On February 11, 2016, the 66th Berlin International Film Festival kicked off at the Berlin Film Palace on the same night, and the chairman of the jury was American Evergreen and two-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep, and the stars gathered, some people paid attention to the Hollywood tendencies in the Coen brothers' "Long Live Caesars", and some people were concerned about whether Chinese director Yang Chao's magic realism work "Yangtze River Map" could win the Golden Bear Award. But what is the real charm of the Berlinale? Dieter Kosslick, president of the Berlin Film Festival, said that the concern for refugees is the consistent theme of the Berlin Film Festival, which is also the responsibility and direction of the Berlin Film Festival.
Today, when the Berlin film festival in Germany shows its support for refugees, it is not because the berlinale is out of guilt. It is politicians, arms dealers, stock investors and other cold-blooded people who should really feel guilty. It was they who caused and profited from this refugee disaster in the first place. Now, the same people are hypocritically insulting refugees, accusing them of criminals and terrorists.
Pictured: Dieter Kosslick, president of the Berlin Film Festival
1 Focus on refugee issues: the "Six Eyes Principle" of the Berlin Film Festival
Since the Berlinale in 1951, we have not only had a positive experience with the "welcome culture" known today. And if it doesn't welcome foreigners, the Berlinale will cease to exist. The 11-day festival in Potsdamer Platz showcases how cultural diversity can celebrate a peaceful rally with energy and vitality.
Although it is clear that in the aftermath of events like the Paris terrorist attacks, one also wonders whether these peaceful rallies and festivals in the name of "embracing diversity" or "tolerance" are effective. Recently, I met German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and a cultural delegation in Jordan, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Tehran. At a university in Tehran, Steinmeier gave a speech to students and politicians. Similarly, I expressed my support for cultural communication and Steinmeier's so-called Six-Eyes Principle in a forum, that is, each of us has our own insight into things, our own eyes, and in this way we should try to observe the perspective of others, to find a common perspective, through the transformation of the perspective of both sides, the sharing of views to achieve dialogue, to achieve the goal.
Photo: Jafar Panahi's Taxi
Students there know that Jafar Panahi is a critic of the Iranian system, having won the Golden Bear in February 2015; students also know that the Berlin Film Festival has been active in supporting Iranian cinema in recent years. However, in the back row of this lecture hall, a man stood up and claimed that our cultures and beliefs exclude communication and understanding from each other. In response, I point out that some passages of the Qur'an and the Bible actually present similarities, and that Jesus was not only a Christian but also a Jew. With this discussion over, communication became no longer possible. Even so, I'm sure we're more likely to embrace each other's cultures only when we strive to find common goals. For example, how can we live with dignity? What do we need? How can we find happiness? Everyone's experience may be different, and then when people have a common goal, most people will agree on this point: we want to live in a world full of dignity and peace.
In the film industry, the Six Eyes Principle is taken for granted. We pass through the screen as if we were going through an open window into another world, where we are at the center of the world of cinema.
2 The Collision of Civilizations: The True Charm of the Berlinale
Every year, the Berlinale attracts more than 20,000 participants from 130 countries, and during these 11 days, Berlinale fans visit more than 500,000 films. Over the past 65 years, these peaceful coexistence of foreigners has become our standard practice. Of course, this will be difficult to accomplish outside of the cinematic unreal space and festive protection. Similarly, it is easier for the Berlinale to offer an opportunity for dialogue through culture than to the economy, because the economic dialogue is inherently more focused on profit than on communication.
Pictured: Robert De Niro in Deer Hunter directed by Michael Cimino Source: Film Museum Berlin
If we succeed in not linking the fear of terrorism to the current influx of refugees, we will find that refugee issues help us to carry out a major attempt at social inclusion. Coexistence with refugees has undoubtedly changed our societies, and refugees have had a similar impact since late summer. As an inclusive zone, the Berlinale has had many experiences in this regard. We have extensive experience in dealing with international relations issues, with one exception: when Michael Cimino presented his Vietnamese film "The Deer Hunter" in the 1970 Berlin Film Festival campaign, the Soviet Union and other representatives of the Eastern Bloc withdrew their films and left angrily, allegedly because Cimino's films insulted the Vietnamese. This was a huge misconception during the Cold War.
In my opinion, the collision of civilizations is the real reason why the BerlinAle is so fascinating. I remember one of these delightful cultural collisions took place late at night on Old Potsdam Avenue. At that time, 400 participants from the predecessor of the Berlin Film Festival Rookie Camp walked straight from the red carpet to a sausage station, the only sausage station at the Berlin Film Festival. Depending on their religious beliefs, we distribute small red or blue cards, sausage coupons with or without pork to these gifted participants. In the process, two young Israelis quickly moved to my right. They want me to introduce them to the three young Afghans standing to my left, who bring a film about their lives under the Taliban regime. This is a moment when the impossible becomes possible: a cooperative israeli-Afghan production. Yes, why don't we do it!
