A window into contemporary political-cultural exoticism: The 73rd Berlinale
The 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, by taking a frank and critical approach to confronting hostile and aggressive policies of some totalitarian regimes, as well as challenging ineffective management systems, provided a special opportunity to screen some independent films from different countries around the world. Independent films with mainly political-social themes were shown alongside the works of well-known filmmakers in the Competition, Encounters, Forum, and Panorama sections of the 73rd Berlinale, creating an exotic experience with a sense of uncanny. This experience attempted to portray societies under inappropriate cultural-political management and at times under the repression of undemocratic and violent governments, by representing a disordered, protesting, and unstable world. At the 73rd Berlinale, independent films reflected a kind of political-cultural exoticism that transcended historical and geographical boundaries. In this article, based on the nature of an exotic political-cultural approach, it will examine and discuss the films On the Adamant, Tótem, Suzumi, and The Survival of Kindness from the Competition, The Siren from the Panorama, My Worst Enemy from the Encounters, and Where God is Not from the Forum section.
Keywords: Berlinale, Exoticism, Independent Cinema, Political, Cultural
