software uses trees for his visual ruminations on the themes of temporality transformation and the transience of life and our. speculation was rife but now it's official berlin's international film festival one of europe's big 3 alongside the venice and cannes film festival will be quite different next year the belly nollywood which just managed to squeeze in its 2020 addition last february just prior to the 1st corona lockdown had been hoping to hold an in person event in february as planned but now the new lockdown measures here in germany have forced them to come up with a plan b. for its 71st edition. so to get the lowdown on just what that plan b. will look like our film experts got roxboro joins me from bond hello scott glad to see you there's been

a lot of speculation over how the belly nala will handle the festival next year what can you tell us about the plans for 2021. yeah. there are still some details to have be officially announced by the barely knowledge but i think we can give the sort of the general outline of what looks like is going to happen next year basically sort of 2 main parts of the festival the main competition which is where the the big films that premier at the berlin festival and the film market which is where the films are new films are being bought and sold by people in the film industry those will happen but they're going to go online only and they're probably going to happen a bit later so instead of late february as was planned they're going to go into early march. otherwise what's going to was going to happen with the belly now is they're going to move the rest of the festival in a sort of stripped down version to the summer and have a in person festival but much much later in the early summer when hopefully the

worst of the pandemic will be behind us and people actually be able to go back into the theaters again ok now how does briefly how do you think this will affect the film industry. the industry itself i don't think will mind at all they've gotten used to doing things virtually there was a film market in cannes that was all virtual there's one last month in los angeles that was all virtual the film industry itself doesn't really have a problem with this they got the custom to it and i think they've adjusted very well to doing things only online doing zoo meetings like like the rest of us and obviously a lot less travel as a result now it's a bit of a late reckoning for berlin scott as the largest public festival in the world you were in cannes and in venice in their very reduced versions with those strict safety measures in place how do you see the future of the film festival circuit itself in the belly nala in particular. yeah. it's up against a real challenge here because as you said they were lucky earlier this year to come in just before the 1st lockdown in europe berlin lives from its audience its the

world's largest public of film festival and having sort of a stripped down version like happened in cannes or like when it happened in venice really isn't the same thing it's only a sort of a temporary fix i can't i can't see. permanently change the festival entirely and change the spirit of the film so i can only see next year as being a temporary fix and everyone is hoping that when the pandemic is over things will go back to normal i want full theaters in berlin and that we can get back into the cinemas thanks very much scott rockstro in bonn for that update and stay safe there scott. and staying with film another person taking coverage restrictions very seriously is hollywood star tom cruise who blasted workers for breaking distancing rules on the set of the mission impossible 7 currently filming around cruz.

all his efforts to keep the filming going during the pandemic could be at risk using multiple explosives and threatening to fire anyone who put other people's jobs on the line. well he's been called the world's most controversial film and theatre director a man to challenge any taboo and when you know how was invited to italy's european capital of culture mattera in 29000 to stage a production he ran with it in the place where a pair of me and mel gibson made their own milestone films on the passion of christ he wondered whose cause would jesus take on in the 21st century the new gospel is a hybrid film project that seeks some answers. the new gospel presents jesus as

a modern day migrant played by eve also new in real life son you moved from cameroon to italy as a student but i'm good at picking tomatoes so any organize a strike that drew international attention to the exploitation of farm workers for director me you know how the perfect man to play jesus. for me jesus had to have more than just acting skills i wanted to bring the bible to life in this way with these contradictions that's how i decided on even a black jesus from cameroon an activist who advocates for farm laborers. follow together we made a movie that's both about jesus and a kind of modern jesus tale that's his campaign against exploitation against the mafia. and then for years hundreds of thousands of

migrants have been systematically exploited on italian farms recruited from refugee camps as illegal harvest workers for pitiful pay the mafia takes a cut. from the film you've also new returns to the farms and finds his disciples in the fight for fair work conditions. filmed in the region around the team began a real life campaign called the revolt for dignity that organized real protests. the many call. did not because they did their city i think my. way to consider. this. revolt for dignity is a kind of umbrella organization that we founded together with even. together it's about. organizations that fight to protect refugees farm workers and sex workers against the mafia and big companies. and try to give them the dignified living and

working conditions. already they've created affordable housing fair trade production and distribution businesses for which he is still campaigning . and the film is a careful mix of reality and professional actors the new gospel is not a history film or a faithful adaptation of the bible but a tale for our times with parallels to the life of jesus this is. also the subject of our film it's not by chance that jesus gets crucified he doesn't end up the big winner what's crucial is how we transform his weakness through solidarity that's what our movie's about the power of solidarity this. brings the bible and to the 21st century. topical highly political.

