Indian author Arundhati Roy has pulled out of the Berlin Film Festival, and she isn’t holding back. The Booker Prize-winning writer says she is “shocked and disgusted" by remarks made by the festival jury on the ongoing Gaza crisis, prompting her to withdraw from the event at the last minute.
Roy was scheduled to attend the 2026 edition of the Berlin Film Festival to present a restored version of her 1989 film In Which Annie Gives It Those One, a project that famously marked Shah Rukh Khan’s film debut. However, she has now stepped away from the programme following comments made at a press conference by jury president Wim Wenders and other members.
Speaking to AFP in a statement, Roy said the remarks were “unconscionable" and had led her to reconsider her participation “with deep regret". She said she was disturbed by the responses given when jury members were asked about the war in Gaza and Germany’s support for Israel.
At Thursday’s press conference, Wenders had said cinema should “stay out of politics" when asked about the conflict. Responding to those comments, Roy said that “to hear them say that art should not be political is jaw-dropping." She went further, describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as “a genocide of the Palestinian people by the State of Israel."
“If the greatest filmmakers and artists of our time cannot stand up and say so, they should know that history will judge them," she added.
The festival, also known as the Berlinale, responded by saying it respected Roy’s decision. “The Berlinale respects these decisions. We regret that we will not welcome them as their presence would have enriched the festival discourse," a spokesperson told AFP.
During the same press interaction, Wenders said, “We cannot really enter the field of politics", describing filmmakers as “the counterweight to politics". Fellow jury member Ewa Puszczynska called it ‘unfair’ to expect the jury to take a stance on the issue.
The Gaza war began after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which killed 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Israel’s subsequent military response has resulted in at least 71,000 deaths in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures that the United Nations considers reliable.
The Berlinale has long been known for politically engaged programming. However, this year’s edition has seen several prominent figures avoid taking public positions on the conflict, even as tensions continue to shape global cultural conversations.
