“The Melbourne International Film Festival has it all: dramas involving officials from foreign governments, larger than life characters sticking to matters of principles whatever the consequences and the struggles for liberation.” And all of that is off-screen. “In some respects, the most surprising thing about these kerfuffles is not that they have happened, but that they don’t happen more often. While most of us think of film festivals as cultural events, the truth is that they are also deeply political events.”