The Ethics of Film Festival Openers: Spotlight on ‘No Good Men’ and How Festivals Shape Global Narratives

Why festival openers from conflict zones matter — and why readers should care

When a major festival names a film as its opener, that choice becomes a global headline overnight. For audiences juggling feed noise and scarce time, festival selections are a short cut to what the world’s cultural gatekeepers think matters. But that attention is double-edged: the same spotlight that raises a filmmaker’s profile can reshape how an entire conflict, community, or national cinema is understood.

That tension is central to the Berlinale’s decision to open its 2026 edition with Shahrbanoo Sadat’s No Good Men, a German-backed romantic comedy set inside a Kabul newsroom before the Taliban’s return in 2021. The choice is artistically defensible and strategically potent — but it also demands an ethical framework for festivals, critics, funders and audiences who consume, celebrate and redistribute these stories.

The crux: festival ethics at the intersection of art, politics and survival

Film festivals are cultural amplifiers: they validate, translate and redistribute cinematic perspectives. An opener is not merely a screening slot; it is a narrative signal. It tells press desks, buyers at markets and millions of viewers on social media which stories are worth framing and why. That is why festival programmers must consider not only a film’s artistic merit but also its ethical footprint—how it represents survivors, how funding shapes its angle, and what geopolitical meanings audiences may read into the spotlight.

What’s at stake when festivals choose a high-profile opener

• Representation: Openers can challenge or entrench stereotypes. A film that foregrounds everyday life in a conflict-affected country can expand global empathy, but it can also flatten complexity if presented without context.
• Survivor narratives: Survivors and communities whose lives inform a film deserve dignified representation and agency — not tokenization under the banner of “authenticity.”
• Geopolitical signaling: Festivals wield soft power; a state-backed film on a prestige platform can be read as cultural diplomacy or a strategic message.
• Market impact: Openers attract buyers, broadcasters and streamers, influencing which stories reach mass audiences and become part of the global record.

Sadat’s opener: what we know and why it is a useful case study

On Jan. 16, 2026, Variety reported that the Berlin Film Festival would open on Feb. 12 with Shahrbanoo Sadat’s No Good Men, presented as a Berlinale Special Gala. The film — described as a romantic comedy set in a Kabul newsroom during Afghanistan’s democratic period before 2021 — was financed in part with German backing. That mix of creative voice, international finance and historical framing illustrates every ethical tension festivals must navigate.

Why use this as a test case? Because it checks several boxes: it’s from a conflict-affected country; it’s elevated by a major European festival; and it is backed by state or institutional funds. Those are precisely the conditions that make curation an ethical as well as an aesthetic act.

Balancing artistic merit with survivor narratives: a framework for festivals

Artistic excellence should remain central to festival programming. But excellence alone cannot be the sole criterion when a film is likely to influence public understanding of trauma, political transition or state collapse. Instead, programmers should apply a layered test that includes context, consent and consequence.

A layered ethical test

• Context audit: Does the festival provide historical and political context in the program notes, press materials and on-site discussions? Context reduces the risk that viewers interpret the film as a comprehensive or definitive account.
• Community consent: Were the communities or people whose lives informed the film consulted or given agency in presentation decisions? For community-based material, festivals should seek relevant advisory input.
• Funding transparency: Is the source of financing clear? Films with state backing carry diplomatic resonance; transparency helps critics and viewers parse soft power layers.
• Risk mitigation: Has the festival assessed security and reputational risks to the filmmakers and contributors, especially those who remain in harm’s way?
• Curatorial balance: Does the festival’s overall program include multiple perspectives from the region, including diasporic and locally rooted voices?

Practical steps: what festivals should do now

Festival directors and programmers can adopt operational policies that make the ethical test routine rather than optional. Below are concrete measures grounded in best practices that have gained traction in 2025–2026 cultural policy debates.

