Director fears Trump’s ‘shock’ presidency will affect the ‘integrity’ of American filmmakers

The Trump presidency’s effect on the “integrity and point of view” of filmmakers is a question “hanging over all American filmmakers,” a longtime director claimed on Thursday.

Berlin International Film Festival jury president Todd Haynes warned reporters during a press conference that people are in a “state of particular crisis right now in the U.S. but also globally,” from the start of President Donald Trump’s second term.

“I think everyone I know in the U.S. and friends abroad are witnessing this barrage of actions in the first three weeks of the Trump administration with tremendous concern, shock,” Haynes said.

“I think that’s been part of the strategy, is to create a sense of destabilization and shock among the people so that how we proceed to coalescing different forms of resistance are still in the works and still being figured out among Democrats,” he continued.

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Haynes insisted even people who voted for Trump will likely be “quickly disillusioned” over his inability to provide “economic stability.” However, he was more concerned about how this would affect “financiers who are willing to take risk and willing to support strong voices.”

“How the return of the Trump presidency will affect filmmaking is a real question hanging over all American filmmakers,” Haynes said. “And it’s a question that extends beyond the world of filmmaking: how do you maintain your own integrity and point of view and speak out to the issues around us… That remains to be seen.”

Fellow jury member and film critic Amy Nicholson also spoke out against “people who are trying to divide us” at the same press conference.

Hollywood filmmakers have been concerned over the influence President Donald Trump will have on movies. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images | Photo by Kirby Lee/Getty Images)

“I just want to say on my country, I think Americans hear all the time that we are a divided country,” Nicholson said. “I feel like some people in my country agree on just wanting to feel security, security for healthcare, security for housing, that their work has value [and] their lives have dignity. I would like to see like the people of my country realize that they should unite [against] those people who are trying to divide us in America.”

Though Haynes openly criticized Trump at the Berlin International Film Festival, other similar festivals have been less political than they were in the past. 

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Earlier this month, the Sundance Film Festival was noticeably absent of anti-Trump protests in contrast to the beginning of Trump’s first term in 2017. 

Though outlets like Variety claimed this was because of publicists demanding journalists stay away from politics, Christian Toto, host of the “Hollywood in Toto” podcast, told Fox News Digital that it was likely due to Hollywood’s waning influence.

The Sundance Film Festival featured noticeably fewer anti-Trump protests this year compared to Trump’s first term. (AP/Arthur Mola/Invision)

“Blame several factors for the weak Resistance sequel. The industry is in trouble thanks to the pandemic’s fallout, the dueling 2023 industry strikes and, most recently, the devastating LA fires. Actors realize getting overtly political doesn’t help their bottom line at such a challenging time,” Toto said.

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