On Friday, the 48th film festival in Gothenburg was inaugurated. Parisa Liljestrands' speech clearly marked a protest against the film industry and was met with boos and ridicule, reports Gothenburg Post.
I know that many culture ministers before me have tried to present themselves as the best buddies and representatives of the various industries in the government. They may receive a lot of appreciation for it at galas and festivals, she said and continued:
But that is not the task of politics. It is not also the task of politics to demand more and more tax money from citizens because one cannot stand up for one's priorities.
Pia Lundberg, newly appointed artistic leader of the film festival, described the speech to GP as "aggressive".
Liljestrand is described as a "master of creating a bad atmosphere" in a commentary text by Dagens Nyheter's film critic Helena Lindblad.
Earlier on Friday, she faced criticism when she did not participate in a film policy meeting in Gothenburg with the Nordic film industry.
Mirja Wester, CEO of the Gothenburg Film Festival, was among those who criticized Liljestrand's decision to stay in Stockholm to hold a press conference on how to ban illegal IP-TV.
Before heading to Gothenburg, she also visited Netflix.
