Sawt Falasteen - Hollywood should resist Trump pressure, says director Todd Haynes

Speaking to AFP in Berlin, where he heads the jury at the city's Berlinale film festival, the director of "Far from Heaven" and "Carol" said he was shocked by Trump's "barbaric assault on American democratic institutions".

"It is an appalling moment that we're in right now that will take every bit of energy to resist and revert back to a system that, flawed as it is, is something that we've taken for granted as Americans," the 64-year-old said.

He noted how many American corporations had already positioned themselves to earn favour from the new Trump administration in Washington.

Major US companies from investment bank Goldman Sachs to social media giant Meta have announced changes to their Diversity and Inclusion policies, known as DEI.

DEI initiatives are frequently derided as "woke" by Trump and his supporters.

"We're already seeing unfortunately, like not necessarily in Hollywood, but in many other places that deal with massive corporate power, already a yielding to this new administration that is just shocking," Haynes told AFP.

"When people say 'oh, they're just playing the long game', that's when you find yourself becoming contaminated by the culture that you're in and losing your own ability to stand up. And that's what has happened in our past. And we have to be aware of the danger of it," he continued.

Last week, major Hollywood studio Disney informed its staff that it was dropping DEI as a "performance factor," but would still include "inclusion" as one of its core values.

The move sparked unease among some employees, according to US media reports.

- 'Resistance' -

The uncertainty created by Trump's new government has been a constant talking point at this year's Berlinale, the first major European film festival since the former reality TV star took office for a second time on January 20.

The festival's new American-born director, Tricia Tuttle, opened events last Friday by arguing that cinema could be an act of "resistance... to all of the perverse ideas that many far-right parties across the whole world and across Europe are spreading".

The festival wraps up on Sunday, the same day as a snap election in Germany, called after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition late last year.

The campaign has been bitterly divisive, with the far-right AfD surging in the polls and earning enthusiastic backing from Elon Musk, the world's richest man and a key Trump supporter and aide.

Haynes also warned about the impact of "the callous, hateful campaign against trans people in particular and queer people in general" during Trump's campaign for the presidency last year.

"I think we haven't realised how much everything is suddenly at stake," he told AFP. "It means we all have to start fighting for all the things we've been fighting for in the past, all over again."

Haynes's planned movie about a 1930s gay romance was put on pause last year after star Joaquin Phoenix dropped out just days before the start of filming for reasons unknown.

C.Hamad--SF-PST