Berlinale responds after uproar over festival's politics ban

The Berlin International Film Festival has issued an official statement after increasing backlash against their perceived ban on politics.

As more and more artists gathered for the festival’s 76th edition refused to comment on politics, including jury president Wim Wenders, Berlinale head Tricia Tuttle has addressed the public uproar.

The incredibly detailed statement began with an acknowledgment for “free speech”: “People have called for free speech at the Berlinale. Free speech is happening at the Berlinale. But increasingly, filmmakers are expected to answer any question put to them. They are criticised if they do not answer. They are criticised if they answer and we do not like what they say. They are criticised if they cannot compress complex thoughts into a brief sound bite when a microphone is placed in front of them when they thought they were speaking about something else.”

The remarks further noted the inclusion of 278 films “in this year’s programme” which cover themes about “genocide, about sexual violence in war, about corruption, about patriarchal violence, about colonialism or abusive state power.”

With filmmakers who have also faced some of these real-life situations attending the ongoing event, Tuttle’s statement posed the question, “This is happening now. Are we amplifying those voices enough?”

The Berlinale head further seemed to suggest that if the artists are not speaking on politics, it is due to their own choice rather than any guidelines implemented by the festival.

“Artists are free to exercise their right of free speech in whatever way they choose. Artists should not be expected to comment on all broader debates about a festival’s previous or current practices over which they have no control. Nor should they be expected to speak on every political issue raised to them unless they want to.”

The statement concluded with the words, “We thank our team, guests, juries, our filmmakers, and the many others engaged with the Berlinale for cool heads in hot times.”

This year’s Berlinale kicked off on February 12 and began on an unusually aloof note as Wim Wenders, presiding over the current jury, announced, “We have to stay out of politics because if we make movies that are dedicatedly political, we enter the field of politics.”

Following his remarks, actors Michelle Yeoh, Neil Patrick Harris, and Rupert Grint also dodged political conversation, further igniting online backlash and criticism.

Despite the controversy, the Berlin Film Festival is scheduled until February 22.