Arundhati Roy had been announced as a festival guest to present a restored version of the 1989 film “In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones”, in which she starred and wrote the screenplay. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Workers roll out the red carpet ahead of the 75th Berlinale International Film Festival at the Berlinale Palast, in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

German director Tom Tykwer is to open the Berlin Film Festival on Thursday (February 13, 2025) with a drama about a Syrian housekeeper, in the midst of a national election campaign that has been dominated by a bitter migration debate.

The Light, not screening as part of the Berlinale’s main competition, tells the story of a middle-class Berlin family whose lives are upended when they hire a new domestic worker. The movie marks a return to feature filmmaking after a long hiatus for Tykwer, 59, who has been focusing on the acclaimed Netflix series Babylon Berlin .

The Berlinale, as the festival is known, winds up on February 23 — the same day as Germany’s snap election, called after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition late last year.

With the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party surging in the polls, migration has been high on the campaign agenda in the run-up to the hotly contested vote.

The Berlinale, which ranks with Cannes and Venice among Europe’s top festivals, serves as a key launchpad for films from around the world.

U.S. writer and director Todd Haynes will head up the jury at this year’s edition, with 19 pictures vying for the festival’s Golden Bear top prize.

Mr. Haynes on Thursday said the world was in a “state of particular crisis” and filmmakers had witnessed the return of U.S. President Donald Trump “with tremendous concern, shock”.

‘Extra urgency’

Mr. Haynes said he hoped the Berlinale, which has a reputation as the most political of the big international film festivals, would serve as a forum for digesting global events.

“This festival has always had a strength of conviction and an openness to a challenging and political discourse and bringing that into the filmmaking, and what’s happening in the world right now has put an extra urgency to all of that,” he told presspersons.

Opening film The Light , with a mostly German cast, tells the story of a complex modern family living in a Berlin apartment.

Act of ‘resistance’

When the enigmatic Farrah — recently arrived from Syria — is placed in their home as the new housekeeper, the Engels family find themselves questioning their way of life and hidden feelings come to light.

The mass arrival of Syrian refugees and other migrants in Germany in 2015-2016 has helped fuel support for the AfD, which is forecast to emerge as one of the biggest parties in Germany’s election.

Last year, Berlinale organisers made headlines by barring five previously invited AfD politicians and telling them they were “not welcome”.

Tuttle, who took over as director of the Berlinale in April last year, said cinema could be an act of “resistance”…to all of the perverse ideas that many far-right parties across the whole world and across Europe are spreading”.

“This is a space where we want to come together and listen to each other and communicate through cinema… I think the very fact we’re all here is a resistance,” she said.

Films in competition

Films in competition at the Berlinale include Dreams , from Mexican director Michael Franco, about a Mexican ballet dancer, and What Does that Nature Say to You , from South Korean arthouse favourite Hong Sang-soo.

Hollywood director Richard Linklater will present Blue Moon , starring Ethan Hawke, 11 years after Linklater won Berlin’s Silver Bear for Best Director for Boyhood .

Romanian director Radu Jude, who won the Golden Bear in 2021 with Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn , is in the running with Kontinental ‘25 , a dark comedy about the rise of nationalism.

And France’s Lucile Hadzihalilovic will present The Ice Tower , a fantasy drama starring Marion Cotillard.

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho will present his new film Mickey 17 with Robert Pattinson out of competition, while British actor Tilda Swinton will receive a lifetime achievement award.