Tilda Swinton and Javier Bardem join 80 artists in condemning Berlinale over Gaza ‘silence’

More than 80 current and former participants of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) have issued a scathing open letter denouncing the festival’s “institutional silence” regarding the conflict in Gaza and the alleged “censorship” of artists who have attempted to speak out.

The list of signatories includes high-profile actors Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem, Angeliki Papoulia, Saleh Bakri, Tatiana Maslany, Peter Mullan, and Tobias Menzies, alongside acclaimed directors Mike Leigh, Lukas Dhont, Nan Goldin, Miguel Gomes, Adam McKay, and Avi Mograbi.

“We expect the institutions in our industry to refuse to be complicit in the ongoing horrific violence against Palestinians,” the letter states.

The letter was released as Berlinale 2026 continues, a year in which politics has surged to the forefront of the event—particularly following comments made by Jury President Wim Wenders during the opening press conference. When questioned about Gaza and the German government’s support for Israel—the German state provides a significant portion of the festival’s funding—Wenders argued that the industry should remain neutral. “We must stay away from politics,” Wenders claimed, asserting that filmmaking is the “exact opposite of politics.”

Following the backlash to Wenders’ remarks, Festival Director Tricia Tuttle issued a statement attempting to de-escalate the tension. “Artists should not be expected to comment on all wide-ranging discussions regarding the past or present practices of a festival over which they have no control,” Tuttle said.

In their open letter, the signatories expressed their “absolute disagreement” with Wenders’ view on the intersection of cinema and statecraft.

“You cannot separate one from the other,” the signatories argued, noting that “the wind is changing direction in the international film world.” The letter reminds the public that more than 5,000 film industry professionals, including several major Hollywood figures, have now refused to collaborate with “complicit Israeli film companies and institutions.”

The letter further points out that the Berlinale has historically issued “clear statements” regarding atrocities committed against people in Iran and Ukraine.

The document concludes: “We call on the Berlinale to fulfill its moral duty and clearly state its opposition to the genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed by Israel against Palestinians, and to completely end its stance aimed at protecting Israel from criticism and calls for accountability.”

The full text of the letter is as follows:

“Open Letter to the Berlinale — February 17, 2026

We are writing this letter as film workers who have participated in the Berlinale, past and present, who expect the institutions in our industry to refuse to be complicit in the horrific violence being perpetrated against Palestinians. We are deeply saddened that the Berlinale is involved in censoring artists who oppose the ongoing genocide by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza and the key role of the German state in making this possible. As the Palestine Film Institute has stated, while the festival ‘polices filmmakers, it maintains its commitment to cooperate with Federal Police investigations.’

Last year, filmmakers who spoke up for Palestinian life and freedom from the Berlinale stage reported being aggressively rebuked by senior festival programmers. It was mentioned that one filmmaker was investigated by the police, and the Berlinale management falsely implied that the filmmaker’s moving speech, rooted in international law and solidarity, was ‘discriminatory.’ Another filmmaker told Film Workers for Palestine regarding last year’s festival: ‘There was a feeling of paranoia, lack of protection, and persecution in the air, something I have never felt at a film festival before.’ We stand with our colleagues who reject this institutional pressure and anti-Palestinian racism.

We strongly disagree with Berlinale 2026 Jury President Wim Wenders’ statement that filmmaking is ‘the exact opposite of politics.’ You cannot separate the two. We are deeply concerned that the German-state-funded Berlinale is helping to implement the practice recently condemned by UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion Irene Khan, who stated that Germany is misusing ‘draconian law to restrict the defense of Palestinian rights, block public participation, and narrow the debate in academia and the arts.’ This is what Ai Weiwei recently described as Germany ‘doing what they did in the 1930s’ (agreeing with his interviewer who called it ‘the same fascist impulse, just a different target’). All this is happening at a time when we are learning horrific new details about Israeli forces ‘vaporizing’ 2,842 Palestinians using internationally banned, US-made thermal and thermobaric weapons. Despite abundant evidence of Israel’s genocidal intent, systematic crimes of persecution, and ethnic cleansing, Germany continues to provide Israel with the weapons used to destroy Palestinians in Gaza.

The wind is changing direction in the international film world. Several international film festivals, including the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), the largest in the world; BlackStar Film Festival in the US; and Film Fest Gent, Belgium’s largest, have supported the cultural boycott against apartheid Israel. More than 5,000 film workers, including leading Hollywood names and international figures, have also announced their refusal to work with Israeli film companies and institutions.

Despite this, the Berlinale has so far failed to fulfill the request to issue a statement affirming the rights of Palestinians to life, dignity, and freedom, condemning Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians, and committing to defend the right of artists to speak without restriction in support of Palestinian human rights. This is the minimum the Berlinale can and must do.

As the Palestine Film Institute said, ‘We are appalled by the Berlinale’s institutional silence on the genocide against Palestinians and its unwillingness to defend the freedom of expression and speech of filmmakers.’

Just as the festival has made clear statements in the past about atrocities committed against people in Iran and Ukraine, we demand that the Berlinale fulfill its moral duty and clearly state its opposition to the genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed by Israel against Palestinians, and completely end its stance aimed at protecting Israel from criticism and calls for accountability.”