Wim Wenders widens the contradictions of the Berlinale: "We shouldn't get involved in politics"

Special correspondent in BerlinDuring the opening ceremony of the 2011 Berlinale, the first covered by ARA, the most notable absentee was Iranian Jafar Panahi, a jury member who had been banned from traveling to the festival by his country's authorities. His empty chair on the stage became a symbol of indignation and solidarity with the oppressed filmmaker. In 2023, the festival went a step further, announcing a ban on companies and media outlets with ties to the governments of Iran and Russia, which had just invaded Ukraine. That same year, the protagonist of the opening gala was another absent figure: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. who performed a ten-minute teleconference interventionThese are some examples of the character of a festival known for its commitment to political and social causes, always ready to take a stand and raise its voice, except for its refusal to condemn the genocide in Palestine, in line with the position of the German government, the festival's main source of funding. This contradiction became visible and was unfortunately amplified this Thursday when Wim Wenders, the president of this year's jury, justified the Berlinale's lack of a political stance. "We shouldn't get involved in politics," he said, gesturing with his hands. "If we make politically engaged films, we enter the realm of politics. But we must be a counterweight to politics (...) and do the work of the people, not the politicians." That a director who has almost never been interested in politics, like Wenders, would express himself in these terms is perfectly legitimate, but to do so as president of the jury of the Berlinale, the quintessential political festival, borders on cynicism.

Wenders' statements have already provoked the first reactions, and they are not positive: this Friday, the Indian writer Arundhati Roy, author ofThe god of small things, has announced that he is cancelling his visit to the festival, where he was scheduled to present the film in the classics section In which Annie gives it those waveswhose screenplay she wrote 38 years ago. "Hearing the festival jury members say that art shouldn't be political left me stunned," Roy stated in a press release. "It's a way of shutting down a conversation about a crime against humanity that continues to unfold before our eyes in real time. But artists, writers, and filmmakers should be doing everything in their power." The writer says she made the decision not to attend the festival "with great sorrow" and reiterates that "what continues to happen in Gaza is a genocide of the Palestinian people perpetrated by the State of Israel, with the support and funding of the US and German governments, as well as other European nations, which are complicit in the crime."

Bill Evans' worst moment

Inevitably, the controversy has overshadowed the premiere in the official section ofEverybody digs Bill Evans, one biopic The film focuses on the legendary jazz pianist, primarily examining the emotional devastation he suffered after the death of his bassist and musical partner, Scott LaFaro, in a car accident in 1961. Director Grant Gee, known for his documentaries on Joy Division and Radiohead, sets the music aside to delve into Evans's near-creative paralysis, further exacerbated by heroin addiction. Shot in stark black and white, the film avoids exploring the pianist's inner turmoil, instead centering on his family relationships with a loyal and loving brother and retired parents, all grappling with their own demons. The performances of Bill Pullman and Laurie Metcalf lend the film a certain depth, but this doesn't quite succeed in conveying the reasons behind Evans's fluctuating creative drive.