Director/actor Xavier Dolan responds in le Monde to the refusal by Wim Wenders and the jury of the Berlinale to criticize or even comment on the German government’s support for Israeli genocide in Palestine, and Wenders’cowardly declaration that artists and filmmakers “have to stay out of politics”:
Pour certains artistes-citoyens, comme Patti Smith, Mark Ruffalo, Spike Lee, Susan Sarandon ou Liam Cunningham, prendre la parole est, au-delà du droit acquis, un devoir − dans certains cas, il s’agit même d’un destin. Pour eux – pour moi aussi –, se taire, penser que notre éducation, notre situation, notre métier n’ouvrent pas droit à la parole politique, c’est perdre sa voix. C’est renoncer à l’absolue nécessité du dialogue.
Dans une époque de surdité et d’aveuglement, l’art impose l’écoute de la communauté. Il la rend visible et, en même temps, lui rend la vue. Il illustre ses griefs, ses complaintes, pose pour elle ses questions, en cherche les réponses à coups de peintures, de chants et d’images. Il organise et tend au bien, au soin de la société. Il n’a jamais été et ne sera jamais – au grand dam des faux dieux, des élus égocentriques et des bandits qu’il affiche et dénonce – apolitique.
For certain artist-citizens – Patti Smith, Mark Ruffalo, Spike Lee, Susan Sarandon, Liam Cunningham – speaking out is, beyond an acquired right, a duty. In some cases, it is a destiny. For them – for me, too – to stay silent, to believe that our education, our circumstances, our craft do not entitle us to political speech, is to lose one’s voice. It is to renounce the absolute necessity of dialogue.
In an era of deafness and blindness, art compels the community to listen. It makes the community visible, and in doing so, restores its sight. It illustrates its grievances, its laments, poses its questions for it, and searches for answers in strokes of paint, in song, in images. It organizes and tends toward the good – toward the care of society. It has never been, and will never be – much to the dismay of the false gods, the self-serving elected officials, and the bandits it names and condemns – apolitical.
Xavier Dolan, filmmaker: “Where does the idea that artists should ‘stay out of politics’ come from?” [lemonde.fr, published in both English and in original French]