The Berlin International Film Festival is no stranger to political controversies, but the first one to hit this year's event happened hours before the Berlinale officially kicked off on February 12 with its opening film, "No Good Men," during a press conference introducing the international jury in the morning.

The conference brought together festival director Tricia Tuttle and the seven people who will be selecting the winners of the Golden and Silver Bears: Jury president Wim Wenders, director of acclaimed films including "Wings of Desire" and the Oscar-nominated "Perfect Days," and his fellow jurors — Nepalese director Min Bahadur; South Korean actor Bae Doona; Indian director, producer and archivist Shivendra Singh Dungarpur; US director, screenwriter and producer Reinaldo Marcus Green; Japanese director, screenwriter and producer HIKARI and Polish producer Ewa Puszczynska.

Political question interrupted mid-sentence in livestream

The livestream of the press conference was interrupted just as political journalist Tilo Jung asked the members of the jury how they felt about the Berlinale's and the German government's stance on Gaza.

Referring to one of the jurors' previous comments on how cinema had the power to change the world, and noting that the festival does not happen in a vacuum, Jung reminded that "the Berlinale as an institution has famously shown solidarity with people in Iran and Ukraine, but never with Palestine, even today."

He went on to ask: "In light of the German government's support of the genocide in Gaza and its role as the main funder of the Berlinale, do you as a member of the jury…"

The livestream was cut off before the host of the podcast "Jung & Naiv" could end his question: "Do you as a member of the jury support this selective treatment of human rights?"

The interruption prompted speculation as to whether the festival had attempted to censor the topic, which organizers promptly denied. 

"We had technical problems with the web streaming of the press conference with the international jury this morning," the Berlinale press office said in a statement, in which they also apologized. It added that the full recording of the press conference would be made available on the festival's website "as soon as possible."

"I find it hard to believe this was just a coincidence," Jung told DW, pointing out that Berlinale director Tricia Tuttle, who was leading the press conference, initially tried to steer away from the topic before some of the jury members offered tense reactions that avoided a direct answer to the question.

"Asking us this question is a little bit unfair," first said Ewa Puszczynska, producer of Holocaust drama "The Zone of Interest." Acknowledging that she had previously talked about how cinema "changes the world," she added, "of course, we are trying to talk to every single viewer, to make them think, but we cannot be responsible for what that decision would be — the decision to support Israel, or the decision to support Palestine."

"But there are many wars with genocides, and we do not talk about that," she continued, adding: "So this is a very complicated question and I think it's a bit unfair asking us what do you think, how we support, not support, talking to our governments or not."

Wenders: 'We have to stay out of politics'

Wim Wenders concluded the discussion on the topic by stating: "We have to stay out of politics because if we make movies that are dedicatedly political, we enter the field of politics; but we are the counterweight to politics."

"Cinema has an incredible power of being compassionate and empathetic," he also said. "The news is not empathetic. Politics is not empathetic, but movies are. And that's our duty."

The feed remained offline for the entirety of the answers given by Puszczynska and Wenders, but many other news cameras documented the exchange.

Beyond the interruption in the livestream, Jung feels the jury's answers are "questionable."

"A major film festival should not have opened like this," he told DW.

In 2024, Wenders had told press agency dpa on the Berlinale's red carpet that he liked how the festival always took a stance, and that "it would keep on doing so in the future." At the time, the filmmaker was reacting to the festival's decision to disinvite five politicians from the far-right party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) from the opening gala.

Berlinale accused of antisemitism in past editions

For the past two years, several filmmakers have made political statements regarding the conflict in Gaza, and the Berlin Film Festival has faced criticism from different sides over how it has handled the sensitive topic.

On the one hand, it is accused of avoiding showing solidarity with Palestinians, and on the other, it has been accused of antisemitism for offering a stage to critical voices.

Criticism of Israel's policies by an Israeli filmmaker were among the 2024 incidents that led to the festival being accused of antisemitism.

Yuval Abraham, the Israeli co-director of the documentary "No Other Land," which portrays the situation in the occupied West Bank, went on to face death threats in his home country following his call at the festival's award ceremony to end "this apartheid, this inequality."  

Ahead of the 2025 event — Tricia Tuttle's first year as its director — the festival clarified its position on freedom of expression, including showing solidarity with Palestinians: "All of the guests have a right to free speech within the bounds of the law. We also stand by the right of our filmmakers to talk about the impulses behind their work and their experiences of the world. The Berlinale welcomes different points of view, even if this creates tension or controversy."

Edited by: Andreas Illmer