Germany to probe Berlin film festival after winners assail Israel over war in Gaza

Government spokeswoman criticizes speakers at Berlinale for not mentioning Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack, following remarks that were denounced as antisemitic

Filmmakers Ben Russell (L) and France's Guillaume Cailleau (2ndL) stand on stage while receiving the Encounters Award for Best Film for their film "Direct Action" during the awards ceremony of the 74th Berlinale International Film Festival, on February 24, 2024  in Berlin. (John MacDougall/AFP)
Filmmakers Ben Russell (L) and France's Guillaume Cailleau (2ndL) stand on stage while receiving the Encounters Award for Best Film for their film "Direct Action" during the awards ceremony of the 74th Berlinale International Film Festival, on February 24, 2024 in Berlin. (John MacDougall/AFP)

BERLIN — German officials will investigate how Berlin film festival winners made “one-sided” comments condemning Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas at the awards gala, a government spokeswoman said on Monday.

At Saturday’s ceremony, several winners were accused of making antisemitic remarks on stage in relation to the Israeli military offensive against Hamas, which was launched in response to the terror group’s October 7 onslaught in southern Israel.

US filmmaker Ben Russell, wearing a Palestinian scarf, accused Israel of committing “genocide” with its bombardment of the densely populated Gaza Strip.

Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra said the Palestinian population was being “massacred” by Israel, to applause from the audience.

“It is unacceptable that… the terrorist attack by Hamas on 7 October was not mentioned,” government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann told reporters in Berlin on Monday.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz “agrees that such a one-sided stance cannot be allowed to stand,” Hoffmann said.

“In any debate on this topic, it is of course important to keep in mind the event that triggered this renewed escalation of the Middle East conflict — namely the Hamas attack on 7 October,” she said.

Israeli director Yuval Abraham (R) and Palestinian director Basel Adra speak on stage after having received the Berlinale documentary award for ‘No Other Land’ during the awards ceremony of the 74th Berlinale International Film Festival, on February 24, 2024, in Berlin. (John MacDougall/AFP)

Culture Minister Claudia Roth and Berlin’s Mayor Kai Wegner have also found themselves in hot water over the ceremony.

A report in top tabloid Bild carried a picture it said showed the pair applauding Adra’s remarks.

On Sunday after the ceremony, Wegner posted on social media that the anti-Israel remarks were “unacceptable,” adding that “there is no place for antisemitism in Berlin.”

Hoffmann said Wegner and the culture minister would review the incidents and hold talks with the festival’s incoming director to ensure such incidents did not happen in future.

‘Understand the outrage’

Germany, influenced by its own World War II history when millions of Jews were killed by the Nazis, has steadfastly backed Israel following the October 7 attack.

During the Hamas-led atrocities, Palestinian terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 253 hostages back to Gaza.

In response, Israel launched a military campaign aimed at destroying Hamas and returning the hostages.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, close to 30,000 Gazans have died since October 7, an unverified figure that does not differentiate between fighters and civilians, and is believe to include Palestinians killed by terrorists’ errant rocket fire.

The film festival, known as the Berlinale, receives substantial government funding.

Asked whether the funding would now be reviewed, Hoffmann said the focus was on ensuring such incidents were not repeated.

All the 2024 laureates pose on stage at the end of the awards ceremony of the 74th Berlinale International Film Festival, on February 24, 2024 in Berlin. (John MacDougall/AFP)

After the controversy erupted, the film festival issued a statement Sunday saying that winners’ remarks were “independent, individual opinions (which) in no way reflect the position of the festival.”

But, it added, “We understand the outrage, and that the statements of some of the award winners were perceived as too one-sided.”

Organizers also said the Berlinale’s Panorama Instagram account was briefly hacked on Sunday to display antisemitic posts about the war in the Middle East.

“The posts were deleted immediately,” organizers said Monday, adding that the Berlinale had “filed criminal charges against unknown persons” over the incident.

Amid the widespread anger at the comments at the award ceremony, Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, said on social media: “Once again, the German cultural scene showcases its bias by rolling out the red carpet exclusively for artists who promote the delegitimization of Israel.”

At the film festival, “antisemitic and anti-Israel discourse was met with applause,” he added.

Felix Klein, the government’s commissioner for the fight against antisemitism, told the Funke media group that the “one-side, anti-Israel statements” show “how widespread antisemitism is not only in the arts and culture scenes, but also in the film industry.”

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