Radu Jude’s Speech at the Berlinale 2025 Award Ceremony

When I found out in December 2024 that Berlinale reported a part time staff member to the police for writing “From the River to the Sea” in internal festival correspondence, I decided to skip this year’s edition.

Last year’s edition was not an enjoyable one for me, but I was still in two minds about attending, but for the festival to report its own staff made the decision easy for me to not go.

I decided to observe from afar and told myself that the films I’d like to see will eventually travel and make their way to other festivals/cinemas. A few incidents made me not regret my decision to not attend.

On February 11, Variety published an article titled Berlinale Clarifies Position on Freedom of Expression, Including Showing Solidarity With Palestine: We ‘Welcome Different Points of View, Even if This Creates Tension or Controversy’.

It includes the right to free speech and standing by the filmmakers:

“All of our guests have a right to free speech within the bounds of the law. We also stand by the right of our filmmakers to talk about the impulses behind their work and their experiences of the world,” the festival said. “The Berlinale welcomes different points of view, even if this creates tension or controversy. At the same time, we aim to create an environment in which we can listen and learn from each other, and we ask for respectful dialogue and a certain cultural sensitivity. We also ask guests to understand that when they speak out as is protected under free speech, people may disagree. This is also free speech.”

On February 13 at the opening night of the festival, Tilda Swinton received an Honorary Golden Bear and she made a heartfelt speech about the ‘internationally enabled mass murder’. It was clear she avoided saying ‘genocide’, ‘Gaza’, ‘Palestine’ - probably based on Berlinale’s request or even instruction.

Nevertheless, it was good to hear someone on stage calling things out. You can watch the complete acceptance speech here.

“These are facts. They need to be faced. So for the sake of clarity, let’s name it. The inhumane is being perpetrated on our watch. I’m here to name it without hesitation or doubt in my mind, and to lend my unwavering solidarity to all those who recognise the unacceptable complacency of our greed-addicted governments who make nice with planet wreckers and war criminals, wherever they come from.” via The Guardian.

The ceremony was followed by a vigil in support of Israeli actor David Cunio, one of the hostages from the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. Cunio had a film at Berlinale in 2013, and in this year’s edition, a documentary titled A Letter to David, ”a personal cinematic letter from filmmaker Tom Shoval to David Cunio” premiered at the festival.

There was no sympathy for Palestinians who also have a relationship with Berlinale who have been badly affected since October 7, 2023 - including Basel Adra, one of last year’s winners, and this year’s line up only had one film about Palestinian lives, Yalla Parkour.
The bias is obvious.

On February 20, Deadline published an article about a police investigation, with Berlinale’s cooperation. At the premiere screening of Queerpanorama, its director Jun Li read a pro-Palestine statement on behalf of the film’s actor Erfan Shekarriz who boycotted the festival.

In the speech read by Jun Li, the actor referred to Israel as “a brutal colonial settler state funded by the West” and accused the German administration and its cultural institutions, including the Berlinale, of being complicit in “apartheid, genocide, brutal killing and erasure of the Palestinian people.”

Now we reach the part about Radu Jude.

Compared to last year, everyone was well behaved during the Award Ceremony on February 22, most likely based on instructions on what not to say on stage. But Radu Jude nailed it despite all of that.

His film won the Silver Bear for best screenplay, and the award was presented by International Jury member Rodrigo Moreno. Here’s a transcript of what was said on stage.

Rodrigo Moreno: It is an honour to give this award to a film that is actively connected from a critical and sensitive, poetic and absurd perspective. The film contributes to a political and philosophical discussion about the times we are living by proposing the encounter and solidarity between people over the dehumanising effects of the techno capitalist society.

For having found the right words to build this up, the Best Screenplay Silver Bear goes to Radu Jude, Kontinental ‘25.

Radu Jude: Thank you so much. Before coming here I opened the internet…and I observed today is 125 years since Luis Buñuel was born. Allow me to dedicate this award to his legacy, which is the legacy of irreverence first of all I think, and to tell you a small anecdote you can find in his autobiography and in the great Pedro Costa film about Straub [Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet in Where Does Your Hidden Smile Lie? (2001)]

At some point Buñuel met Nicolas Ray, and Nicolas Ray said to Buñuel how great it is you can make these cheap movies. Buñuel said you made a big production, now you can make a cheap film yourself. And he said no, no, no, that’s impossible because in Hollywood you have to go always with bigger budget, bigger budget, bigger budget - so its impossible. Well I think that’s the thing we have to fight in cinema against this stupid logic.

Well, I’m a bad screenwriter so that’s a really very funny award to get.

I thank everybody who helped to make the film which is Eszter Tompa in front of the camera. I mention the people who are here, Alexandru Teodorescu…who are producing the film among others. Cătălin Cristuțiu who was the editor.

I think it shows there’s a lot of talent in Romania, and although we are now in a terrible times, I hope there will be more money for culture because there’s a lot of talent. And I hope that there will be more solidarity in Europe in these moments where we are pressed from all sides. But real solidarity, not bullshit solidarity.

I hope the International Criminal Court in The Hague will pursue its job against all these murderous bastards.

Since you have tomorrow the elections here, I just hope that next year’s festival doesn’t open with Triumph of the Will by Leni Riefenstahl.

Have a nice evening.

Talk about a much needed mic drop. Radu Jude - hero.