The 75th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival drew to a close on Saturday night, after 11 days of an abundant cinema bonanza. The event showcased nearly 200 feature films and countless short films. In total, there were more than 1,000 screenings, and sales of 285,000 tickets (as of February 19th). Attendance at the press and industry screenings was at “100% and 90% on average”, the Festival reported. With these numbers, the Berlinale remains the largest film festival in the world in terms of attendance.
American festival programmer Tricia Truttle is at the helm of the event for the first time, replacing artistic director Carlo Chatrian and executive director Mariette Rissenbeek. I attended the event for the 13th time in 26 years, and was supported by a large pool of talented journalists working both on site and remotely: Nairon Santos de Morais, Marina Richter, Lida Bach, Nataliia Serebriakova, Susanne Gottlieb and John MacDonald. In total, these seven writers (myself included) published in excess of 40 pieces. You can read them by clicking here (a few reviews are still to be finalised over the next few days).
I personally reviewed 26 films, including 17 out of the 19 films in the Official Competition (the other two were covered by Marina and Lida). There was no shortage of very moving creations from different parts of the globe, from China to Brazil. The topic of failed motherhood was particularly prominent, with four films dealing with the subject (in the Official Competition alone): twisted Austrian suspense Mother’s Baby (Johanna Moder), exquisite British debut Hot Milk (Rebecca Lenkiewicz), dark and engaging American dramedy If I Had Legds I’d Kick You (Mary Bronstein), and simple and effective German comedy What Marielle Knows (Frédéric Hambalek).
What I missed the most were genuinely provocative and filthy genius movies. These are the films to which we allocate our maximum rating of five splats (also known as “stars”, in a less dirty world). Neither myself nor any of our writers came across any such movies.
My dirty favourites were profound and elliptical immigration Arab-American drama Yunan (Ameer Faker Eldin; pictured below), Hot Milk, anti-cinematic, political and deliciously messy Romanian Kontinental ’25 (Radu Jude), and warm and sincere Norwegian love letter to adolescent desire Dreams (Dag Johan Haugerud). The first two of these films were empty handed, while the other two received major prizes.
Pictured at the top of tis article is Chinese Girls on Wire (Vivian Qu), also from the Official Competition.
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The winners
Below is a list of the big winners in the Official Competition, as announced during the sumptuous closing ceremony at the Berlinale Palast:
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The attack on free speech
Accusations of censorship have tarnished the Berlinale since Mariette Rissenbeek’s shocking attack on free speech. last year. Tricia Truttle distanced herself from her words by recognising that criticism of Israel does not equate to anti-semitism, while also stating that many artists were feeling uncomfortable with the Festival’s stance. And she is absolutely right: I personally know various film professionals (programmers, filmmakers and journalists) who refused to attend the event because they believed that the Berlinale criminalised solidarity. Many directors simply did not send their creations to the event, which may explain the absence of truly dirty movies in the main selection.
Tricia made one important reconciliation gesture: she gave a lifetime achievement award to outspoken actor Tilda Swinton during the Festival opening (which is broadcast live on German television). Tilda’s support of the Palestinian struggle is well documented, and it was widely expected that she would make a political statement during her acceptance speech. That of course did materialise.
I penned an open letter to the Berlinale a few weeks ago. The Festival read it, and indicated that they agreed with some of my criticisms. They emphasised that my interview with Tricia was turned down purely because her agenda was too full, and indicated that I should be able to talk to her at some point this year. I am very grateful for the treatment that they gave me, and for such openness. I understand that many Berlinale employees (perhaps even the majority) do not agree with the suppression of free speech. My respect for the committed individuals working for the Festival remains unwavering.
On the other hand, the lack of Palestinian narratives was conspicuous. That stands in contrast to Ukraine, which earned a powerful war register in the Official Competition: Timestamp (Kateryna Gornostai). This suggests that Tricia decided to play safe with the German government (outgoing Culture Minister Claudia Roth and Berlin mayor Kai Wegner have repeatedly threatened to cut support should the event continue to support “antisemitism”).
Plus, there were no overt expressions of solidarity with Palestine in the opening and in the closing ceremony. Tilda Swinton indeed denounced “the internationally-enabled mass murder”, while Radu Jude alluded to Netanyahu’s arrest warrant. Yet neither one of them mentioned the victims and the oppressors by their names. I love both Tilda and Radu, and in no way I wish to discredit them. But I need to highlight that the failure to name Palestine and Israel at all is a big victory for those who attacked free speech.
In a nutshell, I welcome the efforts that Tricia Tuttle and the Berlinale made in order to rectify the censorious disaster of last year. But they are not enough. A lot more needs to be done in order to demonstrate the Berlinale’s firm commitment to free speech, and to attract the artists who feel disappointed and disenfranchised back to the event.
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