Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday asked artists and filmmakers to unequivocally declare their support for his country during a live video address at the opening of the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival.
Referring to the Berlin Wall which divided the German capital from 1961 to 1989 into the capitalist west and communist east, Zelenskyy said that now Russia, which attacked Ukraine almost one year ago, is building a new — figurative — wall in his country.
"This is a wall between freedom and slavery," Zelenskyy said adding that the art world cannot remain indifferent because amid silence the "voice of evil only becomes louder and more convincing."
Zelenskyy, a former comedian and actor, features prominently in Sean Penn's film about the war in Ukraine, "Superpower," which will have its world premiere at the Berlinale.
Before the opening ceremony, U.S. actress Anne Hathaway lauded the Ukrainian president as a "hero of our time" and thanked the festival for inviting him via video link, German news agency dpa reported.
Germany's minister of culture also stressed the importance of culture in times of war and crisis. "Whoever makes films and whoever shows films in dark times resists bondage," Claudia Roth said.
This year's film festival, which runs until Feb. 26, will see 18 films compete for the Golden and the Silver Bear awards. The winners will be chosen by a jury headed by American actor, screenwriter and director Kristen Stewart.
The festival was set to open with the premiere of Rebecca Miller's "She Came to Me," starring Hathaway, Marisa Tomei and Peter Dinklage.
California governor signs law to protect children from social media addiction
California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday.
California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform's algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children's access to social media, but they have faced challenges in court.
The California law will take effect in a state home to some of the largest technology companies in the world. Similar proposals have failed to pass in recent years, but Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law in 2022 barring online platforms from using users' personal information in ways that could harm children. It is part of a growing push in states across the country to try to address the impacts of social media on the well-being of children.
"Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children — isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night," Newsom said in a statement. "With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits."
The law bans platforms from sending notifications without permission from parents to minors between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays from September through May, when children are typically in school. The legislation also makes platforms set children's accounts to private by default.
Opponents of the legislation say it could inadvertently prevent adults from accessing content if they cannot verify their... Read More