More than 80 current and former Berlinale participants have signed an open letter to the festival condemning what they say has been its “silence” when it comes to the Gaza conflict and the “censorship” of artists who have spoken out.
Actors Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem, Angeliki Papoulia, Saleh Bakri, Tatiana Maslany, Peter Mullan and Tobias Menzies, as well as directors Mike Leigh, Lukas Dhont, Nan Goldin, Miguel Gomes, Adam McKay and Avi Mograbi are among the signatories of the letter, which says they “expected institutions to refuse to continue violence against the terrible complicity of our industry. Palestinians.”
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The letter lands midway through the 2026 edition of the Berlinale, where political topics have become a central theme, especially following jury chief Wim Wenders’ comments at the opening press conference. Asked about Gaza and the support the German government – which funds much of the festival – has shown Israel, he said “we should stay out of politics” and argued that filmmaking is “the opposite of politics”. The ensuing uproar prompted festival boss Tricia Tuttle to issue a statement saying: “Artists should not be expected to comment on any wider debate about a festival’s past or current practices over which they have no control.”
In the open letter, the signatories state that they “fervently disagree” with Wenders’ views on film and politics. “You cannot separate yourself from each other,” they say, adding that “the tide is changing in the world of international film,” citing the refusal of more than 5,000 film workers, including several major Hollywood names, to work with “complicit Israeli film companies and institutions.”
The letter notes that Berlinale has made “clear statements” in the past about “atrocities” committed against people in Iran and Ukraine.
“We call on the Berlinale to fulfill its moral duty and clearly state its opposition to Israel’s genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Palestinians, and to completely cease its involvement in shielding Israel from criticism and accountability,” it concludes.
See the full letter and list of signatories below.
Open Letter to the Berlinale — February 17, 2026
We write as film workers, all of us past and present Berlinale attendees, who expect the institutions of our industry to refuse complicity in the terrible violence that continues to be waged against Palestinians. We are dismayed by the Berlinale’s involvement in the censorship of artists who oppose Israel’s ongoing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza, and the key role of the German state in enabling it. As the Palestine Film Institute stated, the festival “surveilled the filmmakers with an ongoing commitment to cooperate with the Federal Police in their investigations.”
Last year, filmmakers who spoke out for Palestinian life and freedom on the Berlinale stage reported being aggressively reprimanded by senior festival programmers. A director was reported to have been investigated by police, and Berlinale management falsely suggested that the filmmaker’s emotional speech – rooted in international law and solidarity – was “discriminatory”. As another Film Workers for Palestine director said of last year’s festival: “there was a sense of paranoia in the air, of not being protected and being persecuted, that I’ve never felt before at a film festival.” We stand with our colleagues in rejecting this institutional repression and anti-Palestinian racism.
We disagree with Berlinale 2026 Jury President Wim Wenders’ claim that filming is “the opposite of politics”. You can’t separate one from the other. We are deeply concerned that the German state-funded Berlinale is helping to implement what Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion, recently condemned as Germany’s abusive use of draconian legislation “to curtail advocacy for Palestinian rights, intimidate public participation and curtail discourse in academia and the arts.” This is also what Ai Weiwei recently described as Germany “doing what they did in the 1930s” (agreeing with his interviewer who suggested that “it’s the same fascist impulse, just a different target”). All this at a time when we are learning gruesome new details about the 2,842 Palestinians “vaporized” by Israeli forces using internationally banned US-made thermal and thermobaric weapons. Despite abundant evidence of Israel’s genocidal intent, systematic atrocity crimes and ethnic cleansing, Germany continues to supply Israel with weapons used to exterminate the Palestinians in Gaza.
The tide is turning in the world of international film. Many international film festivals supported the cultural boycott of apartheid Israel, including the Amsterdam International Documentary Festival, the world’s largest, as well as the BlackStar Film Festival in the US and Film Fest Gent, the largest in Belgium. More than 5,000 film workers, including top Hollywood and international figures, also announced their refusal to work with complicit Israeli film companies and institutions.
However, so far Berlinale has not even met the demands of its community to issue a statement affirming the Palestinian right to life, dignity and freedom; condemns the ongoing Israeli genocide of Palestinians; and is committed to supporting the right of artists to speak without constraint in support of Palestinian human rights. This is at least what it can – and should – do.
As the Palestine Film Institute said, “We are appalled by the Berlinale’s institutional silence on the Palestinian genocide and its refusal to defend filmmakers’ freedoms of speech and expression.” Just as the festival has made clear statements in the past about the atrocities committed against the people of Iran and Ukraine, we call on the Berlinale to fulfill its moral duty and clearly state its opposition to Israel’s genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Palestinians, and to completely end its involvement in criticizing and calling Israel to account.
Signed by
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