Overview
- The KBB supervisory board confirmed Tricia Tuttle will continue as Berlinale director, with her contract running to 2029.
- The board issued non-binding recommendations—creation of a consultative forum and a code of conduct for KBB institutions—which Tuttle says she will review while safeguarding programming independence.
- Tuttle said the festival’s independence was affirmed and reported higher 2026 attendance than the 2025 record, calling the Berlinale robust.
- The crisis followed prizewinner Abdallah Alkhatib’s closing‑gala speech accusing Germany of complicity in genocide in Gaza, which led Culture State Minister Wolfram Weimer to convene extraordinary board meetings.
- Weimer now faces wider criticism for perceived political overreach, including removing three bookshops from a federal prize shortlist via security-service vetting, with industry groups and lawmakers objecting and the shops preparing legal action.