The festival’s career honor is only his second-ever acting award, so Belafonte said he regarded it as a sign of “global recognition” of his political activism, which was evident as he used the occasion to take a stand against unbridled capitalism and talk about his new film projects, one of them about the Arab Spring.
The Hollywood Reporter talked with Belafonte about his activism, his views on U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney and what he sees as this age’s biggest enemy.
The Hollywood Reporter: Your acting career is less known than your singing career. What does an Honor Award from a film festival mean to you?
Harry Belafonte: Such awards, coming from culture and societies where I do not linger, are a validation that there was a global receptivity to the fact that I have taken a stand against war, taken a stand against racism, sexism and so on, throughout the years. While at home some people would want to crucify me because of my political position, I am also being honored for what I do, and that validation is extremely important.
THR: Has the world changed for activists like you?
Belafonte: Definitely. Back then, the enemies were very clear, very precise. It is easy to fight oppression if it comes in [the form of] a swastika and a boot, and as a dictator, and you can see it and feel it and touch it. It is easy when there is a sign that says “No N—–s“ or “No Jews.“ Where it becomes the most insidious is when it buries itself and you can no longer touch it but can taste that yet it is there, fully blown, doing insane mischief. That is why I think the period now is the most challenging I’ve ever lived in. The power in many societies has become almost absolute. Those who have the power in the free-enterprise system start to crush societies and create wars that are unholy. What we did during the Bush period, what we still continue to do, even with Barack Obama, is the continuency of not changing the paradigm, of not changing the view. We still have laws that encourage torture; we did not change Guantanamo; we have laws that allow the police to arrest you at any time, not having to tell you why, and take you wherever they want. This kind of capitalism is taking us to the doorstep of [a] Fourth Reich, I think.