Why Arundhati Roy pulled out of Berlinale 2026
The writer-activist says she was “shocked and disgusted” by Wim Wenders' comments suggesting that art and filmmakers should stay out of politics
Author and activist Arundhati Roy has announced that she will not attend the 76th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) after expressing shock and disgust at remarks made by members of the festival’s competition jury about the conflict in Gaza.
Roy, the Booker Prize-winning author of The God of Small Things, was scheduled to be present in Berlin for the screening of In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones (1989), a film she wrote that was selected for the festival’s Classics section.
Shocked and disgusted, says Roy
In a statement to AFP late Friday (February 13), Roy said she was “shocked and disgusted” by the jury’s response to questions about Gaza, particularly comments suggesting that art and filmmakers should “stay out of politics,” even as what she described as atrocities unfold.
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The controversy erupted during a press conference when Wim Wenders, jury president and well-known German filmmaker, responded to a question about whether cinema should engage with political crises by saying films can influence ideas but should remain outside direct politics. He added that filmmakers are a “counterweight to politics,” not participants in it.
Gaza can't be ignored, says Roy
Roy rejected this position, arguing that artistic neutrality in the face of human suffering amounts to silencing critical conversations. She insisted that issues such as the violence in Gaza cannot be ignored and that artists have a responsibility to speak out. In her statement, she labelled the situation in Gaza a genocide and criticised the governments of the United States and Germany for what she termed their complicity.
“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.”
To hear them say that art should not be political is jaw-dropping
With deep regret, she concluded that she would not be attending the festival this year.
The Berlinale, which runs from February 12 to 22, has long been a forum for films addressing global issues. This year’s edition has already seen tensions around political questions, with discussions on how major cultural events should engage with geopolitical conflicts.