Overview
- An open letter signed by 81 current and former Berlinale participants criticizes the festival’s silence on Gaza and rejects Wim Wenders’ appeal to stay out of politics.
- Signatories including Javier Bardem and Tilda Swinton urge the festival to denounce alleged Israeli war crimes and to stop shielding Israel from criticism and accountability.
- The letter cites more than 5,000 film workers who have pledged to refuse collaboration with Israeli film companies and institutions they consider complicit.
- Tricia Tuttle responds that artists are free to speak at the Berlinale, warning of misinformation and noting increasing pressure on filmmakers to field political questions at press events.
- Writer Arundhati Roy withdraws her participation after Wenders’ remarks, calling the notion that art should not be political incomprehensible.