An emergency meeting Thursday morning of the supervisory board that runs the Berlin International Film Festival, or Berlinale, left the future of festival director Tricia Tuttle unresolved as the event reels from controversy tied to the Israel–Hamas war.
State Minister for Culture Wolfram Weimer called the meeting to discuss incidents at the recent Berlinale in which artists expressed solidarity with Gaza and criticized festival and jury leadership for how the conflict was handled within the festival. After the meeting, Weimer’s office said discussions between Tuttle and the board “over the Berlinale’s future direction will continue in the coming days.”
German tabloid Bild had reported that Weimer intended to dismiss Tuttle, saying government and festival officials had agreed she would need to go amid political backlash over speeches at the awards ceremony on February 22. Bild also cited a press photo of Tuttle with the team behind Abdallah Alkhatib’s film Chronicles From the Siege — in which some team members wear a keffiyeh and hold a Palestinian flag — as allegedly undermining her credibility with the government.
Before the meeting, many rallied behind Tuttle. More than 500 Berlinale employees signed a statement opposing her rumored dismissal, and over 700 German and international filmmakers signed an open letter saying Tuttle should not be held responsible for the Gaza-related controversy. The filmmakers warned that dismissing staff over individual statements or symbolic interpretations would signal cultural institutions are succumbing to political pressure.
The 2026 festival was Tuttle’s second year as director. The Berlinale has faced criticism and accusations of antisemitism since its 2024 edition, and this year’s edition again highlighted the tensions between artistic expression and political sensitivities.
Prize winners and acceptance speeches underscored the festival’s charged atmosphere. The event opened amid a social media storm after jury president Wim Wenders suggested filmmakers should “stay out of politics.” Yet award winners, including Ilker Catak’s Yellow Letters (Golden Bear) and Emin Alper’s Salvation, used their speeches to make political statements. Some critics accused the festival of censoring artists, while others defended free expression.
The most politically pointed moment came from Syrian-Palestinian director Abdallah Alkhatib, who won Best First Feature for Chronicles From the Siege. As a refugee in Germany, Alkhatib said people warned him against crossing “red lines” in his speech, but he nonetheless asked why Germany had “accepted to be partners of the genocide in Gaza by Israel,” adding that Germans are “intelligent enough to recognize this, but you choose not to care.” Environment Minister Carsten Schneider — the only government minister attending the ceremony — walked out during the speech and later called the remarks “unacceptable.” Government cultural commissioner Weimer condemned Alkhatib’s claim as “malicious” and damaging to appreciation of film art at the Berlinale.
The controversy centers on broader political context: Germany remains a staunch supporter of Israel and one of its largest arms suppliers, a position often explained by historical responsibility stemming from the Holocaust — a policy sometimes described by officials as Staatsraison, or “reason of state.” Human rights experts, scholars and a UN inquiry have said Israel’s assault on Gaza amounts to genocide, a charge Israel denies, asserting its actions are self-defence after the October 7, 2023 attacks.
The German government provides roughly 40% of the Berlinale’s funding, and amid arts funding cuts the festival must protect state support. Tuttle has insisted that funding oversight does not translate into editorial control: “They have strategic oversight, in that I report to them about financial matters,” she told DW, “but what we do, what we say, is entirely up to us. We don’t get missives. We don’t get directives at all.”
Pressure on cultural institutions has grown since 2024, when Berlin’s culture minister sought to tie arts funding to adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism; that proposed funding condition was later dropped but contributed to a charged climate. An open letter this year urged the Berlinale to “fulfill its moral duty” by clearly opposing what signatories called Israel’s genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and to stop shielding Israel from criticism.
The Berlinale has been scrutinized from both sides. Israeli ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor praised Minister Schneider’s walkout and warned the festival risked becoming a platform for Israel-haters. Commentators in Israeli and Jewish media criticized Alkhatib’s speech as bigotry. Filmmakers and actors faced pressure and intrusive questioning about their political stances, contributing to viral moments that festival director Tuttle said can harm both films and artists: “People are forced to speak, and if they don’t speak, then that is an affront to people. If they do speak and don’t say what the questioner wants to hear, that is an affront.”
Wim Wenders’ “stay out of politics” remark prompted Indian author Arundhati Roy to boycott the festival, arguing the line shuts down conversation about a crime against humanity as it unfolds. Tuttle defended artists’ right to free speech and said they should not be expected to comment on broader festival debates beyond their control.
Ilker Catak’s Golden Bear speech offered a call for unity: “We are not enemies. We are allies,” he said, urging filmmakers to focus on “autocrats, the right-wing parties, the nihilists of our time” rather than fighting one another. Yellow Letters, about two artists losing positions in a state theater because of political opinions, used Germany as a stand-in for Turkey to suggest censorship can occur anywhere.
As polarised debates swirl around the Berlinale, questions remain about whether the festival can preserve its commitment to diverse and sometimes controversial artistic voices while navigating political pressure and state funding.
Update: This article was first published on February 23 and updated after reports of Tuttle’s possible dismissal on February 25 and following the emergency meeting on February 26.
Edited by: Brenda Haas and Elizabeth Schumacher