humanity and just world. very moving work there from you know how and speaking of humanity it's the intersection of the natural and the manmade worlds that occupies german artist. and in these uncertain times to say the least to look at his often quirky musings on the theme of transience is somehow for i declare relevant. tree changing colors with the seasons that's what it looks like there's more than meets the eye it's also a sculpture. this is actually a very archetype of a tree and narrow leave ash when the leaves fell i collected them and painted them green again then i read. attached them to the tree with cable ties and. i think it's basically it's about stopping the passage of time about bypassing audit

that's why it's called auntie autumn and helps women to even come close to all the golf and he hopes. trees as a symbol of impermanence a motif much as i was taught for keeps returning to 8 years ago he installed these spinning trees in the berlin museum over time the leaves slowly ground to dust. through outside stuff as career the forests of his childhood in southern germany have stayed with him that's where he made some of his 1st artworks. that have been treated by puts his work is called vide ports or forests sweep i made it in the forest behind my father's farm where i grew up in the countryside so for me nature and the forest are something very familiar and important is something it's even more important to me the longer i live in the city. the

tree as a rocket. a street light as a shooting star sighs tough as artistic happenings have a certain fleeting humor to. be repurposed as familiar objects here truck tires tied in knots become floating clouds. it isn't this is what they if an avoidance quick tour this here is a model for the cloud sculpture i'm going to cast in bronze and. it's basically to motorcycle or moped tires now that they're put together they're a sculpture i think the northeast kind of clouded stands for lightness but also for gravity it's in the void could you feel like you just cut off the it. stauffer and his assistants have kept producing work throughout the pandemic even as exhibition after exhibition has been cancelled. the major theme of his work are

man's impermanence. and we'll finish off with a resound doing happy birthday beethoven germany's most famous composer was baptized 250 years ago on thursday the tributes have of course been global but this particular one from wednesday night in his birthplace bon merits a list and so with that choose from us here in berlin stay safe. by. the be.

the big. black.

to the point. in the piece a clear position the international perspective such. as the year draws to a close politicians everywhere are struggling to bring the pandemic under control but some are slipping behind our citizens paying for government's mistakes that's our topic on to the point above to the point. the be nuts d.w. what. we know will. be presented americans at some point in our lives will experience hardship. it's. the century for an insufferable monarch. oh seungri

fantasy. this. trade. secrets. starts december 25th. up. frank food. international gateway to the best connection self in the road and rail . located in the heart of europe you are connected to the whole world. experience outstanding shopping and dining offers and trialling services. biala guest at frankfurt airport city managed by from a bought. this

is the dublin years line from len french president to man your old mccraw itself isolating after testing positive for coffee at 19 there are also concerns about his contacts following in a recent e.u. summit some other european leaders. now restricting their movements after meetings with mr macro also on the program. germany's davey tops 30000 for the 1st time ospital cases are also skyrocketing report from a hospital where young and previously healthy patients have battling to stay alive .

i feel gail welcome to the program. french president emanuel itself isolating after testing positive for coverage 19 spanish prime minister pedro sanchez is to quarantine for a week after meeting mr macro in paris many other a youth leaders are also restricting their movements the french president had contact with an array of high ranking politicians at events in recent days including an e.u. summit in brussels last week. to get more from correspondent better band riegert who's in brussels welcome back so what's being said about where president macro contracted the virus. that the is a palace in paris and many politicians all are over your banal checking their calendars and try to figure out who met whom when there were quite

