Filmmakers Speak About Making Documentaries During the Rise of Populism, and the Dangers of Making Films Critical of Repressive Regimes

variety.com:

Rafa Sales Ross Guest Contributor Documentary filmmakers and industry leaders gathered at this year’s International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam to discuss “independence and resistance in times of repressive populism” at the festival’s yearly Europe Conference in partnership with French public broadcaster Arte.

IDFA’s artistic director Orwa Nyrabia introduced the conference by highlighting the “rising success” of populist movements in Europe and across the world and how they recognise filmmakers “as their enemy.” “They very quickly realize that culture is not their friend and that documentary people are their main enemy because we tend to criticize immediately.

They should not have the power to stop us,” he said. Nyrabia added that there are also cases “like in Germany” where it is “not even right-wing, but left-wing that is silencing voices,” going on to mention the recent episode where the official Berlin city portal described the Israeli-Palestinian documentary “No Other Land,” co-directed by Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, as having “anti-Semitic tendencies” ahead of the film’s release in Germany.

A few days later, new Berlinale director Tricia Tuttle released a statement in support of the film. “I want to be clear that I don’t consider the film, or statements made by co-directors, Palestinian Basel Adra and Israeli Yuval Abraham at the awards ceremony of the Berlinale to be anti-Semitic,” the statement read.