Arundhati Roy Withdraws From Berlinale After Jury’s Gaza Remarks

Arundhati Roy has withdrawn from this year’s Berlin International Film Festival following controversial remarks by members of the festival jury about politics and the war in Gaza.

The move came after jury president Wim Wenders said at the festival’s opening press conference that artists should stay out of politics.

“We have to stay out of politics because if we make movies that are dedicatedly political, we enter the field of politics,” Wenders said. “We are the counterweight of politics, we are the opposite of politics. We have to do the work of people, not the work of politicians.”

His comments drew immediate backlash, especially at the Berlinale, which has long been known as one of the world’s most politically engaged film festivals.

Roy Pulls Out of Screening

Roy had been scheduled to attend a screening of her 1989 film In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones in the festival’s Classics section. In a statement shared with Indian publication The Wire and confirmed by Variety, she announced she would no longer participate.

She said she was “shocked and disgusted” by what she described as “unconscionable statements” from jury members when they were asked about Gaza.

“To hear them say that art should not be political is jaw-dropping,” Roy wrote. “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 filmmakers should be doing everything in their power to stop it.”

Roy has been outspoken in her criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza and of governments she says are supporting them, including Germany and the United States.

Jury Pushback on Gaza Questions

During the same press conference, jury member Ewa Puszczyńska also declined to directly comment on the conflict in Gaza.

“There are many other wars where genocide is committed, and we do not talk about that,” she said. “This is a very complicated question and I think it’s a bit unfair asking us what do you think.”

Germany is a major financial supporter of the Berlinale, and the country’s backing of Israel has been widely debated both within and outside cultural institutions.

A Political Festival Under Scrutiny

The Berlinale has historically been seen as a platform for political debate and socially conscious filmmaking. Roy said she had previously received strong support from German audiences when speaking about Palestine, which initially made her feel comfortable attending the festival.

But after hearing the jury’s remarks, she said she could not take part.

“If the greatest filmmakers and artists of our time cannot stand up and say so, they should know that history will judge them,” Roy wrote in her statement. “With deep regret, I must say that I will not be attending the Berlinale.”

Her withdrawal adds to the growing controversy surrounding the festival’s opening days and highlights ongoing tensions in the global film community over the role of art in times of political crisis.