a lot of context that emanuel knuckle head over the recent days in europe he met for example the spanish prime minister the part of the prime minister and the head of the european council in paris all 3 gentlemen are now in self isolation and there was a story that doesn't use summit week ago where he also met of course all european leaders up a couple of them are also now in south asian although the authorities say this is not really necessary because it's highly unlikely that not cold was already contagious a week ago the german chancellor also attended the e.u. summit tested negative for covered 19 and she wished him to wish him a speedy recovery from lynn there's also some concern about his personal life his family his wife bridget darko is already 67 years old she's also of course a contact person and part of

a risk group at bad drinking at st peter's latvia germany's daily coverage faction rate is hitting new records topping 30000 in a single 24 hour period the health minister says e.u. member states plan to roll out a vaccination program on the december the 27th but as a number of hospital cases in germany skyrockets the doctor told the dublin affairs of the coming weeks we'll see more medics making decisions about who gets lifesaving treatment and who doesn't use a look at the die situation in one german hospital. a new covert patient has a drive by ambulance to try birds university hospital he's traveling in a special isolation pod so none of the transport team gets infected the patient is only in his forty's he's transferred to viviane it starts months intensive care unit with 5 members of a team she turns him on his stomach the prone position is an important therapy for

seriously ill patients the team make sure the patient is well padded as he will lie like this for several hours afterwards the inflammation sits at the back of the lungs and a lot of fluid collects there the lungs can't heal if we lie on them the whole time by turning patients on to their stomachs their lungs get air and can heal. once a day the team turns each patient on to their front and back again it's a big effort but printing and being put on a ventilator is not sufficient for many critically ill patients some need to be connected to an artificial lung to keep them alive. it pumps the patient's blood into a machine where carbon dioxide is extracted and oxygen added. that the blood is and pumped back into the patient's body.

for patients who are this ill there aren't many options left this is the last trump card we've got to buy therapeutic options are so boring we give oxygen and the artificial lung but that only gives us more time belongs have to heal on their own up. in the hospital pharmacy there's no wonder drug against the coronavirus ramdass of a one of the great hopes at the start of the pandemic has yielded disappointing results as have many other drugs. medics of the virus for nearly a year now but the odds of surviving a severe case haven't improved much you know it's 53 2nd person on a ventilator dies behind each of those numbers is a human being much. in the 2nd wave many young and healthy people live also get infected but that's no guarantee for a milder cause of the illness. you have to get this is

a young man 45 years old with a severe case of coma he's a prime example that a young healthy person without any notable preexisting medical conditions can be brought to the brink of death by this fire i'm going to school. in the intensive care units really are at their limit and we have to be clear about that there might still be some spare beds but every day there's fewer and patients like here for a long time for weeks or even months and that means beds don't free up quickly. at the moment they can still fight for every single patients life here but the time off to christmas could turn into the intensive care teams was a nightmare. well let's get more on this from d.w. correspondent hans sprogs welcome hans as we've seen the dire situation in one hospital give us a why the fixture across germany. as seen one hospital today that reported that a small cheery was overflowing and that it now had to store bodies in refrigerated

containers there's also been some alarm about reports from eastern saxony that's in the far east of germany on the border of the czech republic and poland that's the area where the infections are highest in germany at the moment is pretty remote the hospitals are small the facilities are limited and in that area there are already reports that doctors have to decide whether somebody who is seriously ill can be given survival come give be given additional treatment so that there might possibly survive or that there might be other patients that have a better chance of survival that also involves transporting people that i was seriously ill for hundreds of kilometers because in this remote areas there is no additional resource available so on paper and germany there are still over 4000 intensive care beds that are free and about 11000 in emergency hospitals that have been set up in exhibition holes and such like areas but transporting people to those places is not always possible so the situation really is getting more and

more critical than german hospitals right but i guess the imminent arrival of a vaccine will help lighten the burden yes it will but it's not hospital staff that are 1st in line to get this vaccination 1st and people that are threatened most seriously by the disease people in care institutions in old age and so on 2nd line the hospital soft but even if the old people get vaccinated 1st that will eventually be a relief to the hospitals because those people will most likely not end up in hospital still vaccination is going to start within about a week or so so there is some relief on the horizon at the moment ok thank you for that political correspondent husband. and we'll take a look at some of the other stories making news around the world will start in sweden where the king says his country has failed in its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. stuff news rolls largely ceremonial made the rare criticism

