Syrian migrant drama opens Berlin film festival

Tom Tykwer's drama at Berlin Film Festival explores a Syrian housekeeper's impact on a Berlin family amid a migration debate.

German director Tom Tykwer is to open the Berlin Film Festival on Thursday (February 13, 2025) with a drama about a Syrian housekeeper, in the midst of a national election campaign that has been dominated by a bitter migration debate.

The Light, not screening as part of the Berlinale’s main competition, tells the story of a middle-class Berlin family whose lives are upended when they hire a new domestic worker. The movie marks a return to feature filmmaking after a long hiatus for Tykwer, 59, who has been focusing on the acclaimed Netflix series Babylon Berlin .

The Berlinale, as the festival is known, winds up on February 23 — the same day as Germany’s snap election, called after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition late last year.

With the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party surging in the polls, migration has been high on the campaign agenda in the run-up to the hotly contested vote.

The Berlinale, which ranks with Cannes and Venice among Europe’s top festivals, serves as a key launchpad for films from around the world.

U.S. writer and director Todd Haynes will head up the jury at this year’s edition, with 19 pictures vying for the festival’s Golden Bear top prize.

Mr. Haynes on Thursday said the world was in a “state of particular crisis” and filmmakers had witnessed the return of U.S. President Donald Trump “with tremendous concern, shock”.