Arundhati Roy Withdraws From Berlin Film Festival Over Jury’s Stance on Political Cinema

Indian author Arundhati Roy has withdrawn from the Berlin Film Festival after senior jury members suggested filmmakers should avoid overtly political themes. Roy, who won the Booker Prize in 1997 for The God of Small Things, said she was “shocked and disgusted” by the remarks, calling them an attempt to silence artists at a time of grave global injustice.

The controversy followed comments by jury president Wim Wenders, who said cinema should remain a counterweight to politics rather than a participant in it. Fellow juror Ewa Puszczynska added it was unfair to ask the jury to comment collectively on government positions regarding the Gaza war. Roy responded in a statement published by The Wire, arguing that insisting art remain apolitical effectively shuts down discussion of crimes against humanity as they occur.

Roy had been scheduled to present In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, a film she wrote, in the festival’s Classics section, but said she would no longer attend. Her decision comes amid broader divisions in the global arts community over the Gaza conflict, sparked by the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas and Israel’s subsequent military campaign. Arrest warrants have since been issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a senior Hamas leader, deepening international debate and protest.

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