during an annual television appearance sweden's pandemic policy has left measures largely voluntary and has been blamed for a high death toll amongst the elderly. russian president vladimir putin has laughed off allegations that the kremlin is behind the poisoning of the opposition leader alexander valley during his annual news conference in moscow mr putin smiled and said if there had been such a desire it would have been done. the court of arbitration for sport has upheld doping sanctions of banning russian athletes from competing at major international events under the russian flag the ruling rejected an appeal from russia but did reduce the bank from 4 years to 2. 10 years ago a tunisian street vendor sets himself alight in front of his local town hall is desperate act was in protest at official corruption and sparked a wave of uprisings and armed rebellion against repressive regimes in the region

but while some of the protests during that arab spring did topple some longtime dictators there also that to a number of civil wars that are still going on. this man lit the spark that left scorch marks across the entire hour bridgend on december 17th 2010 mohamed bouazizi says some cell phone fire to protest official corruption in chinese he died from his injuries a few weeks later but by then his story of desperation had sparked a nationwide outpouring of rage. and soon afterwards the arab spring protests took down their 1st high profile political target. tunis is vasher an autocrat zina ben ali fled to saudi arabia with only a few family members and close aides into. the anti government

protests multiplied rapidly be on chin izzie as borders with anger over repressive regimes economic hardship and political failures spilling on to the streets social media was used to spread the word on organize and few of our countries were left untouched by the unrest some of the biggest of he was experienced in egypt for decades long ruler hosni mubarak was overthrown setting the stage for a power struggle eventually won by the military. and libya syria and yemen became embroiled in for truck to conflicts which are still taking a huge humanitarian toll today. international community also played a role in this upheaval in the arab world to invest as a middle east analyst with the global public policy institute he says western countries prioritize their own interests of the humanitarian issues that sparked

the results. we should definitely look at the western democracies and how they have impacted development and since 2011 as they have often publicly claimed and stated that they support the ideas of these revolutions protest movements right and 1st and foremost that you know european union and its member states and the united states have actually put their interest in stability in the region over the protection of human rights and the demands of the protesters for the most part at least the basic assumption underlying this is that the autocrats of the region will provide stability and but that is fundamentally flawed in my opinion as long as citizens and most arabs how trees experience this high levels of inequality the repression and injustice that has actually sparked protests 10 years ago. and these are actually the very basis of the authoritarian rulers in those countries they do

not contribute to stability in the region quite the opposite and to nasa labor from the global public policy institute now a chinese loon approaches completing its historic mission and returned to earth landing in in a monk only china is only the 3rd country to have brought back samples from the moon surface a feat last achieved by the soviet union i mean 1000 states in the 1970 s. . channel imaging shows the capsule with its precious contact touching back down to earth. helicopters then spot the lunar probe in the icy wasteland support staff quickly move in to recover the spacecraft china hopes the contents will help scientists discover new information about the geology and history of earth's satellite. 5 was one of the most complicated and challenging missions in china's aerospace history. when the rocket

was launched on november 23rd it was a source of national pride. the probe was made up of 4 modules one was the lander which has dug for rocks and soil the materials were then transferred into a return capsule for the journey back to earth it's the 1st time in 4 decades that material has been brought back from the moon. beijing now has its sights set on building a moon base cementing its role as a superpower in the news space race. as reminder of our top story this hour french president emanuel micro has tested positive for cover 19 and will self isolate for 7 days e.u. leaders who've had recent contact with him marcus spain's prime minister is already in quarantine. that's it you're up to date friend gough will have more feel at the top of the hour up next here on the w.

ben fizzling has your business update and of course you can get news around the clock on our web site that's d.w. dot com. good. and you hear me now years and years we can hear you and how last year's german chancellor will bring you an angle a makeover as you've never heard have before surprise yourself with what is possible who is magical really what moves her and what. we talk to people who followed her along the way admirers and critics alike how is the world's most powerful woman shaping her legacy joining us from eccles last stop.

