International Insider: Berlin Begins; Farrell’s Farewell From Amazon MGM; JioHotstar Debuts

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Welcome back to your weekly International Insider. Jesse Whittock on the buttons to guide you through the top TV and film news.

Click here to subscribe to the newsletter. Berlin Begins Straight to a snowy Berlin, where Zac has this report… Tilda’s the talk of the town:The Berlin Film Festival kicked off Thursday evening with a brief ceremony that, despite all its German sensibility, belonged to Scottish actor Tilda Swinton.

The Oscar winner was in town to receive the festival’s achievement award, and she gave a rousing speech touching on global politics. “The inhumane is being perpetrated on our watch,” she bellowed from the stage, before taking a swipe at Donald Trump in her rebuke of “efforts of occupation, colonization, takeover, ownership or the development of Riviera property.” The growing dominance of streamers should “encourage them to spend a large chunk of their squillions on building renovating and enlivening cinema theaters in every territory they reach,” Swinton pleaded later, as she turned her attention to the current industry landscape.

The speech was a hit with the Berlinale audience, which is a credit to Swinton’s dynamism. She’s an actor who is almost always on the festival circuit and who picks up this kind of award multiple times a year, but has remained an engaged and principled artist.