Todd Haynes Says How Trump’s Presidency Will Affect Movie Business Is a ‘Real Question Hanging Over All American Filmmakers’: ‘We’re in a Particular Crisis Right Now’
Todd Haynes, who is serving as Berlin Film Festival jury president, spoke out against Donald Trump's administration during a press conference.
Todd Haynes, who is serving as Berlin Film Festival jury president, spoke out against Donald Trump’s administration as the fest kicked off on Thursday.
When asked his thoughts on Trump’s second term at the jury press conference, the “May December” director said bluntly: “We’re in a state of particular crisis right now in the United States.”
He continued, “Everyone I know in the United States and friends abroad are witnessing this barrage of actions in the first three weeks of the Trump administration with tremendous concern, shock. I think that’s been part of the strategy, to create a sense of destabilization and shock among the people. So how we proceed through coalescing different forms of resistance are still in the works and are still being figured out among Democrats. I have no doubt there will be many people who did in fact vote for this president who will be quickly disillusioned by promises he made about economic stability in the U.S.”
Haynes also said that the how Trump’s return “will affect filming is a real question hanging over all American filmmakers.”
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“I think it’s a question that extends beyond the world of filmmaking, it’s how do you protect your own integrity and point of view and speak out against these issues … Always with filmmaking in particular, the filmmaking question is complicated,” he said. “So it’s about financiers who are willing to take a risk and …. it takes examples and positive outcomes to fortify these risks.”
Haynes is joined on the jury by Chinese superstar Fan Bingbing, Moroccan filmmaker Nabil Ayouch (“Everybody Loves Touda”), German costume designer Bina Daigeler (“Tár”), Argentinian director Rodrigo Moreno (“The Delinquents”), film critic Amy Nicholson and actor-director Maria Schrader (“She Said”).
The festival will open on Thursday night with the premiere of Tom Tykwer’s new film, “Das Licht” (“The Light”). The film marks Tykwer’s return to the big screen after seven years and four seasons as writer and director of the hit series “Babylon Berlin.”
Berlin Film Festival runs through Feb. 23.
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