The Berlin International Film Festival takes pride in its political reputation, but allowing filmmakers to state their personal stances on the Israel-Hamas war at the closing awards ceremony on Saturday has now sparked controversy among German politicians and Israeli officials,
DW reports.
At the event, several filmmakers criticized Israel over its ongoing offensive in Gaza, which has killed nearly 30,000 people, mostly women and children, according to the enclave's Hamas-controlled health authority.
While different people called for a cease-fire in Gaza, perhaps the speech that prompted the strongest criticism from a number of German politicians came from US filmmaker Ben Russell, who accepted his award wearing the keffiyeh, a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.
"Of course we also stand for life here and we stand against genocide and for a cease-fire in solidarity with all our comrades," said Russell, supported by cheers in the audience.
The filmmakers were also criticized for not referring to the role of Hamas in the conflict and the October 7 attacks, where some 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 240 people — among them women and children — were taken hostage by the militant Islamist group. Hamas is classified as a terrorist group by Israel, Germany, the US, the European Union and a number of other governments.
