Overview
- Ilker Çatak’s Yellow Letters won the Golden Bear, with the political drama following artists targeted for their views and filmed in Germany despite its Turkey setting.
- Energized acceptance speeches called to “free Palestine” and condemned Israeli actions, pushing the ceremony’s focus beyond cinema to the Gaza war debate.
- Palestinian-Syrian director Abdallah Al-Khatib raised a Palestinian flag and accused the German government of complicity in genocide, prompting Environment Minister Carsten Schneider to walk out, according to his spokesperson.
- Festival director Tricia Tuttle said the edition felt “raw and fractured” and defended space for dissent, rejecting allegations of institutional censorship raised earlier in an open-letter campaign.
- Emin Alper’s Salvation took the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize, Sandra Hüller won best performance for Rose, and Queen at Sea earned the Jury Prize plus supporting honors for Anna Calder-Marshall and Tom Courtenay.