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Over 80 Berlin Film Festival alumni sign open letter urging organisers to take stance on Gaza
More than 80 Berlinale alumni accuse the festival of institutional silence and censorship over Gaza, urging it to oppose Israel's actions and uphold artists' free expression.
- On Feb. 17, 2026, 81 Berlinale alumni published an open letter coordinated by Film Workers for Palestine urging the Berlin International Film Festival to address its 'institutional silence' on Gaza.
- After jury president Wim Wenders said artists should 'stay out of politics' last Thursday, his remarks sparked online uproar and signatories rejected the idea filmmaking can be separated from politics.
- Signatories highlighted last year's reprimands of artists and growing industry refusals, citing one filmmaker investigated by police and more than 5,000 film workers boycotting complicit Israeli institutions.
- Tricia Tuttle rejected claims of censorship, saying the festival supports free speech within German law and the letter was born of anger; Arundhati Roy withdrew while Wolfram Weimer defended the festival.
- Citing past festival stances on Iran and Ukraine, the letter calls on the Berlinale to explicitly condemn Israel amid reports of 2,842 Palestinians 'evaporated' and Germany's arms supply.
107 Articles
107 Articles
Berlin, Germany. The director of the Berlinale denied Wednesday that she would censor pro-Palestinian filmmakers as claimed by more than 80 actors and directors, including Javier Bardem and Tilda Swinton, in an open letter published on the eve.The film festival “defends freedom of expression within the limits established by German law,” said Tricia Tuttle in an interview with Screen magazine.On Tuesday, more than 80 actors and directors signed a…
InsideNoVA.com
Berlin Film Festival rejects accusation of censorship on Gaza
The director of the Berlin Film Festival on Wednesday rejected accusations from more than 80 film industry figures that the festival had helped censor artists who oppose Israel's actions in Gaza.
Cinema and politics cannot be separated: so the artists respond, with a collective letter, to the director and president of the jury and to the director of the festival Tricia Tuttle
More than 80 actors and directors have signed an open letter denouncing the silence of the genocide festival in Gaza. Among them are Javier Bardem, Tilda Swinton, Mike Leigh, Blanche Gardin and Adèle Haenel. The controversy began after Wim Wenders said that cinema should "remain outside politics". - Berlinale: more than 80 actors and directors denounce the "silence" of the festival on the "genocide of Palestinians" (Culture, media and entertainm…
Berlin. More than 80 film personalities, including actors such as Javier Bardem and Tilda Swinton, signed a condemnation statement against the Berlin Film Festival to denounce their silence on Gaza and the genocide on Palestinians.
Around 80 filmmakers, including Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem, Nan Goldin and Mike Leigh, have criticized the Berlinale for not taking a clear enough stance on the war in Gaza in an open letter published in Variety magazine. They condemned the Berlinale's silence on the war in Gaza and the censorship of artists who spoke out about it.
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