‘Movies can change the world but not in a political way’ says Wim Wenders | Berlin film festival
Master director Wim Wenders has praised the power of cinema to help heal a broken planet as he presides over the jury of the Berlinale, the most politically charged of Europe’s three major international film festivals.
When asked about the role of movies in the current climate of war and social unrest, the director behind Wings of Desire and the Oscar-nominated Perfect Days said he sees filmmaking as an act of bridge-building and creating empathy.
“Yes, movies can change the world,” he told reporters in the German capital at the start of the 11-day event. “Not politically. No movie has ever really changed the mind of any politician, but… we can change people’s minds about how they should live.”
Asked sharply about Germany’s support for Israel during the Gaza war and “selective” solidarity with besieged peoples around the world, Wenders rejected the idea that the film industry or the festival should actively take a political stance.
“We have to stay out of politics because if we make films that are purely political, we will enter the domain of politics,” he said. “But we are the balancer of politics, the opposite of politics. We must do the people’s job, not the politicians’ job.”
Polish producer Ewa Puszczyńska, one of Wenders’ judges, called the framing of the question “unfair”.
“Of course we try to talk to people and get them to think, but we can’t be responsible for what their decisions will be, like supporting Israel or supporting Palestine,” he said.
“There are a lot of wars where genocide is committed, and we don’t talk about them… so it’s a complicated question and a bit of an unfair one.”
The seven-member panel will choose from 22 films from around the world for the Golden and Silver Bear grand prizes, which will be awarded at a gala ceremony on February 21.
The festival will open with Shahrbanoo Sadat’s No Good Men, which is declared as Afghanistan’s first romantic comedy, and will be screened out of competition.
The event, now in its 76th year, will roll out the red carpet to stars showcasing their new work, including Amy Adams, Channing Tatum, Pamela Anderson, Ashley Walters, Callum Turner, Ethan Hawke, Gemma Chan and Charli xcx.
But Wenders noted that the majority of the nearly 200 feature films and documentaries in the Berlinale program highlight the impact of geopolitical turmoil and rights struggles around the world.
“Cinema has an incredible power to be compassionate and empathetic,” he said. “The news is not empathetic. Politics is not empathetic, but movies are empathetic. And that is our duty.”
Berlinale is among the best film festivals in Europe, along with Cannes and Venice.
