Berlinale positions itself as a political festival. Five AfD politicians were invited to the Berlinale opening next Thursday.
After international criticism, the film festival disinvited the party representatives. Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner wants to stick to the current protocol for invitations to party representatives, says a spokeswoman for the mayor. The Berlin AfD state and parliamentary group leader Kristin Brinker criticized the disinvitation on Friday as a “cultural-political beacon’.