Arundhati Roy withdraws from ‘Berlin Film Festival’ over jury remarks on Gaza

BERLIN, Feb. 17 (YPA) -Indian author and Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy withdrew from the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival following remarks by jury president Wim Wenders that she said ignored the genocide in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, Roy said she was “shocked and disgusted” by responses from Wenders and other jury members during a press conference on Thursday. She called the comments “unconscionable” and said she had decided to withdraw “with deep regret.”

Roy had been invited to present a restored version of the 1989 film In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, in which she starred and wrote the screenplay. However, she said she reconsidered her participation due to what she described as the jury’s stance.

When asked about Germany’s support for Israel, Wenders said: “We cannot really enter the field of politics,” adding that filmmakers are “the counterweight to politics.” Another jury member, Ewa Puszczyńska, said it was “a little bit unfair” to expect the jury to take a direct position.

Roy responded: “To hear them say that art should not be political is jaw-dropping,” adding: “It’s 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.”

She further said the actions in Gaza were “supported and funded by the governments of the United States and Germany, as well as several other countries in Europe,” which she described as making them “complicit in the crime.”

Roy added that she had been “profoundly disturbed” by positions taken by German authorities and cultural institutions on Palestine, though she noted she had often received solidarity from German audiences.

Roy has long been an outspoken critic of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, and has repeatedly voiced support for the Palestinian cause.

@E.Y.M