this you know i mean in your minutes i'm going yes. what i'm focused on him is you know what i'm with what i'm organizing i'm not going to sit them. here it's as if the. quote i've only said that are going on what they're being funded. back in business africa's most populous nation is set to reopen its borders to trade for the 1st time in over a year to trying to stamp out smuggling. one of a kind soft it gets the boot south africa's 3 pronged electrical plug finally goes into retirement international travelers will be happy but not all residents are and lithium ion batteries are the hot feature of electric vehicles and china holds the biggest market share your of course the catch up race is on. and then fizzle and

let's do business muhammadu buhari is backing down after 16 months the nigerian president is reopening the borders to africa's biggest economy neighboring countries were shocked when he unexpectedly closed the borders to trade saying the time had come to crush contraband but since then a lot of livelihoods have suffered prices for staples in domestic markets are surged by a jury of relies on imports to feed a booming population of 200000000 people the closure was also criticized for violating commercial and freedom of movement treaties with the government having now ratified the african free trade zone to be launched next month analysts say that deadline for. south africa is trying to become a little more global by changing its unique electrical plug and socket from a thick 3 pin triangle to a sleek x. agonal affair that accommodates european style cheap in plugs it's taken over

a decade and could actually take even longer with this unusual socket to be a thing of the past. too many plugs too many things happening in this kitchen. you know maybe start maybe by installing this plug in the kitchen 1st. so the africa's quirky standard triangular 3 pin plug is slowly being phased out by authorities. in south africa with only country to use these plugs are all implants that we poured into the ground with other these plugs at least the 1st so this is a very typical for africa with the recent. one you know some of them. all new construction sites are now required to install the new plugs and sockets featuring a sleeker 3 pin design. my house is really old and comes with all of these old

sockets and i'd like to comply with legislation to get the street and sockets changed to the new ones. south africa introduced new legislation modernizing the country's plug and socket regime making the local market more accessible to international manufacturers. this is a kind of an effort to standardize reduce costs and have something that is more widely usable around the world which will also commentates importers but at the same time standardize on a particular plug and socket design which will be of benefit to the consumer instead of having a whole variety of plugs and sockets that are not compatible. but sales have been slow so is that you just many south africans ignore the new legislation while the country still contends with regular rolling blackouts we're going to look this winter budget on a console the socket is when it's got a new one and the old good and where the power outages and said if you get that

they call. this is pointless. and then there is the stark reality of electrical inequality in south africa. only 85 percent of the entire population has access to electricity in spite of electricians working with authorities to get people onto the grid. but we have a massive problem of illegal connections but in a place like this. with things they don't even have the proper infrastructure the only opportunity you have to get electricity is to collect illegally even if you want to do it legally you can't. so while africa's most developed economy has its sights set on new plug and socket standards the country might need to get its basic electricity needs sorted 1st. and returning to our top story on nigeria opening its borders for the 1st time in over a year after trying to stamp out smuggling we have always interests with us from

nigeria's commercial capital aboot. always so is there any evidence to show the closures did actually stop smuggling. no no if you dance the cloyd jumped aboard a house small plane smuggling continues in nigeria because we still have most of the teams that are binding get imported rice you get cars that had been small going from say may from the general public and i doubt parts of the country kept getting damn and i risk the small sums to nigeria. so this must be a massive barrus but i mean his plans done more harm than good no not only has he failed to stop smuggling he's also destroyed the livelihoods of border communities of a lot of businesses in important export and then also increased prices for many people

at home. that is a very good question i and i can mend on unless analysis is going on even when they close it ties not yeah don much more nigerians especially up not a more people are pushed into pulp by t. because even lie on business is we enable me general public can mail room and i doubt countries and been in republic so many nigerians want to deduct mendacity new we have succeeded in making nigerians to rely on what they are producing it would be food nigeria has produced so much rice in the last $23.00 yes and the board up has put box so many people into finding. and from what i understand the battle the import of rice and poultry and other than products remains doesn't that also go against algeria as treaties with the rest of africa.

