More than 80 actors, directors and filmmakers have lashed out the Berlin Film Festival for ‘institutional silence’ regarding the Israeli genocide in Gaza Strip.
The participants to the current and former editions of the Berlin Film Festival, among them Oscar winning artists like Tilda Swinton and Javier Bardem announced their opposition in an open letter.
The signatories urged the festival organizers to take a clear stance on Israel's war on Gaza saying,” We call on the Berlin International Film Festival to fulfill its moral obligation and clearly express its opposition to the genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes being committed by Israel against the Palestinians."
They emphasized that the festival organizers had failed to respond to their demands for an official statement affirming the Palestinians' right to life and pledging to protect artists' right to express their views on this issue.
The letter came after the Berlinale's jury president, Wim Wenders, answered a question on Gaza last week by saying: "We cannot really enter the field of politics."
Last year, more than 5,000 actors, artists, and directors, including some Hollywood stars, signed a pledge not to work with Israeli film institutions they deemed complicit in the violations committed against Palestinians.
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