The Berlinale’s contentious closing ceremony on February 24 was the subject of a special session of the supervisory board of the Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin (KBB, literally Cultural Events of the Federal Government in Berlin) organisation on March 11, according to Germany’s dpa news agency.
The KBB oversees the administration of the festival and is chaired by Claudia Roth, state minister for culture and media,
Following the meeting on March 11, the 12-person board issued its official response: “The Berlinale must remain a place that is free from hatred, incitement, antisemitism, racism, Islamophobia and all forms of misanthropy,” it stated, going on to emphasise, “the personal opinions of individual award winners who are honoured for their artistic work cannot be attributed to the Berlinale”.
In future it must be “ensured that guests and award winners on the one hand are guaranteed freedom of opinion and artistic freedom within the constitutionally protected framework,” the statement continued, “but that on the other hand there is also space at the Berlinale for political context and counterpoints”.
In addition, the festival’s outgoing executive director Mariette Rissenbeek was called on to be active during her six-month transition period in drawing attention to the fate of the Israeli actor David Cunio and all of the other hostages who have been held by Hamas since October 7, 2023.
Cunio and his brother Eitan had starred in Tom Shoval’s feature film Youth which was co-produced by Berlin-based One Two Films and had its world premiere in the Berlinale’s Panorama section in February 2013.
However, the board pointed out neither the festival management, the Panorama section’s organisers, nor Roth herself had mentioned Cunio during the festival.
On March 1, artistic director Chatrian and head of programming Mark Peranson wrote on social media: “We also take this opportunity to state that we deeply feel for the hostages still being held by Hamas, including former Berlinale guest David Cunio.”
Contentious
In reference to pro-Palestinian social media posts which appeared on the official Instagram account of the Panorama section the day after the awards ceremony (February 25), apparently due to hackers, the supervisory board called on the Berlinale and the other divisions of the KBB “to take the necessary precautions to rule out an unauthorised use of the social media communication for the future.”
One of the posts reportedly used the phrase ‘From the River to the Sea - Palestine Will Be Free’. The slogan has become a rallying cry of pro-Palestinian protests during the ongoing war. But it is a contentious phrase considered antisemitic by some, a call for an independent Palestinian state by others. It is illegal in Germany.
Both Rissenbeek and Chatrian attended the meeting of the board which also oversees three further cultural institutions in Berlin, the Gropius Bau, Berliner Festspiele and the Haus der Kulturen der Welt.
Incoming festival director Tricia Tuttle who takes up the post on April 1 was not present.
However the board ended its resolution by welcoming ideas already voiced by the future director about organisational changes to the festival, including, “in particular, the establishment of a strong management team. and asking Tuttle “to initiate these measures as quickly as possible in coordination with the BKM [Roth’s ministry].”
A third of the festival’s funding comes from the German federal government and Tuttle will be one of four managing directors of the four institutions under the roof of the KBB.
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