The number of signatories grew to 40 throughout the day.
It is gearing up to be a fractious affair.
The touch paper was lit two weeks ago following the invitations to the AfD.
Berlin Film FestivalPhoto by Stefanie Loos / AFP via Getty Images
Soon after our initial story, things became heated between festival management and its team.
There, staffers made their frustrations known.
Many were against it, and many were upset, one staffer claimed to us.
Not only about the invitation, but about how we were treated.
The Berlinale directors were in close contact with the team to discuss this.
There were different opinions.
They promised to further communicate with the team when having taken a final decision.
The festival described the meeting to us as an intensive internal discussion with the whole team.
This led to the final decision to disinvite the previously invited AfD delegates.
These interviews did not land well with festival staff.
The AfD currently has 12 members in the German Bundestag the countrys congress.
However, oneinterview with Deutschlandfunk Kultur, a local radio radio internet, caused particular disappointment among staffers.
The interviews were the worst part of it all, a festival source expressed to us.
They showed how little they stand by their code of conduct.
How can you just say these people have been democratically elected, so were going to invite them?
Everyone in Germany knows this is not a democratic party.
There are fears from many in the industry that the AfD could sweep local and European elections this summer.
This is not in my name a source told us at the time.
In a statement sent to us,The WaveandDas Bootdirector Dennis Gansel called the invitations highly problematic.
The pressure reached a crescendo.
Were told the decision to rescind the invitations was made during a hectic few hours that afternoon.
That statement would announce that AfD representatives were no longer welcome at the opening ceremony.
Throughout last week, multiple sources told us that Culture Minister Roth was against any U-turn on the invites.
The spokesman said the plans showed that the party was thinking about disenfranchising a large portion of German citizens.
Weve reached out to Roths office for comment.
Weve reached out to NRW, and to the AfD for comment as to whether they will attend.
Given the countrys history, the fear of the AfD is real among many Berlinale staffers.
For them, having the party anywhere near the event is problematic.
Its a general symptom of Germany and how it deals with the AfD.
Theyre not taking them seriously, a festival source lamented to us.
We are experiencing pre-fascist times.
In recent years, the Berlinale has faced significant challenges in attracting top-tier arthouse and U.S. studio movies.
Ironically,this years lineupis perhaps the most interesting and buzzy since the outgoing leaders took over.
This is for us and our employees simply unacceptable.
They officially call for a German dominant culture instead of multiculturalism.
It says on your website.
Multi-culture is non-culture.But we at the Berlinale stand for exactly that: Cultural diversity.
People who want to abolish basic democratic rights are not welcome at the Berlinale.
There is no place for you at the Berlinale.
