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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Culture & Society

Wenders clarifies Berlinale controversy: Filmmakers are the antidote to politics

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News From a news agency Context piece
  • Wim Wenders said filmmakers are the opposite of politicians because they work through empathy and seek to change things.
  • He clarified remarks from the Berlinale that critics interpreted as a refusal to engage with politics, particularly over Gaza.
  • Wenders is presenting a 3D documentary about architect Peter Zumthor at the Venice Film Festival.

Wim Wenders has revisited the controversy surrounding his comments at the Berlinale, insisting that filmmakers are not supposed to imitate politicians but to act as their counterweight.

“Filmmakers are the opposite of politicians. We have empathy. Politics works without empathy,” the German director said at the Venice Film Festival. He is presenting “From Inside Out: The Architecture of Peter Zumthor,” a 3D documentary about the Swiss architect, out of competition.

Filmmakers are the opposite of politicians. We have empathy. Politics works without empathy. We work with the mindset of empathetic people.

· Wim WendersWenders explained his view of the difference between filmmaking and politics.

Wenders faced strong criticism at the previous Berlinale, where he served as jury president, after saying that filmmakers could not really enter the realm of politics and should remain apart from it. Critics accused him and the festival of avoiding a position on current geopolitics, especially the war in Gaza.

We are interested in changing things. Politics is interested in confirming what already exists.

· Wim WendersHe clarified the remarks that triggered criticism at the Berlinale.

At Venice, Wenders said his meaning had been distorted. Filmmakers, he argued, are interested in changing things, while politics is interested in confirming what already exists. He said the wording had been reported as a call to stay away from politics, although that was not what he meant.

The 81-year-old director, known for “Paris, Texas” and “Wings of Desire,” said filmmakers work according to a different set of rules. “I hope I am not quoted incorrectly as saying that we have to stay away from politics, because we do precisely the opposite,” he concluded.

I hope I am not quoted incorrectly as saying that we have to stay away from politics, because we do precisely the opposite.

· Wim WendersWenders rejected the interpretation that filmmakers should avoid politics.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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