BERLIN: The Berlin Film Festival, barely back on its feet after the COVID pandemic and the resulting dry period in film production, opens on Thursday to fresh rows over the rise of the far-right in Germany and the conflict in Gaza.
On the commercial side, the European Film Market which traditionally runs in parallel with the festival looks set for a vintage year, with buyers bullish now that the Hollywood scriptwriters’ strike is over.
But the Berlinale also coincides with discussions over antisemitism, Germany’s close ties with Israel amid the war in Gaza, and over a surge in support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party ahead of this year’s European elections.
“These political discussions are in some ways overshadowing the entertainment, the films and the culture that usually is at the center of Berlin,” said Scot Roxborough, European correspondent of the Hollywood Reporter and a festival veteran.
Born at the height of the Cold War in a divided city that was on the frozen conflict’s front line, the Berlinale is no stranger to politics, but this year the rows started even before the opening ceremony, when festival leaders rescinded courtesy invitations sent out to AfD politicians.
The invitations, extended to them as elected legislators, triggered a media storm as they landed soon after reports emerged of a meeting at which senior AfD politicians had discussed with other far-right activists deporting ethnic minority German citizens.
The festival organizers then rescinded the invitations, saying they wanted to “take an unequivocal stand in favor of an open democracy.”
Germany’s stance on Gaza — firmly backing Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas militants while also condemning possible human rights violations by Israel in Gaza — has also prompted controversy, with at least one film withdrawing from the festival in protest over Berlin’s perceived pro-Israel bias.
“(There’ll) probably be a lot of angry people, on both sides, protesting here and probably throughout the city,” said Roxborough.
The 74th festival will also be the last one run under artistic director Carlo Chatrian, who co-headed the festival with Mariette Rissenbeek and leaned more toward lesser-known cinema and away from star-driven and big studio films.
Cillian Murphy will be in town following his Oscar-nominated turn in “Oppenheimer” for the opening film, “Small Things Like These,” while last year’s jury president Kristen Stewart returns with “Love Lies Bleeding” and Adam Sandler presents “Spaceman.”
German far-right, Gaza war overshadow Berlin Film Festival
https://arab.news/9fxcu
German far-right, Gaza war overshadow Berlin Film Festival
- At least one film has withdrawn its participation, accusing the German government of pro-Israel bias
- Organizer’s ecision to rescind invitations for far-right Alternative for Germany politicians caused media storm
EU warns Meta it must open up WhatsApp to rival AI chatbots
- The EU executive on Monday told Meta to give rival chatbots access to WhatsApp after an antitrust probe found the US giant to be in breach of the bloc’s competition rules
BRUSSELS: The EU executive on Monday told Meta to give rival chatbots access to WhatsApp after an antitrust probe found the US giant to be in breach of the bloc’s competition rules.
The European Commission said a change in Meta’s terms had “effectively” barred third-party artificial intelligence assistants from connecting to customers via the messaging platform since January.
Competition chief Teresa Ribera said the EU was “considering quickly imposing interim measures on Meta, to preserve access for competitors to WhatsApp while the investigation is ongoing, and avoid Meta’s new policy irreparably harming competition in Europe.”
The EU executive, which is in charge of competition policy, sent Meta a warning known as a “statement of objections,” a formal step in antitrust probes.
Meta now has a chance to reply and defend itself. Monday’s step does not prejudge the outcome of the probe, the commission said.
The tech giant rejected the commission’s preliminary findings.
“The facts are that there is no reason for the EU to intervene,” a Meta spokesperson said.
“There are many AI options and people can use them from app stores, operating systems, devices, websites, and industry partnerships. The commission’s logic incorrectly assumes the WhatsApp Business API is a key distribution channel for these chatbots,” the spokesperson said.
Opened in December, the EU probe marks the latest attempt by the 27-nation bloc to rein in Big Tech, many of whom are based in the United States, in the face of strong pushback by the government of US President Donald Trump.
- Meta in the firing line -
The investigation covers the European Economic Area (EEA), made up of the bloc’s 27 states, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway — with the exception of Italy, which opened a separate investigation into Meta in July.
The commission said that Meta is “likely to be dominant” in the EEA for consumer messaging apps, notably through WhatsApp, and accused Meta of “abusing this dominant position by refusing access” to competitors.
“We cannot allow dominant tech companies to illegally leverage their dominance to give themselves an unfair advantage,” Ribera said in a statement.
There is no legal deadline for concluding an antitrust probe.
Meta is already under investigation under different laws in the European Union.
EU regulators are also investigating its platforms Facebook and Instagram over fears they are not doing enough to tackle the risk of social media addiction for children.
The company also appealed a 200-million-euro fine imposed last year by the commission under the online competition law, the Digital Markets Act.
That case focused on its policy asking users to choose between an ad-free subscription and a free, ad-supported service, and Brussels and Meta remain in discussions over finding an alternative that would address the EU’s concerns.
