Berlinale 2024 Preview: Everything you need to know about this year's Berlin Film Festival

We’re in for a busy time in Berlin this month...

This year’s Berlinale will be the last edition headed by the departing festival directors Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek. It’s a genuine shame, as both artistic and executive directors have managed to weather the Covid storm and proven their curational chops since 2020.

Still, they’ve still got their hands full for their swansong, and not just artistically.

There’s been the kerfuffle with the AfD invites / disinvites, prompting further discussion regarding the escalating anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hate speech spreading in Germany; taking a stand against Iran’s hard-line Islamist authorities with the inclusion of a certain film in Competition (more on that in a bit); and ensuring that the festival will maintain its reputation for providing a space for artistic expression and peaceful dialogue, especially with the backdrop of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Middle East. 

There’s the looming promise of protests during the festival linked with Israel-Hamas war, and recently, Berlinale workers called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, as well as “stronger institutional leadership” from the Berlinale, in response to what they describe as the “current assault on Palestinian life.”

“We want to hold the festival and ourselves to a higher standard,” their statement read, describing a lack of debating opportunity within this year’s festival programme about the conflict. “We witness no initiatives that invite professionals and/or audiences into a dedicated space of discussion,” the statement says.

How the outgoing directors are managing to keep it cool is beyond us, but on the plus side, and without wishing to appear flippant in the face of vital issues, they seem to