Alan O’Gorman is boycotting this year’s festival citing Israel’s war on Gaza and Germany sending arms to Israel [Getty]
Irish screenwriter Alan O’Gorman announced on Monday that he would boycott the prestigious Berlin Film Festival, scheduled to take place from 13 to 23 February.
In a statement posted on X, O’Gorman, who now lives in Manchester, announced his withdrawal from the festival in solidarity with Film Workers for Palestine and Strike Germany, with whom he signed a pledge last year.
He said Strike Germany “calls for a boycott of German cultural institutions that have supported the genocide of Palestinians, as well as the many activists within Germany, including Irish Bloc Berlin, who are silenced and criminalised for speaking up about Palestine”.
“Despite the recent ceasefire, the German government has been an active participant in this genocide, providing Israel with arms and political cover. From culture minister Claudia Roth who oversees the Berlinale, to foreign minister Annalena Baerbock saying civilians are legitimate targets, the German government is marked by a profound racism to wards Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims,” he added.
He also hit out at apparent double standards at the festival in previous years.
“At the 2023 Berlinale, much space was made for Ukrainian and Iranian filmmakers…in contrast, at the 2024 Berlinale, no such welcome or solidarity was given to Palestinian filmmakers, and those who spoke up for Palestine were attacked by the German press and government officials with no protection from the festival” he added.
He noted that while he is “so proud” of the film, but the “Berlinale and the German government has made it clear that only certain young people’s lives matter, as Israel spent the last 15 months murdering thousands of Palestinian children with German weapons”.
O’Gorman says he supports Film Workers for Palestine decision to boycott the festival.
The organisation is a campaign involving film makers and cinema workers calling for an end to genocide and a Palestine without any occupation.
The group states they “build spaces and infrastructure for organising in response to the war on Palestinians and to the censoring of voices that speak out against Israel’s genocidal campaign”.
O’Gorman’s film to premiere at the Berlinale
The festival is set to feature 19 titles set to compete in the official competition, along with films selected for the Perspectives strand. As one of the world’s largest public film festivals, it showcases works from globally acclaimed filmmakers.
It attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year and is highly regarded by film critics.
O’Gorman was invited to the festival for his debut feature film as a writer for ‘Christy’ which is premiering at the Berlinale.
The film is about two estranged brothers who end up in the care system, then later find themselves living in the same home. It follows their journey in reconciling their pasts and having to make decisions about their future.
O’Gorman’s boycott of the festival comes amid an increasingly fragile ceasefire and captive exchange deal between Israel and Hamas.
The first phase of the deal will see 33 captives released from Gaza over six weeks, including women, children and men over 50.
The deal will see at least three captives being released each week, while Israel will free 737 Palestinian detainees – most of whom were held without a trial or charge – from Israeli jails and essential humanitarian aid would be allowed in.
Phase two of the deal will see all the remaining captives released, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of the Israeli army.
Since October 2023, Israel has killed at least 47,107 Palestinians and wounded over 111,147 others. The war levelled entire neighbourhoods, plunged the Strip into a deep humanitarian crisis and decimated key infrastructure.
