BERLIN – The chairman of the jury at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival pushed back on political questions at the start of the festival on Thursday, trying to shift the focus instead to the difficult selection of the best film.
Twenty titles from around the world will compete for the main prize, the Golden Bear. Thursday's opening marks the world premiere of “Small Things Like These” starring the man of the moment, Cillian Murphy.
“It's going to be interesting,” said jury president and Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o when asked about the diverse views of this year's jury of actors, directors and writers tasked with selecting the winner.
“It will probably be spicy too,” the Kenyan-Mexican actor added with a smile as he spoke at a press conference in the German capital. “The beauty of bringing people from different backgrounds together is that we respond to different things. … We are having intensive discussions.”
Nyong'o is the Berlinale's first black jury president and was honored to lead this year's jury.
“This is a chance for me to learn a lot about the world of cinema and celebrate it,” she said, adding that she plans to “listen first.”
But when reporters asked questions about the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Ukraine and German politics, Nyong'o and the other jurors mostly dodged them.
One question she couldn't avoid was about the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which organizers didn't invite to the opening gala last week. Five AfD politicians were expected, as members of all parties in the Berlin state parliament are invited to the events, which are supported with public money.
There have been major protests against the far right in Germany in recent weeks after reports that extremists met to discuss the deportation of millions of immigrants, including some with German citizenship, and that some members of the AfD were present .
“I'm a foreigner here,” Nyong'o said, before continuing: “I don't know all the details of the political situation here, so I'm glad I don't have to answer that question.”
However, other jury members were more explicit on this issue.
The German director Christian Petzold was critical of the decision to disinvite the AfD politicians. “If we can’t tolerate five AfD people in the audience, we’ll lose our fight.”
“Imagine five fascists sitting in the room watching the film that the Berlinale wants to tell for this reality, for this moment,” said Italian actress Jasmine Trinca, suggesting that this could broaden the horizons of politicians .
When asked, Petzold later said that the fact that “hundreds, thousands of people are demonstrating against” the AfD was “much more important than such discussions.”
This year's competition entries include French-Senegalese director Mati Diop's documentary “Dahomey,” which explores colonization through the return of stolen artifacts looted by French colonial troops and brought back to Benin in West Africa.
“Black Tea” by the Mauritian-born Malian director Abderrahmane Sissako also focuses on the African diaspora, the story of a young Ivorian woman who emigrates to China and falls in love with an older Chinese man.
Nyong'o said she was happy that Africa was represented at the festival, but added that she was “always hungry for more.”
In addition to Trinca and Petzold, the jury in Berlin this year also includes the actor and director Brady Corbet, the directors Ann Hui and Albert Serra and the Ukrainian writer Oksana Zabuzhko. The festival lasts until February 25th.
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