Tilda Swinton’s selection of her 1987 movie Friendship’s Death for this year’s Berlinale could not have been a more prescient choice.
As snow fell over Potsdamer Platz (Berlin, Germany) this morning, Tilda Swinton—who received an Honorary Golden Bear for her lifetime achievement at the 75th Berlinale (13–23 February 2025)—spoke eloquently to the press corps about her unparalleled career, her community-based approach to filmmaking, and the future of independent cinema in a post-COVID landscape.
After the press conference, we made our way over to the screening of Friendship’s Death, a film which – despite being over 30 years old – strikes at the core of contemporary political, creative, philosophical and existential debate.
Directed by Peter Wollen, the movie is based on the filmmaker’s own short story and is his only solo feature film. The surreal, sci-fi drama maintains the intellectual rigour and artistic experimentation which Wollen’s writing is known for and has been brought vividly to life again in an incredible 4K remastering. The 78 minute film is, as critic Peter Bradshaw describes, something of a Beckettian comedy, centered on a friendship as much as philosophical discourse.
Swinton plays Friendship, an alien who has been sent to earth on an exploratory, peacekeeping mission. She is headed towards MIT in Massachusetts – centre of AI studie – and plans to visit the United Nations, before unexpectedly landing in Amman, Jordan. The year is 1970, the period of the ‘Black September’ civil war – a conflict between Jordan and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO). In the midst of the fighting, Friendship is fortunate enough to encounter the British war correspondent, Sullivan, played by the inimitable Bill Patterson. The two hit it off, developing an unlikely but gorgeously sweet rapport.
Whilst Friendship is ethereal, idealistic and alien, Sullivan is grounded, jaded and boozy, forever bashing away on his typewriter. The pair spend their days barricaded in the relative safety of their shabby hotel room, conversing about morality, technology and war, provoking the questions; What does it mean to be a human?, Who and what is alien?, What is humanity’s relationship to machines?, and Is humanity worth saving?
At the press conference, Swinton indirectly reflected the film’s message in many of her answers, emphasising her ideals of collectivism, community and peace. When asked about Ukraine/Russia and the genocide in Gaza, she reinforced her previously expressed sentiment that all wars affect all of us and movingly insisted that we must continue to reach the people we think are unreachable if we are to keep the faith in our own humanity.
With Berlinale known as one of the most political of the larger film festivals, and with the German election just around the corner, Friendship’s Death evokes a thoughtful contemplation to some of the most explosive, divisive and relevant issues that we face; AI, Palestine, conflict and human connection.
Film Fest Report is an accredited media at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival.
