Berlin film festival defends Wim Wenders after Arundhati Roy attacked ‘jaw-dropping’ comments
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.
“To hear them say that art should not be political is jaw-dropping,” Roy said. “It is a way of shutting down a conversation about a crime against humanity even as it unfolds before us in real time – when artists, writers and film-makers should be doing everything in their power to stop it.”
Late on Saturday, festival head Tricia Tuttle responded to the number of times actors and film-makers have been asked at press conferences to comment on political and societal issues.
“Artists are free to exercise their right of free speech in whatever way they choose,” Tuttle said. “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.”
A festival spokesperson added: “As we enter the first 48 hours of this year’s festival, a media storm has swept over the Berlinale. We feel it is important to speak out – in defence of our film-makers, and especially our jury and jury president.
“Some of what is currently circulating takes remarks from press conferences detached not only out of context of the full conversations but also from the lifetime of work and values these artists represent.”
Politically oriented questions at the Berlinale have dominated headlines and social media. Charli xcx, speaking at a presser for Aidan Zamiri’s The Moment, which she produced and stars in, applauded the festival for “not shying away from political films”.
Other high-profile guests questioned on political topics, often with limited connection to the films they were promoting, include US actor Neil Patrick Harris – who was asked whether cinema could fight fascism, UK star Rupert Grint – who was also asked about fascism, and Malaysian actor Michelle Yeoh – who was asked for her thoughts on the current state of the US.
In her communication, titled On Speaking, Cinema and Politics, Tuttle said there were “many different kinds of art, and many different ways of being political”.
She said film-makers were being criticised “if they can not compress complex thoughts into a brief soundbite when a microphone is placed in front of them when they thought they were speaking about something else.”
She added: “In a media environment dominated by crisis, there is less oxygen left for serious conversation about film or culture at all, unless it can be folded as well into a news agenda.”