Days before the date of its seventy-fourth session, which began in the German capital yesterday, Thursday, and continues until the twenty-fifth of this month, workers at the Berlin International Film Festival issued a statement in which they called for an end to the Israeli war on Gaza, and demanded the festival’s administration to take a decisive and clear stance against it. .
The statement condemned the killings and attacks on civilians, journalists, artists and film workers in Gaza, and the destruction of its “unique” cultural heritage, and added: “We expect the festival to take a position consistent with the positions taken in response to other events that the international community has witnessed in recent years.”
The statement, which was published online and signed by more than thirty workers at the Berlin Film Festival, criticized the stagnation currently prevailing in cultural institutions in Germany and the restrictions imposed on freedom of expression in the country. The signatories also expressed their opposition to “the current attack on Palestinian life,” and announced their joining of “the global solidarity movement to demand an immediate ceasefire and call for the release of all hostages.”
The list of signatories includes members of the film selection committees in the various sections of the festival, supervisors and guest communications representatives. The statement was made available online so that other workers could sign it.
The statement can be seen as a response to the festival’s management, which said in a statement published at the end of last month: “Our sympathies are with all the victims of humanitarian crises in the Middle East and elsewhere,” and “We take a firm stance against all forms of discrimination, and are committed to intercultural understanding.”
The festival’s administration sparked a wave of discontent because it invited five politicians from the extremist Alternative for Germany party to attend the opening ceremony, before it backed down after hundreds of thousands demonstrated to protest the invitation and denounce the party’s extremist ideas.
