Berlin Film Festival Kicks Off Under New Leadership, Tilda Swinton Gives Fiery Political Speech: “The Inhumane Is Being Perpetrated On Our Watch”

Cinema took over a snowy German capital this evening as the 2025 Berlin Film Festival officially kicked off with a breezy opening ceremony at the Berlinale Palast Theater. 

The ceremony was much shorter than previous editions, with the bulk of the evening serving as the presentation of this year’s Honorary Bear for career achievement, which was handed to veteran actor Tilda Swinton. German filmmaker Edward Berger presented Swinton the award and she gave an impassioned, political speech to the audience inside the Palast.

“The inhumane is being perpetrated on our watch,” Swinton began her speech. “I’m here to name it without hesitation or doubt in my mind, and to lend my unwavering solidarity to all those who recognize the unacceptable complacency of our greed addicted governments who make nice with planet wreckers and war criminals, wherever they come from.”

Swinton did not name any politicians or specific conflicts but appeared to criticize U.S. president Donald Trump, telling the Berlinale audience that she is a resident of the theoretical “independent state of cinema” where inclusivity is paramount and “efforts of occupation, colonization, takeover, ownership or the development of Riviera property” are shunned. Last week, Trump told reporters that he planned to acquire the Gaza strip and turn the land into a Riviera Middle East.

Swinton continued to say that she places her “absolute personal faith in culture and resistance” through an “enlightened cinema that can inspire a civilized world.” At that point Swinton turned her pen to industry’s big streamers, telling the audience to “support big screens” wherever they find them.

“Watch everything there,” she said, adding: “Hold the streaming services to their proud claim to be big cinema supporters and encourage them to spend a large chunk of their squillions on building renovating and enlivening cinema theaters in every territory they reach.”

Swinton’s quib at the streamers drew a large round of applause from the Palast audience as did much of her speech, which Berlinale jury head Todd Haynes described as “visionary” when he arrived on stage following the Honorary Bear presentation.

“Tilda’s words, that speech, we were weeping in the green room,” Haynes said. “You are a hero.”

Berlin is a political city and the festival often serves as a backdrop for activism and protest, so it was likely this evening would throw up some engaged political commentary. This year’s festival also takes places as a contentious election cycle unravels in Germany and ongoing conflicts roar on in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Earlier in the evening, multiple German actors were accompanied on the red carpet by Berlinale festival head Tricia Tuttle in holding up a photo of Israeli actor David Cunio, who is among hostages being held by Hamas. Among the actors holding the photo were Christian Berkel, Andrea Sawatzki, and Ulrich Matthes.Cunio is the subject of Tom Shoval’s Berlin Film festival feature A Letter To David. There was a separate rally earlier in the day in festival venue Potsdamer Platz in support of Cunio and his brother Ariel, who is also being held captive.

This year’s festival also marks Tuttle’s first edition at the helm. Tuttle replaced the festival’s former dual directors Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek in 2023. The pair had faced many cultural and financial challenges during their tenure. For the most part, there has generally been positive talk about Tuttle’s first crop of competition films, which has a healthy dose of star power.

In competition, there are a total of 19 films, with highlights including Richard Linklater’s latest feature Blue Moon, starring Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale and Andrew Scott. Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco’s latest title Dreams, starring Jessica Chastain, Isaac Hernández and Rupert Friend, and Radu Jude will play in compeition with Kontinental ’25. Other standouts include Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s Hot Milk starring Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw and Vicky Krieps and Mumblecore veteran Mary Bronstein returns as a director with If I Had Legs I’d Kick You starring A$AP Rocky and Rose Byrne.

In the competition sidebars, standout titles include BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions by Kahlil Joseph, which arrives from Sundance, and Little Trouble Girls by debut filmmaker Urška Djukić. The Berlin Specials program has been rounded out with the German premiere of Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, Lucio Castro’s latest After This Death starring Rupert Friend and Gwendoline Christie, and Tilda Swinton will screen her 1987 flick Friendship’s Death directed by Peter Wollen as part of her Honorary Golden Bear celebrations.

Haynes joined on the international jury by director Nabil Ayouch (Morocco/France), costume designer Bina Daigeler (Germany), actor Fan Bingbing (China), director Rodrigo Moreno (Argentina), film critic and author Amy Nicholson (U.S.) and director, actor and screenwriter Maria Schrader (Germany).

The opening film this evening in the Palast was Tom Tykwer’s latest The Light. Tykwer sat down for an extensive interview with us about the film prior to the screening. You can read that here. The Berlin Film Festival runs until February 23.