Skip to main content
An extraordinary meeting of the supervisory board of the organization responsible for running the Berlinale was called for Thursday morning, after the controversy-filled 76th session.
Berlin Film Festival Director Tricia Tuttle had a difficult 76th edition of the Berlin Film Festival. Now, a German media report suggests she may be on her way out.
A festival representative did not comment on Tuttle’s future on Wednesday. The Berlinale’s director has so far overseen two versions of the five-year contract.
but BildGermany’s state minister for culture, Wolfram Weimer, has called an extraordinary meeting of the supervisory board of the Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin, or KBB, on Thursday, Germany’s largest tabloid reported on Wednesday. KBB is the organization responsible for running the Berlinale.
A festival representative shared a statement confirming that this meeting will take place “Thursday morning.” The statement also explained: “The meeting will include a discussion on the future direction of the Berlinale. We will not comment on any further speculation.”
The 2026 Berlinale was filled with controversy after controversy. At many of the press conferences, the filmmakers were asked politically pointed questions, often with little or no relevance to the films being discussed. Critics have criticized filmmakers and stars for not speaking loudly enough, especially regarding the war in Gaza.
Ultimately, 81 Berlinale alumni, including Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem, Tatiana Maslany, and Adam McKay, signed an open letter, noting that the Berlinale was “censoring artists who oppose Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the key role the German state plays in enabling it.” But Tuttle, the former director of the London Film Festival, said that is not the case, describing the festival as a space for filmmakers to discuss political or other issues as they see fit.
Then followed a German political backlash against the pro-Palestinian speeches at the closing ceremony on Saturday. Syrian-Palestinian director Abdullah Al-Khatib, winner of the Berlin Perspectives section for his dramatic works Siege recordsHe said that the current German government is one of “Israel’s partners in the genocide in Gaza,” and added that “the long-awaited day is coming, and when people ask you about what happened, tell them: Palestine remembers.”
the Bild The report indicated that this was the reason behind Thursday’s meeting. These comments prompted German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider to leave the ceremony in protest. A representative for the minister said in a statement that Schneider “deems these statements unacceptable, and therefore left the event during the speech.”
THR Newsletters
Sign up to get THR news straight to your inbox every day
Subscribe subscription