Operational checklist for ethical curation

1. Create a Community Advisory Panel — Include civil-society representatives, cultural historians and diaspora community members to advise on program decisions involving conflict zones.
2. Publish a Funding Disclosure — Accompany festival catalogs and press packs with clear notes on production and financing, including state or institutional backers.
3. Offer Contextual Programming — Pair screenings with panels, expert briefings, and Q&As that situate the film historically and ethically.
4. Prioritize Safety and Asylum Pathways — For filmmakers and contributors under threat, provide practical assistance: legal referrals, temporary visas, press amplification and, where possible, safe travel support.
5. Include Trigger Warnings and Support Resources — Clearly mark potentially traumatic content and provide links to support organizations for audience members affected by the material.
6. Maintain Curatorial Plurality — Ensure the program is not a single-story exhibition by including multiple filmmakers and forms from the same region.

Beyond festivals: what funders, distributors and critics must do

Festivals are a key node in the ecosystem, but they are not alone. Ethical responsibility extends to financiers, sales agents, distributors and the press. Decisions along the pipeline determine who has access to audiences and which angles will dominate coverage.

Recommendations for the extended ecosystem

• Funders: Tie funding to ethical co-commitments — community consultation, transparency and distribution plans that reach local audiences, not just Western markets.
• Sales agents and distributors: Develop release strategies that respect local contexts. Avoid exploitative marketing that sensationalizes trauma for clicks.
• Critics and press: Ask questions about funding, sourcing and representation. Contextual reviews that mention production dynamics help readers interpret films responsibly.

How festivals shape global narratives — the soft power equation

Cultural diplomacy is not new; festivals have long been instruments of national branding and soft power. But the stakes are higher when the subject is ongoing conflict or an exiled population. A German-backed Afghan film opening the Berlinale is both a cultural celebration and a diplomatic signal. That duality should be acknowledged openly to avoid unintended propaganda effects.

Openers carry outsized soft-power consequences. They can humanize a country and launch careers, or they can be weaponized as evidence of a regime’s legitimacy. Festivals must therefore think in geopolitical terms without subordinating artistic judgment — a delicate balance, but a necessary one.

"Choosing a film as an opener is an act of storytelling at scale — it decides who gets seen and how they are remembered."

Case nuances: why a romantic comedy like No Good Men complicates assumptions

There is a common expectation that films from conflict zones must be bleak to be 'serious.' Opening with a romantic comedy challenges that expectation and can humanize lives beyond victimhood. Yet the choice also raises questions: does a lighter genre risk minimizing ongoing suffering? Does it create a nostalgic or selective memory of a pre-crisis era? These are not rhetorical puzzles; they are curatorial responsibilities.

For films set in specific historical contexts — such as Kabul's democratic period before 2021 — festivals must ensure narratives do not become decontextualized souvenirs. Programming should make clear what the film represents and what it does not: personal memory rather than a comprehensive history, perhaps, or a satire rather than a documentary record.

2026 trends and why they matter here

Several developments across late 2025 and early 2026 are changing how festivals operate and how audiences read them.

• Market internationalization: Events like Unifrance’s January 2026 Rendez-Vous in Paris showed the growing globalization of sales and the appetite for diverse content. That commercial pressure increases the stakes of high-profile festival choices because buyers move fast to monetize openers — and because market internationalization changes how local audiences are considered in distribution plans.
• Ethical standardization: Civil-society groups and some festival networks have accelerated calls for ethical curation guidelines. Expect more festivals to adopt formal policies in 2026.
• Streaming-era amplification: Openers now have immediate second lives on streaming platforms and social media clips, amplifying both the film’s reach and its interpretive consequences.
• Political sensitivity: Geopolitical tensions in 2025–2026 have made cultural signaling more visible; audiences and governments increasingly read festivals as diplomatic stages.

