Wenders At Venice: Filmmakers Are The 'Antidote' To Politics — SkimNews
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- Wim Wenders took questions at the Venice Film Festival press conference for his documentary "From inside out – The architecture of Peter Zumthor" about comments he made at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year
- Wenders pushed back on the characterization that he said filmmakers should "stay out of politics," instead arguing filmmakers are "the opposite of politicians" because they have empathy while politics works "without empathy"
- Wenders described filmmakers as "the antidote" to politics, saying filmmakers "work with the mindset of empathetic people" and seek to "change things," while politics "confirms what is"
- At the original Berlin jury press conference, Wenders had said filmmakers must stay out of politics because politically dedicated movies enter politics, calling filmmakers "the counterweight of politics"
- The Berlin Film Festival faced a media storm at an edition held against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Gaza, issuing multiple statements about charged press conferences
- Author Arundhati Roy withdrew from the Berlin festival in protest over Wenders' comments
Why it matters: Wenders' refusal to walk back his framing — he said he "could repeat the same thing" — means the debate over whether politically engaged cinema contradicts artistic identity is staying on the festival circuit. For the Berlin festival, the comments already cost it Roy's participation and forced multiple damage-control statements during a politically charged edition shaped by the Gaza war.
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