of course it does is against of course protocol which allows movement of downside to seize that was why then it was up in nigeria and it caused him to the government several times to see this is against the course protocol and he's been a cancer african trade that prepared that women with she's about to be launched in the next one month but the government kept i know we cannot allow what is going to destroy our economy indeed lam's pretty tread. that was laid out was a lot of jubilation yesterday been in a board that's the same me in my gut. the people are celebrating. that kid of what. we can continue with our business but i'm sure these countries will continue i do it in because nigeria signed these protocol at the moon with

these countries and it's neat to abide by. thank you very much for coming on the show tonight. u.s. dollar plunged on thursday to a new true and a half year low against other major currencies the euro hit $1.23 in asian trading before we could bring some of its losses china's you want also moved higher against the dollar to levels not reached since june 28th when i was expect the greenback to weaken even further in the coming days. the strength of the euro is a double edged sword for your app on the one hand it points to the fact that investors are quite confident that the european economy walk recover even as many countries here are heading into our now and new walk down to combat the coronavirus on the other hand it raises the risk of deflation in europe that's been a big concern as the euro strengthens that means imports are getting cheaper at the same time it will also raise pressure on european exports whose products are going to get more expensive for europe's trading partners the group e.

and industrial sector an expert in the sector has been one of the one bright spots in the economy the strength of the euro is not going to be welcomed by many of these acts porters and export dependent economies electric car sales are expected to soar in the coming years same for their lithium ion batteries the consultancy mckinsey says annual global demand for batteries is 282 gigawatt hours in a decade it will be almost 10 times that amount so who dominates production so far it's been china. in sweetens forest something is taking shape which many say is decisive for the economic future of europe. on battery plant start up north pole plans large scale battery production here to supply european automotive giants like fox of our b.m.w. found a pita carlson used to be tesla's purchasing director now he's taking on asia's powerful competitors. in a very real way it's definitely

a challenge i mean we're we're fighting against these lords large corporations. but we do it with very very strong skills and with speed and that you know my experience from from my days at tesla is that you come a long way if you have the right people and you work with a sense of urgency and it's certainly urgent europe of all places home to the world's largest car makers has barely any automobile battery production and the battery makes up a 3rd of a car's value the e.u. has been asleep at the wheel now it's responding with billions of euros in economic development aid 3 years ago but very production system in europe was nonexistent and i think it was very clear that we will very sore no not import only the batteries about the if you want change the course he will very soon be importing electric cars so it would be really a danger for the whole european car industry. not fold once mass production here to

begin in 2021 and a further plant is in the planning stage other companies are also lining up for a piece of the action the e.u.'s to be self-sufficient in battery production in 5 years' time we all are in the midst of this transformation or revolution the way you like to look at it and it's very very exciting and it's also exciting to see europe taking a leading role here where china has been kind of dominant up to now but that europe is really taking a leader position. from battery importer to export or in only a few years when ambitious goal right now the sector is still very much a lot of work in progress. on late spain's 1st face must take hopes to transform the face mask into a must have christmas gift just in time for the 1st season it now boasts a mine of special christmas design in total the shop offers 600 different models

with prices ranging from 8 to 9000 euros are all made in a workshop new os a lot of the owners believe even after the pandemic face must remain a popular accessory just like in asia. otherwise they'll go out of business nice doing business with you. to the point of strong opinions a clear position in the international perspective such. as the year draws to

a close politicians everywhere are struggling to bring the pandemic under control but some are slipping behind our citizens paying for governments mistakes that's our topic on to the point. spurlock us on the ground. in the heart of climate change. africa's most of. what's in store. for the future looks. pretty megacities to the culture inside could counter. this instead every news africa on the program today on certain grows for the millions of people still cotswold ethiopia's northern region off to the right some aid has begun arriving but agencies say they're still not being allowed to reach people

they know are in need and that the situation there is critical. just last week and behind the scenes of a new film being produced in cameroon the producers say peace is the message. hello i'm kristie wonder it's good to have your company international aid agencies all sounding the alarm over the situation in the northern ethiopian region off to cry they were allowed to deliver some supplies at the start of the week but they say they need full humanitarian access to the region if they are to save lives the fear is that.