Sacked in the morning: Berlinale director Tricia Tuttle faces axe over Gaza debate

Euronews · Feb 25, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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A row over anti-Semitism and the response of the Berlin Film Festival committee is the subject of a hastily arranged government meeting to be held on Thursday. Germany's Culture Minister, Wolfram Weimar, has called an extraordinary reunion of state's culture commission (KBB) with the fate of Berlinale director Tricia Tuttle also expected to be decided. According to Germany's Bild newspaper and government sources, the supervisory board will also discuss the future direction of the Berlin International Film Festival and other personnel changes at the special talks. Wolfram Weimer and Tricia Tuttle are reportedly said to be in agreement that she can no longer remain at the helm of the festival as a result of the enormous political turbulence during this year's edition which ended on Sunday. The paper says the debate about speaking out at the awards ceremony has forced Weimar to take action. It also claims that both Weimar and Tuttle agree that a new start is necessary because the Berlinale, one of Europe's big three film festivals alongside Cannes and Venice, has been misused by anti-Israeli activists Premonitions and protests This 2026 edition was only Tuttle's second time in command of the Berlinale. On the eve of her takeover she warned that the impression Germany is giving, with regards to controlling free speech on the Middle East conflict, was directly affecting the event. She also expressed fears that criticism of Israel would be condemned as antisemitism in Germany, especially in the wake of the German parliament passed a resolution in 2024 on the protection of Jewish life, a controversial move that has led opponents to say that it equates criticism of Israel with antisemitism. Such sentiments have always hung heavy over the Berlinale as its widely recognised as being the major festival where political issues are most prominent. When asked at the opening press conference whether films can affect change in the political realm, jury chair Wim Wenders said: “Movies can change the world”, but “not in a political way. We have to stay out of politics, because when we make films that are specifically political, we enter the political arena." This led to criticism on social media and later to a prominent open letter accusing the Berlinale of remaining silent about Gaza. The controversy turned on the closing night on Saturday: Several award winners used their acceptance speeches to express their support for Palestine and Gaza. German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider walked out of the ceremony when Palestinian director Abdallah Al-Khatib, whose film Chronicles From The Siege won the main prize in the Perspectives segment, accused the German government of being a "partner in the genocide in Gaza by Israel". The festival was later forced to respond to accusations from German politicians, who labelled the speeches "unacceptable", "anti-Semitic" and "malicious". The festival told the US publication Deadline: "It is our understanding that everything that was said on Saturday was within the bounds of German freedom of speech laws." Ahead of Thursday's session, Culture Minister Weimer emphasised: "The Berlinale must not be a place for incitement, threats or anti-Semitism. Hatred against Israel has no place there - especially not financed with taxpayers' money." It is not yet clear who will succeed Tricia Tuttle at the helm of the Berlinale.