Arundhati Roy was announced as the guest of the festival to present the restored version of the 1989 film “In Which Annie Gives It Dos Ones”, in which she acted and wrote the screenplay. file | Photo Credit: The Hindu
Award-winning author Arundhati Roy said on Friday (Feb 13, 2026) she was pulling out of the Berlin Film Festival over comments by jury president Wim Wenders to “stay out of politics” after hearing about Gaza.
Roy said in a statement sent to him AFP She was “shocked and disgusted” by Mr Wenders’ response to a question about Gaza at a press conference on Thursday (February 12, 2026). “With deep regret, I must say that I will not be attending the Berlinale,” he said.
Roy, whose novel “The God of Small Things” won the 1997 Booker Prize, was announced as a guest at the festival to present a restored version of the 1989 film “In Which Annie Gives It to the Ones,” in which he starred and wrote the screenplay.
However, she said the “insensitive” remarks by Mr Wenders and other jurors had made her reconsider.
“It’s jaw-dropping to hear him say that art shouldn’t be political,” he said.
Asked about Germany’s support for Israel at a press conference on Thursday (February 12, 2026), Mr Wenders said, “We can’t really enter the political arena”, describing the filmmakers as “a talent for politics”.
In her statement, Ms. Roy described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide of the Palestinian people by the State of Israel.”
“If the greatest filmmakers and artists of our time cannot stand up and say so, they should know that history will judge them,” he said.
Published – February 14, 2026 at 01:52 am IST
