Berlinale head says artists should not be pushed into soundbites after author quit over president’s remarks that film-makers should ‘stay out of politics’
The Berlin film festival has issued a lengthy statement “in defence of our film-makers, and especially our jury and jury president”, after what it described as a “media storm that has swept over the Berlinale” in its first few days.
The defence follows criticism levelled at the jury, in particular president, Wim Wenders, for comments made when fielding questions about the war in Gaza. Asked during the opening press conference if films can affect political change, the German film-maker said that “movies can change the world” but “not in a political way”, adding that film-makers “have to stay out of politics”.
Meanwhile, Polish producer Ewa Puszczyńska, when asked about the support the German government has shown for Israel, called the questioning “complicated” and “a bit unfair”. “We cannot be responsible for what their decision would be to support Israel or the decision to support Palestine,” she said
The comments led to Indian author Arundhati Roy withdrawing from the Berlinale on Friday. In a stinging rebuke, Roy called the comments “unconscionable” and said she feared they had reached millions of people across the world.