Predictions: what ethical festival curation will look like by 2028

Based on current trajectories, by 2028 we are likely to see:

• More festivals publishing public ethical guidelines and funding disclosures as standard practice.
• Formalized community advisory roles within major festivals, not just consultative one-offs.
• Increased partnerships between festivals and human-rights organizations to create responsible contextual programming.
• Greater scrutiny from the press about the diplomatic dimensions of film financing and premiere placements.

Actionable takeaways for different readers

For festival programmers

• Adopt a published ethical curation checklist and share it with applicants and the press.
• Make funding sources a required field in submission portals and festival catalogs.
• Institute pre-screening briefings for journalists and buyers that outline context and possible ethical concerns; pair these operational changes with improved logistics (ticketing and check-in systems can be modernized — see event RSVPs & migration playbooks).

For filmmakers

• Negotiate clear consent agreements with contributors and archives; document them for festival partners.
• Prepare contextual materials (director statements, production notes) that festivals can use to moderate public interpretation.
• If you are from a conflict-affected region, ask about safety plans and support from festivals and distributors.

For critics and audiences

• Read beyond reviews: check funding disclosures and the festival’s contextual programming before amplifying a film’s claims about history.
• Demand nuance: share critiques that account for both artistic qualities and representational consequences.

For funders and states

• Link financial support to ethical commitments around community benefit, distribution back to local audiences, and transparency.
• Recognize that cultural diplomacy works best when it empowers local storytelling ecosystems rather than simply exporting curated images.

How to evaluate No Good Men — a short guide for viewers and press

If you are covering or seeing Sadat’s film at the Berlinale, use this quick checklist to frame responsible engagement:

• Look for producer and funding notes in the press kit and related materials — and check that festivals accompany those notes with clear distribution and audit details (funding disclosure and auditability guidance).
• Attend any contextual panels or Q&As accompanying the screening.
• Ask whether contributors who remain in Afghanistan or the diaspora were consulted on festival presentation.
• Note whether the festival provides resources for audience members affected by the subject matter, and whether those resources are easy to find in festival catalogs or press packs (press deliverability matters — see press-pack deliverability best practices).

Conclusion: festivals must marry courage with care

Choosing a film like No Good Men as a festival opener can be a powerful counterweight to reductive narratives about conflict-affected countries. It can expand what international audiences imagine when they think of Afghan cinema. But with power comes responsibility. Festivals must adopt transparent, community-centered practices that protect contributors, clarify context and resist instrumentalizing art for geopolitical ends.

In 2026, as festivals grapple with new market pressures, geopolitical sensitivity and digital amplification, ethical curation will be a competitive advantage — not an optional add-on. Audiences, critics and funders should insist on standards that keep the spotlight on art while safeguarding the dignity and agency of the people whose lives make those films possible.

Call to action

If you care about how global narratives are shaped, take three steps today: subscribe to sustained reporting on festival ethics, ask festival organizers publicly for funding disclosures, and support films that pair artistic excellence with community-centered practices. Share this article with curators, critics and friends — and follow our coverage for live updates from the Berlinale and the wider festival circuit in 2026.

Related Reading

• Field Kits & Edge Tools for Modern Newsrooms (2026)
• The Experiential Showroom in 2026: Hybrid Events, Micro-Moments, and AI Curation
• Edge Auditability & Decision Planes: An Operational Playbook for Cloud Teams in 2026
• Case Study: Moving Your Event RSVPs from Postgres to MongoDB — An Organizer’s Playbook
• Transmedia IP Readiness Checklist for Creators Pitching to Agencies
• Raspberry Pi 5 + AI HAT+ 2: Hands-on Setup and Local LLM Deployment
• Monetizing Live Streams: Landing Page Flows from Live to Link-in-Bio
• Custom Insoles, Custom Fits: Should Cosplayers Invest in 3D-Scanned Shoe Inserts for Long Con Days?
• Designing Relatable Game Characters: Lessons from 'Baby Steps' for Indie Devs and Content Creators
• World Cup Host Cities: Best Routes, Park-and-Ride Lots and Transit Alternatives to Beat Match-Day Gridlock