An Ironic And Intense Speech By Foreign Minister Steinmeier At The Opening Of The 21st Jewish Film Festival
Woody Allen quotes, food and a reflection on friendship between Germany and Israel: miscellaneous ingredients for the opening of this years edition.
May 13th, 2015
Cecilia Pinelli - “I hate reality, but it’s still the best place to get a good steak.” Foreign Minister Steinmeier started his speech with this Woody Allen quote May 10th at the opening ceremony of the 21st Jewish Film Festival. Israeli Ambassador to Germany, Hadas-Handelsman was present. This years edition of the Festival in Berlin has, in fact, a rather short and sweet motto; “Jews and Food”. The motto represents the main goal of the festival: to offer the public some perspectives that can rarely be seen in the daily stream of headlines and broadcast news, and to present Israel in all its variety in an unusual way.
The festivals main focus is on contemporary Jewish life and its development, aimed at enabling visitors to experience what life is like for Jews in Germany as well as around Europe and the globe. It’s devoted to arising questions such as; what connects and separates Jews and non-Jews in Germany? And what connects Jews worldwide to one another/what separates them?
This kind of reflection is particularly important this year, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War but also 2015 being the year that Germany and Israel celebrates their 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. During his speech at the inauguration ceremony, Steinmeier declared “The fact that both anniversaries occur this year shows us how extraordinary and how wonderful it is that we can celebrate the close friendship between Germany and Israel in the coming weeks". He went on to praise the relationship, with ‘this miracle’ being possible as Germany has admitted its guilt and because we have seen the country of the victims reach its hand out to the country of the perpetrators.
More than 35 films will be shown until May 20th, in a successful mix between a look into the darkest chapters of Germany's past (The docudrama “The Eichmann Show” for example) as well as some other lighter issues. The film festival, according to Mr Steinmeier, is an important part of a broader lively exchange of, for example, young people partaking in exchange programs, artistic collaborations and much more. Addressing his speech directly to the festival director Ms Galliner, he concluded “You make people here in Germany curious about Judaism’s many facets, about its traditions and rites. And in this way, you are sending a wonderful message during this anniversary year– the message that Jewish life is thriving– also here in Germany!”
Berlin Global
