Arundhati Roy quits Berlin Film Festival

Celebrated Indian academic and Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy has withdrawn from the Berlin International Film Festival in protest. She described this as a reaction to the jury’s refusal to address Israel’s two-year-long genocidal war in Gaza.

Roy said her exit was prompted by “unconscionable” statements, as she described, from the festival jury about the need to keep art and politics separate. She outright rejected their position. In her view, it was an attempt to silence debate about the crimes Israel is perpetrating in Gaza. These are “unfolding before the eyes of the world,” she said.

False neutrality

The 76th session of the Berlin Film Festival, which began last Thursday, featured more than 200 films, with 22 competing for the “Golden Bear” award.

This year’s jury is headed by the multi-award winning German director Wim Wenders. During a press conference, Wenders warned artists and filmmakers against wading into politics, stating that:

We have to stay away from politics, because if we make films of a purely political nature, we enter the arena of politics. We represent a counterweight to politics, indeed its opposite, and we must serve the interests of the people, not the interests of politicians.

Another juror peddling the same line is Polish producer Eva Puszczynska. She objected to a question about Israeli aggression on Gaza and German support for Israel, sheepishly stating that:

Many other wars in which genocide crimes are committed and not talked about.

Puszczynska downplayed the question as “very complex,” suggesting that it would not be fair for the committee to provide an answer — Roy vehemently disagrees.

Art is political

Roy explained that while her participation had been inspired by the political solidarity from the German public towards Palestinians, she changed her decision after hearing the jury’s statements. Furthermore, she said that she was disturbed by the position adopted by the German government and cultural institutions towards Palestine.

She held the view that the jury was using the claim ‘art is not political’ to:

silence any discussion about a crime against humanity.

She stressed that artists, writers, and filmmakers have a moral responsibility to:

do everything in their power to stop what is happening.

Roy has consistently characterised events in Gaza represents as a genocide against Palestinian people. She held the governments of the United States, Germany and other European countries responsible for supporting and financing Israel, considering them “complicit” in these crimes.

She concluded by saying that she was shocked and disgusted, adding that history would hold accountable anyone who chose silence.

Featured image courtesy Arundhati Roy