The 69th Berlin Film Festival; A Farewell to Iranian Cinema?

The Berlin International Film Festival has begun with much fanfare; its 69th edition makes it one of the oldest film festivals in the world. Alongside Cannes and Venice, it forms the triangle of the most prestigious film festivals globally. While Cannes does not sell tickets and Venice is not particularly focused on attracting general audiences, the Berliners take pride in hosting the 'most public' film festival in the world, boasting the highest ticket sales among film festivals. This year's Berlin Festival is different from previous editions; it marks the farewell of Dieter Kosslick, the festival director who has shaped Berlin's policies and selections for nearly two decades. From next year, this position will be held by Carlo Chatrian, the former director of the Locarno Festival. As usual, the German Minister of Culture and the Mayor of Berlin spoke at the opening ceremony about the festival and its significance. The Berlin Festival places a strong emphasis on its political aspect; for instance, when Jafar Panahi was not allowed to attend with his film in the competition section, the German Minister of Culture openly stated that the festival is proud to accept Panahi's future films, which is an unusual comment regarding the acceptance of unmade films. However, Mr. Panahi, who has a Golden Bear from the Berlin Festival, preferred to participate last year with his latest film in the Cannes competition. It seems that Iranian filmmakers are becoming victims in a 'political war.' The selections of the Berlin Festival are often not approved by Iranian officials, leading to an incident in 2016 when the festival's representative, Anke Leuke, faced issues at the airport during her annual trip to select films in Iran; her film suitcase was confiscated, and she was not allowed to leave with her Iranian colleague. Later, images of this Berlin festival representative were circulated in various locations in Tehran, showing she was under surveillance. The Berlin Festival had to retreat to free its colleague and remained silent about the incident. Since then, the annual trips of the Berlin representative to Iran have ceased, and the results can be seen in this year's festival: unlike previous years where several Iranian films were showcased in various sections, this year only one Iranian film is present in the 'Forum' section. Those familiar with Carlo Chatrian's film selection team can guess that from next year, the presence of Iranian films in the Berlin Festival will decrease further, and it seems that the golden era of Iranian cinema's presence at the Berlin Festival and receiving numerous awards (including the Golden Bear and Silver Bear) is declining. 'Leak,' the first feature by Susan Irovanian, is the only representative of Iranian cinema at this year's festival, telling a symbolic story of a woman who suddenly leaks oil. This film will have its world premiere on Sunday (February 10). However, the opening film of the festival disappointed everyone. 'The Kindness of Strangers' by Lone Scherfig, as the title suggests, is about the kindness of strangers who encounter each other. The main character is a woman who is a victim of domestic violence, fleeing with her two sons from her husband, who is a police officer. Several other characters, often facing financial issues and suffering from loneliness, accidentally encounter this woman, and a romantic story develops among them. Aside from the flawed screenplay, many scenes suffer due to poor direction (including the scene where the little boy gets lost in the library, where the woman's behavior and reaction, camera angles, and atmosphere are extremely artificial and unbelievable). Moreover, any intelligent viewer can guess the ending from the very first moments of the story's formation; it is a kind of preachy film about life, love, and innocence that, despite the noise, has nothing to say. But this is not the end of the story, and we must wait to see whether filmmakers like Agnes Varda, Agnieszka Holland, and Emin Alper will make this year's festival a different and memorable one in Kosslick's legacy or if we will face disappointing films like last year.