Berlin 2026: Director responds to open letter criticising festival over Gaza
Tricia Tuttle, director of the Berlin Film Festival, has responded to an open letter condemning the event over its position on Gaza.
The furore began at the first press conference of this year’s festival on February 12th when director Wim Wenders, who is leading the competition jury, said films should “stay out of politics” in response to a question about Gaza.
As a result, author and activist Arundhati Roy pulled out of her scheduled appearance at the German film festival, stating, “This morning, like millions of people across the world, I heard the unconscionable statements made by members of the jury of the Berlin film festival when they were asked to comment about the genocide in Gaza.”
The Berlin Film Festival later responded, clarifying that they “respects this decision” made by Roy, and stating, “We regret that we will not welcome her as her presence would have enriched the festival discourse.”
Then, on February 17th, an open letter was signed by more than 80 stars of the screen, including Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem, Angeliki Papoulia, Peter Mullan, Adam McKay, and Mike Leigh, criticising Berlin for its position on Palestine.
The letter reads that the signatories “expect the institutions in our industry to refuse complicity in the terrible violence that continues to be waged against Palestinians”.
Now, in response to the latter, Berlin Film Festival’s director Tuttle has said (via Screen Daily) that the event “recognises the depth of anger and frustration about the suffering of people in Gaza, and the urgency that people feel to speak out and make their voices heard”.
Tuttle, speaking on behalf of the festival, added, “We strongly disagree with the presentation of misinformation, inaccurate claims about the Berlinale that have no evidence and are anonymous claims.”
Additionally, she reiterated that the Berlin Film Festival is independent from the German government despite receiving funding.
On February 17th, Ethan Hawke weighed into the debate, stating at a press conference at Berlin Film Festival, “You know, people saying, ‘Actors shouldn’t talk about politics’ and things like that. And I really feel like the answer is the absolute inverse, that everybody should be — we’re all citizens of the world and all of us matter, all of us have a voice, and everybody’s welcome to disagree. That’s part of the benefit of living in a free society.”
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