Roy Quits Berlin Film Fest Over Political Film Ban

Indian novelist Arundhati Roy announced her withdrawal from the Berlin Film Festival on Friday, February 13, 2026. This decision followed comments made by jury head Wim Wenders, who suggested that filmmakers should refrain from creating overtly political films. Roy, the 1997 Booker Prize winner for "The God of Small Things," stated she was "shocked and disgusted" by the jury's sentiments.

Wenders, alongside fellow jury member Ewa Puszczynska, expressed that the festival should remain separate from politics, advocating for art to be a "counterweight to politics." Roy strongly disagreed, calling their stance "unconscionable" and a way to silence crucial conversations about atrocities occurring in real-time, such as the Gaza conflict.

Roy was scheduled to present her 1989 film, "In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones," in the Berlinale's Classics section. Her departure underscores the global rifts caused by the Gaza war, which began with Hamas's cross-border raid into southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The subsequent Israeli campaign has led to a significant Palestinian death toll, according to Gaza health officials, while Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages in the initial attack, per Israeli figures.