Tricia Tuttle will remain director of the Berlin International Film Festival, following a supervisory board meeting on Wednesday, the Berlin International Film Festival has confirmed.
The festival said in a statement that the board of directors stressed “the importance of the independence of our work,” and refuted allegations circulated in the German media that the condition for Tuttle’s continued work would require the Berlinale and its guests to sign a new “code of conduct” that includes specific measures to confront “anti-Semitism.”
The allegations were reported by a conservative German tabloid newspaper BildThis is ahead of today’s Board of Directors meeting. Berlinale said the supervisory board made “recommendations but not conditions relating to Tuttle’s continued employment. Their consideration and any implementation now rests with Berlinale, and we will review them.”
Bild He has led the campaign to sack Tuttle since the Berlinale awards ceremony on February 21, when a number of filmmakers made pro-Palestinian statements from the stage. Syrian-Palestinian director Abdullah Al-Khatib won the Grand Prize in the Perspectives section for his film Records from the siegeHe used his speech to attack the German government, accusing it of “participating in the genocide committed by Israel in Gaza.” In response, German Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider withdrew from the ceremony. Bild Also check out the premiere photo from February 15 which shows Tuttle posing with Records from the siege The film crew, many of the filmmakers were wearing keffiyehs and carrying Palestinian flags.
There has been a groundswell of support for Tuttle from film professionals across Europe and beyond. About 2,500 film professionals, including Sean Baker, Nancy Spielberg, Kleber Mendonça Filho and Tilda Swinton, have signed an open letter supporting her to stay in the job. On Tuesday, 32 international film festival directors signed on, including Cannes President Thierry Frémaux, Toronto Film Festival CEO Cameron Bailey, San Sebastian Director José Luis Ribordinos, Rotterdam President Vanja Kaludjersic, and Locarno Director Giona A. Nazzaro, wrote in an open letter saying that they “support Tricia Tuttle’s desire to continue as director of the Berlinale with full confidence and institutional independence.”
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