The Berlin Film Festival, which begins this week, is set for a challenge faced by the entire Western arts industry: how to stop politics from taking over the conversation.

The first major European film festival of the year saw its 2024 edition overshadowed by a row about Israel's bombardment of Gaza that left a mark on many filmmakers.

This year, Germany's national election -- which polls suggest could see unprecedented gains for the far-right AfD party -- falls on the final Sunday of the festival on February 23.

The festival's new director Tricia Tuttle said the Berlinale would not "shy away" from current events, but she hoped they would not entirely eclipse the on-screen stories.

"For all festivals and all culture right now, the news agenda can often dominate the discourse," she added as she presented this year's lineup on January 21.

"But we really hope that the films that audiences are going to see over the next weeks of the festival are going to get people talking about the vibrancy of the art form itself and the films........

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