Arundhati Roy withdraws from Berlin Film Festival over 'stay out of politics' remark
Arundhati Roy withdraws from Berlin Film Festival over 'stay out of politics' remark
Indian author Arundhati Roy withdraws from Berlinale after Wim Wenders says cinema should stay apolitical, citing Gaza and human-rights concerns.
Arundhati Roy has pulled out of the Berlin Film Festival amid a rising rift over politics and art following remarks by jury president Wim Wenders and other jurors about Gaza. Roy said she was shocked and disgusted by responses to a question about the Palestinian territory, describing the remarks as unconscionable and jaw-dropping. She argued that if artists cannot speak up on such issues, history will judge them harshly, and she stated that cinema cannot be detached from political realities.
Roy, a Booker Prize-winning author known for The God of Small Things, had been set to present a restored print of her 1989 film In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones. The event marks a broader dispute at the festival, with restated prints of two Egyptian works also pulled from the lineup over the festival’s stance on Gaza.
In a press conference, Wenders said, “We cannot really enter the field of politics,” and framed filmmakers as “the counterweight to politics.” The remarks sparked a wave of criticism and prompted Roy to rethink her participation “with deep regret,” insisting that art should not be politicized to the point of erasing human rights concerns. The Berlinale, for its part, said it respects the decision.
Roy’s withdrawal and the accompanying controversy have intensified debate about the role of art and artists in ongoing geopolitical crises, drawing attention to Gaza and the responsibilities felt by cultural organizations in times of conflict. The discussion has resonated beyond the festival circuit, highlighting a deep fault line between artistic independence and moral advocacy in public life.
