From Berlin’s festival storms to attic‑born treasures, the new Cinémathèque Suisse boss Vinzenz Hediger lays out his mission: protect a world‑renowned archive, embrace forgotten formats, and bring Swiss film heritage to audiences across the country. Hours after this year’s Berlinale opened, a scandal erupted that nearly toppled the festival’s artistic director. At the opening press conference, filmmaker Wim Wenders and producer Ewa Puszczyńska dismissed a question about Israel’s siege of Gaza, with Wenders declaring that filmmakers “have to stay out of politics”. The backlash exploded when Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy – scheduled to present the 1989 Indian TV film In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, which she co-wrote and starred in – withdrew in protest, calling the remarks “jaw-dropping”. Her unexpected appearance, and sudden boycott, turned the long‑obscure film into one of the festival’s most talked‑about events, proving that film history is very much alive – and capable ...
