Arundhati skips Berlin fest over jury’s ‘stay off politics’ remark
The novelist pulls out of the Berlin festival after denouncing jury remarks on Gaza and rejecting the idea that art can remain apolitical in the face of war.
Booker Prize-winning novelist and political essayist Arundhati Roy has withdrawn from the Berlin International Film Festival, saying she was “shocked and disgusted” by comments from members of the festival’s jury that film-makers should remain outside politics, at a time of war in Gaza.
Roy had been expected to attend a screening of In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, the 1989 film for which she wrote the screenplay, selected this year for the festival’s Classics section, an invitation she described as carrying unexpected emotional weight. “There was something sweet and wonderful about this for me,” she wrote of the film’s return nearly four decades later.
Her decision not to travel to Berlin, announced on Friday, turns what is typically a celebratory archival showcase into the latest flashpoint in a widening cultural debate over how major European institutions respond to the conflict.
In a written statement given to the news outlet The Wire, Roy said that calls for artistic neutrality in the face of mass violence amounted to “a way of shutting down a conversation about a crime against humanity even as it unfolds in real time”, adding that this was precisely the moment when “artists, writers and film makers should be doing everything in their power to stop it”.
At a press conference on Thursday, festival jury led by German director Wim Wenders was asked whether cinema could influence political outcomes. Wenders responded that while films might change people, they could not change political decisions, and that film-makers “have to stay out of politics”, describing artists as a counterweight rather than participants in political life.
Another juror, the Polish producer Ewa Puszczyńska, called questions linking the festival to Germany’s support for Israel “a bit unfair”, adding that artists could not be responsible for the political choices of audiences.
Roy’s statement was unequivocal in its language about Gaza. “Let me say this clearly,” she wrote. “What has happened in Gaza, what continues to happen, is a genocide of the Palestinian people by the State of Israel.” She added that the violence was “supported and funded by the governments of the United States and Germany, as well as several other countries in Europe, which makes them complicit in the crime.”
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The remarks by the jury, she wrote, were “jaw-dropping,” not only for what they said about art but for what they declined to name. Although she said she had long been “profoundly disturbed” by Germany’s official position on Palestine, she had considered attending because “I have always received political solidarity when I have spoken to German audiences.”
For Roy the issue was not the autonomy of art but its moral horizon. “If the greatest film makers and artists of our time cannot stand up and say so,” she wrote, “they should know that history will judge them.” “With deep regret, I must say that I will not be attending the Berlinale,” the statement concluded.
Aishwarya Khosla is a key editorial figure at The Indian Express, where she spearheads and manages the Books & Literature and Puzzles & Games sections, driving content strategy and execution. Aishwarya's specialty lies in book reviews, literary criticism and cultural commentary. She also pens long-form feature articles where she focuses on the complex interplay of culture, identity, and politics.
She is a proud recipient of The Nehru Fellowship in Politics and Elections. This fellowship required intensive study and research into political campaigns, policy analysis, political strategy, and communications, directly informing the analytical depth of her cultural commentary.
As the dedicated author of The Indian Express newsletters, Meanwhile, Back Home and Books 'n' Bits, Aishwarya provides consistent, curated, and trusted insights directly to the readership. She also hosts the podcast series Casually Obsessed. Her established role and her commitment to examining complex societal themes through a nuanced lens ensure her content is a reliable source of high-quality literary and cultural journalism.
Her extensive background across eight years also includes previous roles at Hindustan Times, where she provided dedicated coverage of politics, books, theatre, broader culture, and the Punjabi diaspora.
Write to her at aishwaryakhosla.ak@gmail.com or aishwarya.khosla@indianexpress.com. You can follow her on Instagram:
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