Berlin 2026: Wim Wenders says movies should “stay out of politics”
Director Wim Wenders has stated at the Berlin Film Festival that the industry should “stay out of politics”.
The 11-day event in Germany got underway earlier today with Wenders, who is leading the competition jury at this year’s festival, fielding a series of questions at a press conference.
Naturally, global politics was a talking point during the event, and the role that filmmaking has to play in telling these stories.
“Yes, movies can change the world,” Wenders responded in the German capital (per The Guardian), before adding, “Not in a political way. No movie has really changed any politician’s idea, but … we can change the idea that people have of how they should live.”
Additionally, a journalist broached the topic of the German government, which partially funds the Berlin Film Festival, and its support of Israel, claiming there is a “selective treatment of human rights” in relation to how the Berlin Film Festival has expressed solidarity with Ukraine and Iran.
Polish producer Ewa Puszczynska, who is also a juror, was the first to respond to the question, which she deemed to be “unfair”.
Puszczynska elaborated, “Of course, we are trying to talk to people — every single viewer — to make them think, but we cannot be responsible for what their decision would be to support Israel or the decision to support Palestine.”
She added, “There are many other wars where genocide is committed, and we do not talk about that. So this is a very complicated question and I think it’s a bit unfair asking us what do you think, how we support, not support, talking to our governments or not.”
Wenders also responded to the question, stating, “We have to stay out of politics because if we make movies that are dedicatedly political, we enter the field of politics.”
Wenders added, “But we are the counterweight of politics, we are the opposite of politics. We have to do the work of people, not the work of politicians.”
Over the course of this year’s Berlin Film Festival, it will welcome huge Hollywood stars, including Channing Tatum, Amy Adams, and Callum Turner, to the German capital to premiere their latest films.
Upon announcing the line-up, the festival’s organisers, helmed by director Tricia Tuttle, said they curated 22 films for the competition line-up which cater for every type of film fan, stating, “If you don’t find something here to love, you don’t love cinema.”
No Good Men by Afghanistani director Shahrbanoo Sadat will kick off the festival tonight following the opening night gala.
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