Most recent articles by René Wildangel
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The UEFA Cup 2016The Teutonic preoccupation with race
For the UEFA Cup in France, the German national football team bus has been emblazoned with the slogan "Vive la Mannschaft" or "Vive la team". At the same time, members of this team suffer public racist abuse. By Rene Wildangel
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Iranian feature film "Lantouri"A society in close-up
Iranian film director Reze Dormishian's third film is a powerfully articulated indictment of some of his country's more dubious and controversial practices, such as the execution of children and adolescents, horrific acid attacks and retributive justice. By Rene Wildangel
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Interview with Palestinian film maker Hanna Atallah"Culture is our best bet"
Hanna Atallah is one of a group of Palestinians that is aiming to bring arthouse cinema to the Arab world. No small feat, in regions where the necessary infrastructure is lacking and the majority are more likely to stay home and watch television. Attending the Berlinale in February, he was interviewed by Rene Wildangel
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Berlinale 2016: Interview with Saudi director Mahmoud Sabbagh″Testing the water... to make a change"
Newcomer Mahmoud Sabbagh′s offering is pacy, anarchic and – unexpectedly for Saudi Arabia – a romantic comedy. A love story set against the vibrant youth culture of Jeddah, ″Barakah meets Barakah″ presents a new generation of social media-savvy Saudis and their very real expectations. Rene Wildangel met and interviewed Mahmoud Sabbagh at the Berlinale
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After the election in IsraelPalestine's hope in Netanyahu
While many in Israel were hoping for Netanyahu's electoral defeat, Palestinians were more reserved. They now expect the international community to exert more pressure on Israel. René Wildangel reports.
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The Israeli army in the West BankThe punishment of Palestinian citizens
Israel's heavy-handed acts of retaliation against both Hamas and Palestinian civilians are threatening to provoke a new escalation of violence. The Israeli military deployment in the West Bank is the biggest since the end of the second Intifada in 2005. A commentary by René Wildangel
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Reconciliation between Hamas and FatahNo peace without Palestinian unity
The Palestinian organisations Hamas and Fatah plan to seal an alliance with each other – primarily out of necessity. Reconciliation is difficult; the danger of failure is great. It is for precisely this reason that the US and Europe should support the process. A commentary by René Wildangel
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Palestinian UN InitiativeA Positive Step
No one can expect the Palestinians to wait for all eternity for their own state, while Israel's rightwing government uses settlement expansion to create its own version of the facts. A commentary by René Wildangel
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Palestinian Local ElectionsA Determined Democracy
Frustration with traditional parties has reached a zenith in the Palestinian territories. Israel forbids Palestinians in East Jerusalem from holding elections. But the latest round of local polls in the West Bank shows that faith in the democratic electoral process and the desire to participate remains unbroken. By René Wildangel
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Protests against the Palestinian Authority''The People Want to Bring down Oslo''
Following a number of demonstrations in Ramallah, some of them brutally crushed by Palestinian police, the political future of occupied Palestinian territories is again thrown into question. By René Wildangel
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Gunter Grass Poem ControversyReading Grass in Gaza
In Germany, a public debate has been engendered by a bad poem. But the situation of the people in the Gaza Strip, people for whom questions of peace or war are matters of vital importance, is of no interest to those engaged in the debate. An essay by René Wildangel