Activists from the Last Generation climate group glued themselves to the opening of the Berlinale on Thursday evening in front of the building. A young man and a young woman sat on the edge of the red carpet. There were no major disturbances, but there were a few shouts of protest. According to a statement from the group, the two activists had overcome a barrier. The group Last Generation calls for a radical change in climate and keeps sticking to the streets to disrupt traffic. At the beginning of the protest, the guests were already in the hall, the red carpet was largely empty.
A number of film stars came to Berlin, such as actress Anne Hathaway, actor Peter Dinklage and this year’s jury president Kristen Stewart. Actors Elyas M’Barek, Matthias Schweighöfer and Lars Eidinger, actresses Heike Makatsch and Iris Berben, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and Economics Minister Robert Habeck also walked the carpet. Alongside Cannes and Venice, the Berlinale is one of the world’s major film festivals. The film festival was supposed to open on Thursday evening. Among other things, a video link with the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj was planned. During the Berlinale, the situation of the people in Iran should also be remembered. Several women, including the actresses Melika Foroutan and Jasmin Tabatabai, held up a white banner on the red carpet with something like the slogan “Woman Life Freedom” on it.
The comedy “She Came to Me” by director Rebecca Miller was chosen as the opening film, which also stars Hathaway and Dinklage as well as Marisa Tomei. Jury President Kristen Stewart, together with other filmmakers, will ultimately decide which of the 19 films in the competition will receive an award. The Berlinale wants to show a total of around 280 films in around a week and a half. The film festival runs until February 26th.
