Applauding Arundhati Roy for standing fiercely by her convictions against genocide in Gaza, and withdrawing from the Berlin Film Festival in outrage over Wim Wenders' comments "that filmmakers "have to stay out of politics." Roy called it “jaw-dropping” and "a way of shutting down a conversation about a crime against humanity even as it unfolds before us in real time.”
Shame on Wim Wenders!
Solidarity with Arundhati Roy!
(See other coverage in comments.)
photo of Arundhati Roy
link to article from HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM
"Indian Writer Arundhati Roy Pulls Out of Berlinale Over Wim Wenders’
Comments on Gaza"
Kinopersonal zu Warnstreik aufgerufen - Berlinale betroffen
In mehreren deutschen Städten dürften heute Kinosäle leer bleiben. Die Gewerkschaft ver.di hat Beschäftigte der Konzerne CineStar und UCI zu einem Warnstreik aufgerufen. Betroffen ist auch die Berlinale.
>> Don‘t ask about #Palestine at #Berlinale! Tilo [Jung] attended today‘s press conference of the festival‘s jury and asked about the selective treatment of human rights. The Berlinale has famously shown solidarity with the people of Iran and Ukraine. But never with Palestinians. Jury president Wim Wenders refused to engage and actually said: „We have to stay out of politics“ 🤯
>> Tilo‘s question and the following got censorsed on the Berlinale official livestream which suddenly experienced „technical difficulties“. This footage comes from the Reuters news agency instead.
Indian Author Arundhati Roy Pulls Out of Berlinale Over Jury’s ‘Unconscionable’ Refusal to Comment on Gaza: ‘To Hear Them Say That Art Should Not Be Political Is Jaw-Dropping’ (Variety, 2026-02-13)
>> The pushback from #Berlinale jury head #WimWenders when it came to answering questions about politics sparked no shortage of headlines and outrage on the opening day of this year’s festival.
>> It’s now led to one major withdrawal from Berlin, a typically highly political festival, with news that celebrated Indian author #ArundhatiRoy has pulled out...
>> ... #WimWenders was asked by journalist #TiloJung about Gaza genocide and Germany’s selective solidarities when it comes to Palestine. ... Wenders insisted: “We have to stay out of politics.” ... Film, he suggested, is “the opposite of politics.” The rest of the jury agreed or said nothing.
>> International coverage ... followed. The two Arab-language films Sad Song of Touha and The Dislocation of Amber were both publicly withdrawn.
>> It would be unfair to say that the #Berlinale never screened films on #Palestine ... But when confronted with a direct question about #Gaza, Wenders’ reply felt like ... a textbook example of the German cultural sphere’s deference to an official narrative that — while no longer able to downplay the sheer scale of Israel’s eradication of Gaza — now prefers to avoid the subject altogether...
Prominente Gäste, bewegende Worte und ein emotionaler Höhepunkt: Bei der Eröffnung der 76. Berlinale wurde der Goldene Ehrenbär an Michelle Yeoh übergeben. Die Schauspielerin widmete den Preis ihren Eltern.
Berlinale: Filmfestival zeigt mehr Haltung und weniger Stars
Unter Festivalleiterin Tricia Tuttle rückt politisches Autorenkino bei der diesjährigen Berlinale in den Mittelpunkt. Das zeigt auch der Eröffnungsfilm aus Afghanistan. 22 Filme sind im Wettbewerb um den Goldenen Bären dabei.
Wie die Bundesregierung der Filmbranche helfen will
22 Filme werden bei der heute beginnenden Berlinale gezeigt - darunter drei überwiegend in Deutschland produzierte. Internationale Produktionen weichen oft in günstigere Länder aus. Die Bundesregierung will das ändern. Von N. Markwald.
Zum Auftakt der Berlinale: Exilfilmemacher in Deutschland
Die Berlinale eröffnet heute mit "No Good Men" von Shahrbanoo Sadat. Sie ist eine von mehreren Exilfilmemachern im diesjährigen Festivalprogramm. Fernab des roten Teppichs haben sie jedoch oft zu kämpfen. Von Andrea Heinze.
Regisseur Wim Wenders wird Jurypräsident der Berlinale 2026
Wim Wenders wird im Februar 2026 mit über die Vergabe der Goldenen und Silbernen Bären entscheiden: Der international bekannte deutsche Regisseur wird Jury-Präsident der 76. Berlinale.
"You know at the beginning of cinema, it was this idea that cinema is entertainment, etc. and now when people are looking back, but I also think that cinema is like almost a scientific tool for seeing better. So this instrument can make us see better or hear better the world so if i'm seeing something better or with a different eye than my own eyes, with the eyes of the camera, I'm happy."
Berlinale: Goldener Bär für norwegischen Liebesfilm "Dreams"
Die Berlinale-Jury hat entschieden und am Ende alle überrascht: Der Goldene Bär ging am Abend an den norwegischen Film "Dreams" von Dag Johan Haugerud. Ein großer Favorit des Festivals ging hingegen leer aus.
Berlinale startet mit Weltstars und neuer Festivalleitung
Der rote Teppich ausgerollt. Tom Tykwer, Tilda Swinton und Todd Haynes sind schon bei der Eröffnung dabei: Mit einer glanzvollen Gala und einer neuen Chefin beginnt die 75. Berlinale. Bereits im Vorfeld gab es viel Gesprächsstoff.
The boycott against Germany's complicity in #IsraelTerroristState genocide of Gaza is having an effect. Total boycott of german culture, products, relationships became urgent in the face of german government and several (almost all) institutions' support of #IsraelWarCrimes.
“This change is the result of actions taken by a large number of people on the ground in Berlin, and around the world,” Strike Germany wrote in a statement posted on Instagram. “By adopting the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, the policy would have penalized those who criticize the state of Israel—at a moment when Israel is engaged in a genocidal assault on #Palestinians in #Gaza.”
Unidentified #hackers reportedly accessed the Berlin International #Film#Festival’s (#Berlinale) Instagram account and posted infographics calling for a #ceasefire in #Gaza. Though the organization immediately deleted the posts and published a notice disavowing the statement, screenshots had already gone viral on social media, adding fuel to the festival’s controversy as several #German officials have publicly denounced several category winners for calling for a ceasefire in their closing ceremony speeches.
A number of Berlinale’s own workers issued a statement calling for a ceasefire in Gaza earlier this month, followed by over 100 participating filmmakers across various categories signing off on a list of demands for the festival to acknowledge the artists who withdrew their entries and to “confront censorship and the silencing of critical perspectives in the cultural sector in Germany,” among other points. https://web.archive.org/web/20240227013740/https://hyperallergic.com/873838/berlinale-film-festival-hacked-with-pro-palestine-posts/
Is Germany’s stance on Gaza leading artists to avoid one of Europe’s top film festivals?
According to the Berlin Film Festival’s new director, that may be the case.
Tricia Tuttle, who previously ran the BFI London Film Festival and succeeds Carlo Chatrian and Mariëtte Rissenbeek after having been appointed by Germany’s Culture Minister Claudia Roth, is about to helm her first edition this coming February. She has said that the impression #Germany is giving with regards to controlling free speech on the #MiddleEast conflict is directly affecting her first edition in charge, and that there are fears that criticism of Israel would be condemned as antisemitism in Germany.
Last month, the German parliament passed a resolution on the protection of Jewish life, a controversial move that has led opponents to say that it equates criticism of Israel with #antisemitism.