Pictured: Luna Mijovic in "Gebavitsa" directed by Jasmina Zbanic
For me, one of the most stressful moments took place on the last day of the 2003 Berlin Film Festival, which was not just a utopia, but also a film that blended reality. At 2 p.m., jury president Atom Egoyan, an American, announced that golden bear winner Michael Winterbottom's refugee play "Between the Worlds"; at the same time, more than 400,000 people rallied in Potsdamer Platz to oppose the invasion of Iraq. At that moment, the Berlinale and that film put it bluntly "between the worlds." I felt a similar tension in 2006, when Jasmila Zbanic's screenplay about Bosnia won the Golden Bear in The Gebavitsa. Last year's Golden Bear winner was Taxi, which Jafar Panahi kept in secret. It is not just a courageous work, but it also expresses in a grand way that freedom of expression is an inalienable right.
3 Giving Refugees a Home: The Responsibility of the Berlin Film Festival
A bosnian inheritor of the Roman cultural heritage from Bosnia, named Nazif Mujic, performed his story, "The Little Life of the Iron Digger," whose performance won the Silver Bear for Best Actor in 2013. NazifMujic and his family returned to Berlin and sought refuge. In this context, we, as the staff of the Berlinale, have a special responsibility. We privately hired good lawyers for him and did what we could for him. However, we were powerless to change the law: he and his family had to return to Bosnia because his home country was considered a safe country.
Pictured: Rachel Mwanza in The Sorcerer of War, directed by Kim Nguyen
Especially when it comes to non-professional actors, we have a greater responsibility for this. This applies to the protagonist in Between the Worlds; it also applies to the young actor in Feo Aladag's Afghan film Between the Worlds (2014); and it also applies to the teenage actor in The Sorcerer of War (2012), a film about child soldiers for which Rachel Mwanza won the Award for Best Actress. We invited them to Berlin and cared about them as much as they did to their masters, but when they were returning home, we could not solve all the problems they faced, such as war, regional conflicts, poverty. We can only do our best to draw more attention to the reprehensible situation they face, within our means.
In the long run, the solution to the refugee problem will require diplomacy. Only through diplomacy can the confusion that forces people to leave their homes be put to an end. In addition, we must fight poverty, and the gap between the rich and the poor in our country is widening. Because it gave rise to such irregular processes, such as in East Germany or Bangladesh. The film only raises the sensitivity to the process. By the way, I can't understand the rich. Their foolish profit peddling has led to the following problems: hunger and terror in Nigeria, for example, the extraction of oil sands in the Arctic has caused enormous environmental damage. It's ultimately up to taxpayers to pay; military and political to re-establish order. Billions of dollars in food aid are necessary, and cooperation will generate greater profits.
Of course, the 2016 Berlin Film Festival will once again devote itself entirely to refugee issues. Arguably, it is rooted in the DNA of the Berlinale, and it provides a platform for producers and artists to dig into social issues. At this point, we will review our options and try to get in touch with refugee organizations. In addition, we are considering useful and comprehensive measures. Free admission tickets for refugees alone are not enough. What types of forums are appropriate and how can we produce content that refugees can identify with? I just heard of an example: in the village of Brandenburg in Gortzso, the School of Refugee Children's Rescue was closed through the longest-running documentary (Barbara and Winfried Junge's Children of Gortzau), which is well known by the Berlin Film Festival. Through the former GDR documentary filmmakers, the arriving refugees were presented with 8 old films made in Syria and Iraq. Through the film, refugees can see what happened before their homes were destroyed, which is sure to be a very exciting experience for each of them.
During the Venice Film Festival in early September, I came across the writer Donna Leon, who, just after Chancellor Angela Merkel, made what is now famous in response to the large number of refugees: "We can do it". Donna Leon told me that Germany is going through the best moments in its history. Germany is taking in a large number of refugees and has a positive attitude towards it, seeing it as the most important individual in the country. We are going through a turning point in history where most of us are fortunate not to have to experience persecution, migration, and war firsthand. In any case, we are currently facing an equally huge migration. For the first time, we are beginning to really realize what it means for millions of uprooted refugees to be able to return to their homeland again. The current situation offers us an opportunity to learn about our own history – something we should learn from, do everything we can, give them respect and give them a new home.
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