Berlin Film Festival Gaza silence letter signed by 81.
Javier Bardem and Tilda Swinton criticise Berlinale 2026.
Artists demand a clear stance on the Gaza controversy.
Berlin Film Festival's statement defending the festival jury's silence on Gaza has placed the Berlinale 2026 at the centre of a growing political storm. More than 80 filmmakers and actors, including Javier Bardem, Tilda Swinton, Miguel Gomes and Adam McKay, have now signed an open letter accusing the festival of remaining silent on Gaza and of censoring artists who speak out.
The signatories, all current or former Berlinale participants, argue that major cultural institutions must not remain neutral in the face of what they describe as ongoing violence against Palestinians. They also claim that filmmakers who expressed solidarity with Gaza at previous editions faced reprimands and scrutiny.
Berlinale 2026 political controversy deepens
The letter arrives during the current edition of the festival, where politics has already become a flashpoint. Jury president Wim Wenders recently stated that filmmaking should remain separate from politics, calling it the opposite of political action. That comment triggered backlash within the industry and prompted festival head Tricia Tuttle to clarify that artists should not be compelled to address every debate linked to the event.
Open Letter to the Berlinale — Feb. 17, 2026
We write as film workers, all of us past and current Berlinale participants, who expect the institutions in our industry to refuse complicity in the terrible violence that continues to be waged against Palestinians. We are dismayed at the Berlinale’s involvement in censoring artists who oppose Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the German state’s key role in enabling it. As the Palestine Film Institute has stated, the festival has been “policing filmmakers alongside a continued commitment to collaborate with Federal Police on their investigations”. Last year, filmmakers who spoke out for Palestinian life and liberty from the Berlinale stage reported being aggressively reprimanded by senior festival programmers. One filmmaker was reported to have been investigated by police, and Berlinale leadership falsely implied that the filmmaker’s moving speech – rooted in international law and solidarity – was “discriminatory”. As another filmmaker told Film Workers for Palestine about last year’s festival: “There was a feeling of paranoia in the air, of not being protected and of being persecuted, which I had never felt before at a film festival”. We stand with our colleagues in rejecting this institutional repression and anti-Palestinian racism.
We fervently disagree with the statement made by Berlinale 2026 jury president Wim Wenders that filmmaking is “the opposite of politics”. You cannot separate one from the other. We are deeply concerned that the German state-funded Berlinale is helping put into practice what Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion recently condemned as Germany’s misuse of draconian legislation “to restrict advocacy for Palestinian rights, chilling public participation and shrinking 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 to him that “it’s the same fascist impulse, just a different target”). All of this at a time when we are learning horrifying new details about the 2,842 Palestinians “evaporated” by Israeli forces using internationally prohibited, U.S.-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 Palestinians in Gaza.
The tide is changing across the international film world. Many international film festivals have endorsed the cultural boycott of apartheid Israel, including the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, the world’s biggest, as well as BlackStar Film Festival in the U.S., and Film Fest Gent, Belgium’s largest. More than 5,000 film workers, including leading Hollywood and international figures, have also announced their refusal to work with complicit Israeli film companies and institutions.
Yet Berlinale has so far not even met the demands of its community to issue a statement that affirms the Palestinian right to life, dignity, and freedom; condemns the ongoing Israeli genocide of Palestinians; and commits to uphold the right of artists to speak without constraint in support of Palestinian human rights. This is the least it can – and should – do.
As the Palestine Film Institute has said, “we are appalled by Berlinale’s institutional silence on the genocide of Palestinians, and its unwillingness to defend the freedoms of speech and expression of filmmakers”. Just as the festival has made clear statements in the past about atrocities carried out against people in Iran and Ukraine, we call on the Berlinale to fulfil its moral duty and clearly state its opposition to Israel’s genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against Palestinians, and completely end its involvement in shielding Israel from criticism and calls for accountability.”
In their response, the 81 signatories firmly rejected the idea that cinema and politics can be separated. They cited growing international pressure within the film community, noting that thousands of film workers have refused to collaborate with certain Israeli institutions.
What the open letter demands
The artists call on the Berlinale to publicly condemn Israel’s actions in Gaza and to defend filmmakers’ freedom of expression. They point out that the festival has previously issued clear statements on conflicts in Iran and Ukraine, and argue that consistency is essential.
Among the notable names attached to the letter are Mike Leigh, Lukas Dhont, Nan Goldin and Tobias Menzies. The move signals a broader shift in how filmmakers are engaging with global politics, particularly at high-profile cultural events.
The open letter was published on February 17, 2026, intensifying scrutiny of the Berlin Film Festival’s position during this year’s edition.
