The German government is set to hold an “extraordinary meeting” over the “future direction” of the Berlinale, the festival has confirmed.
In a statement sent to Variety, the Berlinale said that the federal government commissioner for culture and the media (BKM) had informed the festival that “on Thursday morning there will be an extraordinary meeting of the Supervisory Board of KBB GmbH at the initiative of State Minister Wolfram Weimer. Weimer is the Chair of the Supervisory Board. The meeting will include a discussion on the future direction of the Berlinale.”
It added: “We will not comment on any further speculation.”
The news comes following a 2026 Berlinale that was largely overshadowed by political backlash and reports in German tabloid newspaper Bild on Wednesday that Tricia Tuttle was on her way out as festival head after two years in the job.
The festival faced sharp criticism this year that arose over the unwillingness of prominent attendees to discuss politics and accusations that it itself was seeking to censor political talk.
On the opening day of the festival and faced with questions about the conflict in Gaza, jury head Wim Wenders said, “We have to stay out of politics because if we make movies that are dedicatedly political, we enter the field of politics,” prompting immediate backlash on social media and later a high-profile open letter criticizing the Berlinale for its “silence” over Gaza.
However, the controversy swung the other way on the closing night on Saturday, where several prize-winners used their acceptance speeches to voice support for Palestine and Gaza. German Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider reportedly walked out of the ceremony after Palestinian director Abdallah Al-Khatib — who won the top Perspectives section for his film “Chronicles From the Siege” — accused the German government of “being partners in the genocide in Gaza by Israel”.
The festival was later forced to respond to claims by German politicians that the speeches were “unacceptable”, “antisemitic” and “malicious” in their tone. “According to our understanding, everything that was said on Saturday, was within the bounds of free speech laws in Germany,” the festival said in response to Variety‘s sister publication Deadline.
Speaking to Variety during festival, Tuttle acknowledged that the festival was “like a lightning rod for political controversy.” She added: “That’s very tiring. It’s just really hard — and so important — to make sure that the filmmakers get the cut-through and it is a challenge when that becomes the only thing that we talk about.”
