Overview
- İlker Çatak’s Yellow Letters won the Golden Bear at the 76th Berlin Film Festival.
- Emin Alper’s Salvation took the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, Lance Hammer’s Queen at Sea won the Jury Prize, Grant Gee was named best director, Sandra Hüller won best leading performance, and Anna Calder‑Marshall and Tom Courtenay shared supporting honors.
- A charged ceremony featured speeches by winners including Abdallah Alkhatib and Marie‑Rose Osta condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza, with some describing them as genocide, and Alkhatib criticizing the German government.
- Host Désirée Nosbusch noted that artists’ views are their own and not the publicly funded festival’s, and artistic director Tricia Tuttle closed by defending the Berlinale as a space for many voices.
- Days of protests set the stage, from Arundhati Roy’s withdrawal and Kaouther Ben Hania rejecting a parallel gala prize to an open letter signed by more than 80–100 figures accusing the festival of silence on Gaza, which drew a leadership statement on artistic autonomy.