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How the Publicly-Funded Berlin Film Festival Is Coping With Rising Far-Right Presence in German Politics
Germany's culture minister has defended the decision to invite far-right politicians to the Berlinale's opening as the festival is publicly funded.
There have been large protests in cities across Germany in recent weeks following news reports that some members of the AfD had attended a clandestine meeting in November to discuss the possibility of deporting migrants, even those who have German citizenship. “The festival stands for the freedom of art and for the fight against racism, exclusion and discrimination” and that the AfD members of parliament would therefore have to endure “being confronted with precisely this in all its clarity at the Berlinale,” he added. The co-director of the Berlinale, Mariette Rissenbeek, said in an interview with the Berlin newspaper Der Tagesspiegel that she understood why the AfD officials had been invited, adding there was little she could do beyond hoping they wouldn’t show up.
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