Study: 1st Berlin fest chief had significant Nazi-era role

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A study has concluded that the founding director of the Berlin International Film Festival made a “not insignificant” contribution to the German film system under Nazi rule and later covered up his role, festival organizers said Wednesday. The study's editor concluded that “Alfred Bauer made a not insignificant contribution to the functioning of the German film system during the Nazi dictatorship and thus to the stabilization and legitimation of Nazi rule” with his work starting in 1942 at the Reichsfilmintendanz, a body that steered Nazi film policy, a summary released by the festival said Wednesday. His defense strategies, it added, “reveal Bauer’s ambitious, almost unscrupulous opportunism, which may also have influenced his closeness to the Nazi regime.” After he died in 1986, the festival inaugurated an Alfred Bauer Prize, which was awarded to “a feature film that opens up new perspectives in the field of cinematic art.” It was one of several Silver Bear awards, including for best actor and director, bestowed alongside the prize for the best film, the Golden Bear. In August, the festival said that the already-suspended prize “will no longer be awarded in the future.” That announcement came as it said its acting prizes will become gender-neutral at the event's next edition in February, with prizes to be awarded for best leading and supporting performances rather than for best actor and actress.