A row over whether films produced for streaming platform Netflix should be shown at the Berlin Film Festival has overshadowed the premiere of "Elisa & Marcela," Isabel Coixet's tale of two Spanish lesbians.
Independent arthouse cinema operators in Germany wrote to German Culture Minister Monika Gruetters and Berlinale director Dieter Kosslick on Monday demanding that the film be withdrawn from the competition.
"The Berlinale stands for the big screen, Netflix for the small screen. We want it to remain that way in future and we don't want the world's biggest festival in terms of audience — with more than 300,000 moviegoers — to become a television festival," they said.