Berlinale crisis: Tricia Tuttle to stay as film festival boss after Gaza row
Tricia Tuttle has agreed to remain in post following the latest meeting of the festival’s organising committee KBB. The festival received "recommendations" from its supervisory board but refuted false claims that the Berlinale will be required to impose a new code of conduct for future events.
The Berlin Film Festival will keep its director after all.
Berlinale boss Tricia Tuttle will remain as the film festival’s director, the Berlinale confirmed, following a supervisory meeting on Wednesday with the board of the state-owned KBB – the company which oversees the Berlinale.
In a statement, the festival said the board confirmed “the importance of the independence of our work,” refuting false claims peddled by conservative German tabloid Bild that a condition of Tuttle’s continued employment would require the Berlinale and its guests signing off on a new “code of conduct”.
The Berlinale said the supervisory board gave “recommendations rather than conditions related to Tuttle’s continued employment."
These government recommendations include the creation of a code of conduct, training for staff dealing with politically sensitive content, and the launch of an independent advisory forum representing diverse social groups, including Jewish voices.
The festival added: "Their consideration and any implementation now rests with the Berlinale, and we will review them.”
Tuttle’s leadership came under threat after this year’s edition of the festival was overshadowed at first by criticism of silence regarding political debate and then by several filmmakers using their acceptance speeches during the awards ceremony to make pro-Palestinian statements and speak out about Gaza.
German Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider reportedly walked out of the ceremony after Palestinian director Abdallah Al-Khatib, whose film Chronicles From The Siege won the top prize in the Perspectives section, accused the German government of “being partners in the genocide in Gaza by Israel” - referring in part to Germany maintaining a staunchly pro-Israel stance, rooted in the weight of historical guilt.
Bild, which is openly pro-Israel, suggested that Tuttle was facing the axe. A column by right-wing journalist Gunnar Schupelius accused Tuttle of having “posed for Gaza propaganda,” citing a photo of Tuttle with Al-Khatib and the Chronicles From The Siege crew at the film’s Berlinale world premiere. He accused Tuttle of allowing the Berlinale to be used as a tool by “antisemitic” activists.
These accusations were countered by a groundswell of support for Tuttle – not only from the Berlinale but also from more than 3,000 film professionals, who signed an open letter stating that the Berlinale’s strength “lies in its ability to hold divergent perspectives and to give visibility to a plurality of voices.”
Additionally, 32 global film festival directors, including Cannes head Thierry Frémaux, Toronto Film Festival CEO Cameron Bailey and Locarno director Giona A. Nazzaro, signed an open letter saying they “stand in support of Tricia Tuttle’s wish to continue as Berlinale Festival Director in full trust and with institutional independenc
The festival directors added: “We need to maintain spaces where discomfort is embraced, where debates can be expansive, where new ideas can propagate and where unexpected – and sometimes conflicting – perspectives are made visible.”
Tuttle has three years left on her five-year contract as director of the Berlinale.
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