US AND THEM

The Berlin Film Festival is still struggling for identity ten years after the Wall fell. “When this was a divided and occupied city, the West Berlin festival had a clear political mission, first as a showcase of democratic freedom, then as a cultural bridge between East and West. Now, with Berlin reunited and the Soviet bloc a thing of the past, the festival seems to be adrift in the no man’s land that divides the global movie industry between the United States and the rest of the world.” – New York Times 02/17/00