The Berlin State Criminal Police Office has launched an investigation after a controversial event took place at the Berlinale on the previous Saturday, which was described as “antisemitic” or “anti-Israeli”.
According to press reports, Chinese director Jun Li read a statement from Iranian actor Erfan Shekarriz, who had appeared in the film “Queerpanorama” shown as part of the festival’s program, not the competition. The actor spoke about the “genocide” of Israelis against Palestinians.
Criticisms of the German government’s stance on the issue were spread on social media, with some clips edited to remove the disputed parts, accompanied by a pieptone symbol. Shekarriz had stated that millions of Palestinians were being suffocated under Israel’s brutal colonial state, financed by the West. The German government, including the Berlinale, was contributing to the maintenance of a system of apartheid in Israel, enabling the “genocide” of the Palestinian people.
The director continued to read the statement, interrupted by some audience members’ approving and disapproving reactions and whistles. Shekarriz called on Germans to continue fighting for free speech, especially when it comes to Palestine, in a country where an “authoritarian, fascist and frightening political climate” prevails.
The film, however, was about freedom, expression and liberation. Everyone remains unfree until all are free, regardless of being “queer” or Palestinian. At this point, someone in the audience interjected, “Or Jewish?”
The director appealed to the audience to remember the innocent Palestinian children, their mothers and fathers and siblings who had lost their lives or the foundations of their existence due to the Israeli occupation since 1948, which was also supported by the Federal Republic of Germany.
The “never again” principle should also apply to the lives of Palestinians. The director concluded his statement by quoting the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” The interpretation of this phrase is disputed, with some understanding it to mean the land between the Jordan and the Mediterranean, including the state of Israel. German authorities, however, interpret the pro-Palestinian demand as rejecting Israel’s right to exist.
The Berlinale expressed regret over the incident, with its director, Tricia Tuttle, stating that they had warned their guests in advance about sensitive and potentially criminal political statements.
The Central Council of Jews in Germany described the event as “shocking” linking it to the Palestinian Hamas movement, stating that “if such behavior is tolerated, it must be sanctioned accordingly.”
In the previous year, there had been strong criticism of some award winners at the Berlinale for their remarks on Israel’s military actions. However, the October 2023 attack by the Hamas was not mentioned at the time. In 2024, the terms “apartheid” for the occupied territories and “genocide” in the context of the Israeli army’s use of force in Gaza had also been used in some speeches.