Arundhati Roy Withdraws from Berlinale Citing Gaza Remarks by Jury, Calls It ‘Shocking and Disgusting’
Booker Prize Winner Criticises Berlin Film Festival Jury for Saying Art Should Not Be Political
New Delhi, Feb 14: Booker prize winning author Arundhati Roy has withdrawn from the Berlin International Film Festival in protest against the jury’s remarks on “the genocide in Gaza.” Roy, whose 1989 film In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones was scheduled for screening in the Classics section, condemned the jury’s statement that “art should not be political,” calling it “jaw-dropping” and a way to silence conversations about ongoing crimes against humanity.
“The genocide of the Palestinian people by the State of Israel, supported by the US and Germany, cannot be ignored. If artists and filmmakers do not speak up, history will judge them. I am shocked and disgusted,” Roy said in a statement reported by The Wire.
The festival jury, headed by German filmmaker Wim Wenders, includes directors and artists from Japan, Nepal, South Korea, India, the US, and Poland. In a pre-festival press conference, Wenders stated that filmmakers “have to stay out of politics,” while fellow jurors emphasised their responsibility to audiences rather than political positions.
Roy acknowledged the significance of her film being screened at Berlinale and appreciated the political solidarity she received from German audiences, but her moral stance against the jury’s comments led her to withdraw from the event.
