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8 months ago
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Outgoing Berlinale head Carlo Chatrian has distanced himself from the criticism made of the fest’s closing ceremony speeches earlier this week.
On Wednesday, Israeli filmmaker Yuval Abraham, who last week picked up the best documentary award at the Berlin Film Festival, said he received death threats and had to cancel his flight home after German officials and Israeli media described his acceptance speech as “anti-Semitic.” He said “a right-wing Israeli mob came to my family’s home yesterday to search for me, threatening close family members who fled to another town in the middle of the night.”
In a new letter today posted on X, Chatrian, who has just presided over his final Berlinale, said the awards ceremony over the weekend “has been targeted in such a violent way that some people now see their lives threatened.”
“This is unacceptable,” wrote Chatrian. You can read the full letter below.
Following the end of the festival, Chatrian said “another form of communication has been taken over by politicians and the media, one which weaponizes and instrumentalizes anti-Semitism for political means.”
“This year’s festival was a place for dialogue and exchange for ten days,” he added. “No matter our individual political convictions or beliefs we should all keep in mind that freedom of speech is an essential part of what defines a democracy.”
Chatrian’s letter said “we stand in solidarity with all filmmakers, jury members and other festival guests who have received direct or indirect threats and do not back down from any programming choices made at this year’s Berlinale.”
The letter was signed by Chatrian and Head of Programming Mark Peranson, but not Chatrian’s co-head Mariette Rissenbeek. The pair will soon be replaced by Tricia Tuttle.
Abraham’s acceptance speech over the weekend had criticized a “situation of apartheid” in Israel and called for a ceasefire in Gaza. After the awards ceremony, the Berlin Film Festival put out a press release in which it distanced itself from the comments made by multiple filmmakers in support of Palestine.
Berlin kicked off with the furore around the rescinded invites to the far-right AFD Party and was followed by pro-Palestine protests.
