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Berlinale Director Faces Emergency Review After Gaza Speech Fallout

Germany's culture minister called the festival's supervisory board to examine its handling of political expressions at the awards ceremony.

Overview

  • An extraordinary KBB supervisory-board meeting is scheduled for today at the initiative of Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer, who confirmed the session to review the festival’s recent events and future direction.
  • Tabloid Bild reported that director Tricia Tuttle will be dismissed, but the Culture Ministry said no decision has been made and KBB labeled reports of a prearranged firing as false.
  • SyrianPalestinian filmmaker Abdallah Alkhatib used his acceptance speech to accuse the German government of complicity in genocide in Gaza while displaying Palestinian symbols.
  • Environment Minister Carsten Schneider left the ceremony in protest, and his spokesman later called the remarks unacceptable and cited an implicit threat in part of the speech.
  • Weimer also criticized Tuttle for appearing in a photo with the team of Chronicles From The Siege where a Palestinian flag and keffiyehs were visible, as major European film bodies and hundreds of filmmakers publicly voiced support for her leadership.