Russian film director Alexander Sokurov has criticised the organisers of the Berlin International Film Festival over their attitude toward auteur cinema, saying the German event has become a poor place in Europe for filmmakers with artistic goals.
In remarks reported by the National News Service, Sokurov said the festival, which is widely known as the Berlinale, lost interest in classic auteur cinema a long time ago. According to the filmmaker, who has taken part in the festival programme on multiple occasions, creators of humanitarian cinema who set artistic goals for themselves have nothing to do at the gathering.
Sokurov stated that he did not know of a more politically preoccupied and heightened forum anywhere. Because of that focus, the director said, Berlin is not a good place for film directors and producers who set humanitarian or artistic tasks for their work.
Alexander Sokurov and the Berlin International Film Festival
Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the Berlin International Film Festival takes place every year in the German capital and stands alongside the Cannes and Venice festivals as one of Europe's three major cinema showcases. While its top prize, the Golden Bear, honours outstanding international filmmaking, the Berlinale has long carried a reputation across the film industry for placing political and social themes at the centre of its programming.
Auteur cinema refers to filmmaking in which the director serves as the primary creative author, expressing a personal artistic vision rather than following commercial studio conventions. Sokurov is one of Russia's best-known arthouse directors, acclaimed internationally for his single-take historical drama Russian Ark, shot inside the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, and for his film Faust, which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
In June, Vladimir Putin sent a message to Sokurov on the occasion of the director's 75th birthday, wishing the filmmaker good health, well-being and all the best.
