Why Did Arundhati Roy Boycott Berlin Film Festival?

Renowned Indian author Arundhati Roy has announced her withdrawal from the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), citing "shock and disgust" over statements made by the festival's jury that she believes attempt to silence discussion on Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza.

In a scathing piece for the online publication The Wire, Roy took particular aim at comments from the jury's chair, acclaimed German director Wim Wenders, who suggested that "art should not be political." Roy described the remark as "jaw-dropping," arguing it is a deliberate move to shut down a vital conversation.

"It is a way of shutting down a conversation about a crime against humanity even as it unfolds before us in real time," wrote Roy, whose celebrated works include the Booker Prize-winning novel The God of Small Things.

Roy, also known for her powerful non-fiction and political activism, did not mince words. She stated her firm belief that artists and filmmakers have a moral duty to use their platforms.

"I am shocked and disgusted," Roy wrote. "I believe artists, writers and filmmakers should be doing everything in their power to stop this war."

She was unequivocal in her condemnation of the violence, calling it a genocide of the Palestinian people by the State of Israel. Furthermore, she held Western powers accountable, asserting that the war is "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."

The controversy erupted during a press conference at the festival's opening on Thursday. A journalist posed a question to the jury about the German government's "support of the genocide in Gaza" and its perceived "selective treatment of human rights."

In response, jury chair Wim Wenders argued that filmmakers should remain separate from politics. "If we made movies that are dedicatedly political, we enter the field of politics. But we are the counterweight to politics. We are the opposite of politics," he stated.

Another jury member, Polish film producer Ewa Puszczynska, defended this position, suggesting the question was "a bit unfair" and that filmmakers "cannot be responsible" for governmental foreign policies. She added, "There are many other wars where genocide is committed and we do not talk about that."

Roy had been scheduled to attend the festival, running from February 12 to 22, for a special screening of her 1989 film In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones in the festival's Classics section.

Her boycott comes amid a wider cultural backlash against Germany's stance on the conflict. Germany is Israel's second-largest arms supplier after the United States and has implemented strict measures that critics say stifle pro-Palestinian speech.