under military law. We live 30 minutes from one another but I have voting rights. Basel does not have voting rights. I am free to move where I want in this land. Basel, like millions of Palestinians, is locked in the occupied West Bank. This situation of apartheid between us, this inequality, has to end".[30]Berlin Mayor, Kai Wegner, and numerous other German politicians expressed outrage, calling the closing ceremony statements "anti-Semitic".[29] Germany's minister of state for culture Claudia Roth was criticized for clapping during Basel and Yuval's speech, later she claimed that she was only clapping for the Israeli half of the filmmaking team, and declared that "The statements at the Bears ceremony were shockingly one-sided and characterized by a profound hatred of Israel".[31][32] While the Festival is mainly funded by the German government,[33] the organizers stated that the "filmmakers' statements were independent and should be accepted as long as they respect the legal framework".[34][35][36] Following the ceremony, Abraham said that a right-wing mob in Israel had threatened his family after he was called antisemitic, stating, "The appalling misuse of this word by Germans... to silence Israelis like me who support a ceasefire... empties the word antisemitism of meaning and thus endangers Jews all over the world".[37]
True Chronicles of the Blida Joinville Psychiatric Hospital in the Last Century, when Dr Frantz Fanon Was Head of the Fifth Ward between 1953 and 1956
Chroniques fidèles survenues au siècle dernier à l’hôpital psychiatrique Blida-Joinville, au temps où le Docteur Frantz Fanon était chef de la cinquième division entre 1953 et 1956
The 56th Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 19 February 2006. The festival opened with Snow Cake by Marc Evans. Digitally restored version of Sam Peckinpah's 1972 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid served as the closing film. British actress Charlotte Rampling was selected as the head of the jury.
The Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europe's "Big Three" film festivals alongside the Venice Film Festival held in Italy and the Cannes Film Festival held in France. Furthermore, it is one of the "Big Five", the most prestigious film festivals in the world. The festival regularly draws tens of thousands of visitors each year.
The 15th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 25 June to 6 July 1965. The festival started selecting the jury members on its own rather than countries sending designated representatives.
The 32nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 12–23 February 1982. The Golden Bear was awarded to Veronika Voss directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
The 42nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 February 1992. The festival opened with The Inner Circle by Andrei Konchalovsky.
The 45th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 22 February 1995. Israeli film programmer Lia van Leer was the Jury President for the main competition.
The 49th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 10 to 21 February 1999. The festival opened with Aimée & Jaguar by Max Färberböck.
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Maryam Moghaddam, also spelt Moghadam and Moqadam, is an Iranian actress, screenwriter, and director, known for her collaborations with her husband Behtash Sanaeeha. She is best known for her acting in Closed Curtain (2013) and Risk of Acid Rain (2015), and co-writing and directing Ballad of a White Cow (2020). The couple's most recent collaboration is My Favourite Cake, which had its world premiere on 16 February 2024 at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival.
The 65th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 5 to 15 February 2015, with American film director Darren Aronofsky as the president of the jury. German film director Wim Wenders was presented with the Honorary Golden Bear. The first seven films of the festival were announced on 15 December 2014.
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The 68th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 15 to 25 February 2018. German filmmaker Tom Tykwer served as Jury President.
Behtash Sanaeeha is an Iranian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is known for the 2020 feature film Ballad of a White Cow, which he co-wrote and co-directed.
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The 70th annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 20 February to 1 March 2020. It was the first under the leadership of new Berlin Film Festival board: business administration director Mariette Rissenbeek and artistic director Carlo Chatrian.
The 71st annual Berlin International Film Festival took place from 1 to 5 March 2021 as a virtual festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 72nd annual Berlin International Film Festival, usually called the Berlinale, took place from 10 to 20 February 2022 in person. On 15 December 2021, the first film of the festival was announced.
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My Favourite Cake is a 2024 tragicomedy and romantic drama film co-written and directed by Maryam Moghaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, and starring Lily Farhadpour and Esmail Mehrabi.
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