More than 80 film industry figures including Oscar-winning actors Javier Bardem and Tilda Swinton issued a statement on Tuesday slamming the Berlin Film Festival's "silence" on Gaza. The signatories to the open letter, sent to AFP, said they were "appalled" by the festival's "institutional silence" and "dismayed" at its "involvement in censoring artists who oppose Israel's ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza".
Their statement came after the Berlinale's jury president, German director Wim Wenders, answered a question on Gaza last week by saying: "We cannot really enter the field of politics." Prominent directors who signed Tuesday's letter, coordinated by the Film Workers for Palestine collective, include British filmmaker Mike Leigh and the American Adam McKay.
The signatories include many artists who have presented work at the Berlin Film Festival. Swinton was herself last year awarded its prestigious Honorary Golden Bear award. They said they "fervently disagree" with Wenders's comments, arguing that filmmaking and politics cannot be separated. "Just as the festival has made clear statements in the past about atrocities carried out against people in Iran and Ukraine, we call on the Berlinale to fulfil its moral duty and clearly state its opposition to Israel's genocide," the letter adds.
The signatories took exception not only to the Berlinale's stance on Gaza, but also "the German state's key role in enabling" Israel's actions.
The festival has been hit by controversy over Gaza several times in recent years. When asked about Germany's support for Israel at a press conference on Thursday, Wenders said filmmakers had "to stay out of politics". "We have to do the work of people, not the work of politicians," he said. Fellow jury member Ewa Puszczynska said it was a "little bit unfair" to expect the jury to take a direct stance on the issue.
Their comments had already sparked a backlash. Award-winning Indian novelist Arundhati Roy cancelled a planned appearance at the festival, saying she was "shocked and disgusted" at the jury members' comments.
On Saturday, the Berlinale put out a statement defending Wenders from the "media storm", indicating that his remarks had been taken out of context. Festival director Tricia Tuttle said that artists "are free to exercise their right of free speech in whatever way they choose" and should not "be expected to speak on every political issue raised to them unless they want to".
In 2024, the festival's documentary award went to "No Other Land", which follows the dispossession of Palestinian communities in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. German government officials criticised "one-sided" remarks about Gaza by the directors of that film and others at that year's awards ceremony. The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel's retaliation has left at least 71,000 people dead in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, whose figures the United Nations considers reliable.
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