00:00Turning now to Germany, where culture officials are planning to summon organisers of the Berlin Film Festival
00:06after the event was rocked by controversy over the war in Gaza.
00:10Media reports suggest that the director of the Berlinale will be sacked at the meeting.
00:16Well, for more, let's cross live now to our Berlin correspondent, Nick Holdsworth, is standing by for us.
00:22Firstly, Nick, just explain to us a little bit just why the war in Gaza has loomed so large over
00:28this festival
00:29What provoked all of this controversy?
00:34Well, the festival opened with the competition jury chairman, Wim Wenders, a German filmmaker,
00:45being asked about his views on Gaza and he said that he was an artist, he wasn't a politician
00:52and he believed that filmmaking and art should remain separate from politics,
00:58which didn't go down very well here amongst the rather political crowd who tend to flock to the Berlinale.
01:05The Berlinale has always been seen as an edgier, more political film festival than other A-class festivals in Europe,
01:13such as Cannes in France or Venice in Italy.
01:17And that kicked off a fuss.
01:21The head of the festival, an American, Tricia Tuttle, basically backed up Wim Wenders,
01:29saying that there shouldn't be any force upon artists.
01:33Artists should be able to choose their own view.
01:36And it kind of settled down a bit, but it all came back at the closing ceremony
01:42when there were more political comments about Gaza.
01:46The Syrian-Palestinian director, Abdullah al-Hatib, who was given the Perspectives,
01:53that's one of the sections of the festival,
01:55the first film prize in that section for his drama, Chronicles from the Siege,
02:00which is all about the war in Gaza.
02:05And he gave a speech and he wrapped up by saying,
02:08my final word to the German government is that you are partners in the genocide in Gaza by Israel.
02:16He said you're intelligent enough to recognise the truth, but you choose not to care.
02:21And he went on to say that Palestinians would remember everyone who stood with them or against them
02:27or those indeed who just stayed silent.
02:29This was too much for one German government minister who walked out of the ceremony in protest
02:35and it provoked a lot of remarks from people, including the Israeli ambassador to Berlin
02:44and other government ministers who said that these remarks were anti-Semitic.
02:50And Nick, suggestions and speculation that the director of the film festival might be sacked,
02:56what happens next?
03:00Well, tomorrow there's a special, an extraordinary meeting of KBB.
03:05That's the national body that oversees arts in Germany.
03:10Arts in this country are a local, a regional matter.
03:14But to govern national institutions such as the Berlin Alley, there is a board of directors.
03:20And the head of that board of directors is Wolfram Weimer.
03:25And he is understood to be not only displeased with these comments in the closing ceremony,
03:31but also because Tricia Tuttle, who was appointed just two years ago,
03:37appears in a photograph with the team from that film where they display a Palestinian flag
03:44and some of them are wearing the kafifas, the Palestinian checkered scarves that people may remember Yasser Arafat always wore
03:53back in the day.
03:55And that photograph was actually taken before the festival.
03:59It's a tradition.
04:01The head of the festival has a photograph taken with the director and crew of all films in all the
04:07competitions.
04:07And there are various competition programmes, not only the main competition programme, but other side sections.
04:13So, you know, that's an uncontroversial photograph in most circumstances.
04:17But that was picked up and amplified by the media and social media asking why she had taken this unusually
04:26political step.
04:27And I understand that the head of the board was also booed at some screenings.
04:34He was quite an active film goer during the festival.
04:37And that hasn't gone down very well.
04:39I was talking earlier to a source, a senior source in the German film industry.
04:45And they said that if Tuttle were to be sacked tomorrow morning, that would irreparably damage the reputation of the
04:55festival
04:55and that nobody would take the job after she was sacked in such a manner.
05:00Nick, thanks so much for that.
05:01Our Berlin correspondent, Nick Holesworth.
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