The Berlin International Film Festival moved Sunday to contain a widening dispute over politics at the 2026 edition after jury president Wim Wenders told reporters the jury should “stay out of politics,” remarks that prompted withdrawals and renewed scrutiny of the festival’s stance on Gaza.
In a written message, festival director Tricia Tuttle said artists “are free to exercise their right of free speech” and should not “be expected to speak on every political issue raised to them unless they want to,” urging “cool heads in hot times.” She argued that the festival program already contains films grappling with war crimes, state violence and repression, and she criticized the online cycle that rewards “soundbites” over sustained discussion about cinema and culture.
The flashpoint came at a jury press conference when a journalist asked about Germany’s position on the Israel-Gaza war and the festival’s government funding. Arundhati Roy, scheduled to appear with the restored 1989 film In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, pulled out soon after, calling the jury’s posture “unconscionable” and “a way of shutting down a conversation,” using the term “genocide” to describe events in Gaza.
Two restored titles also withdrew. Cairo-based Cimatheque – Alternative Film Center said it would not send prints of Sad Song of Touha and The Dislocation of Amber, citing solidarity with the Palestinian Film Institute, which has urged filmmakers and institutions to disengage from the festival until it adopts what the group calls concrete protections for expression.
The dispute intensified after the festival’s livestream cut out shortly after the Gaza question, triggering accusations of censorship; organizers blamed technical problems and said they would publish the full recording.
