Javier Bardem, Tilda Swinton and Adam McKay among 81 names to sign open letter criticizing Berlin Film Festival for ‘silence’ on Gaza: ‘We are disappointed’ (Exclusive)

More than 80 current and former Berlinale attendees have signed an open letter condemning the festival, which it claims is “silenced” when it comes to the conflict in Gaza and the “censoring” of artists who have spoken out.

Actors Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem, Angelique Papaulia, Saleh Bakary, Tatiana Maslany, Peter Mullan and Tobias Menzies, as well as directors Mike Leigh, Lucas Dhont, Nan Goldin, Miguel Gomes, Adam McKay and Avi Mograbi are among the signatories. The horrific violence against Palestinians continues.

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The letter lands in the midst of the 2026 edition of Berlinale in which issues of politics have become a central theme, particularly following the comments of jury chief Wim Wenders at the opening press conference. Asked about the support the Gaza and German governments have shown for Israel in funding most of the festival, he asserted that “we have to stay away from politics” and that filmmaking is “the opposite of politics”. The ensuing uproar prompted festival chief Tricia Tuttle to issue a statement in which she said: “Artists should not be expected to comment on all the wider debates about previous or current festival practices over which they have no control.”

In the open letter, the signatories claim to “vehemently disagree” with Wender’s views on filmmaking and politics. “You can’t separate one from the other,” they say, adding that “the tide is changing in the international film world,” noting that more than 5,000 filmmakers, including many of Hollywood’s biggest names, have refused to work with “supportive Israeli film companies and institutions.”

The letter notes that Berlinale has made “clear statements” about “atrocities” committed against people in Iran and Ukraine in the past.

“We call on Berlinale to fulfill its moral duty and to articulate its opposition to Israel’s genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Palestinians, and to completely end its involvement in shielding Israel from criticism and calls for accountability,” it concludes.

See the full letter and list of signatories below.

An Open Letter to Berlinale — February 17, 2026

We write that as filmmakers, we expect all Berlin participants, past and present, to reject the complicity of our industry organizations in the ongoing horrific violence against Palestinians. We are dismayed by Berlin’s complicity in censoring artists who oppose Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and the German state’s leading role in enabling it. As the Palestine Film Institute puts it, the festival “polices filmmakers with an ongoing commitment to cooperate with federal police in their investigations.”

Last year, senior festival organizers reported that filmmakers who spoke out for Palestinian life and freedom were aggressively reprimanded from the Berlinale stage. A filmmaker was reportedly investigated by the police, and the Berlinale leadership falsely implied that the filmmaker’s ongoing speech – based on international law and solidarity – was “discriminatory”. As another filmmaker told Film Workers for Palestine about last year’s festival: “There was a sense of madness in the air, a feeling of insecurity and persecution, which I had never felt before at a film festival”. We stand with our colleagues in rejecting this institutional oppression and anti-Palestinian racism.

We strongly disagree with Berlin 2026 Jury President Wim Wenders’ statement 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 to put into practice what the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion recently denounced as Germany’s abuse of draconian laws as “restricting the advocacy of Palestinian rights, stifling and shrinking public participation.” It’s also what Ai Weiwei recently described as “what Germany did in the 1930s” (agreeing with his interviewer who suggested to him that “it’s the same fascist impulse, just a different goal”). All this at a time when we are learning horrifying new details about the 2,842 Palestinians who were “vaporized” by Israeli forces using internationally banned, American-made thermal and thermobaric weapons. Despite overwhelming 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 in the international film world. Many international film festivals have supported the cultural boycott of apartheid Israel, including the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam, the world’s largest, as well as the US’s Blackstar Film Festival and Belgium’s largest Film Fest Gent. More than 5,000 filmmakers, including Hollywood and international figures, have also announced their refusal to work with mixed Israeli film companies and organizations.

Yet Berlinale has not even met the demand to issue a statement affirming the Palestinian right to life, dignity and freedom of their community. Condemns the ongoing Israeli genocide of Palestinians; and is committed to upholding the right of artists to speak without hindrance in support of Palestinian human rights. It can – and must – do at least this.

As the Palestine Film Institute put it, “We are appalled by Berlinale’s institutional silence on the massacre of Palestinians and its unwillingness to defend filmmakers’ freedom of speech and expression.” Just as the festival made a clear statement about past atrocities in Iran and Ukraine, we call on Berlinale to fulfill its moral duty to oppose Israel’s genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Palestinians, and to end its involvement in criticism of Israel altogether.

Signed by

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