Why Are Celebrities Avoiding Politics at the Berlin Film Festival?
A clear sign that the world has gone topsy-turvy is when the Grammys are more political than the Berlinale.
But while anti-ICE pins and punchy statements were the surprise headline act in L.A. earlier this month, over in Berlin, historically an event where politics has played center stage on and off screen, the overriding theme of the 2026 festival so far is one of political silence. Or at least that’s how the narrative has been framed.
Festival attendees Wim Wenders, Michelle Yeoh, and Neil Patrick Harris have all faced criticism online for their apparent reluctance to make political statements during press conferences. Jury head Wenders' comments on the opening day, in which he asserted that “we have to stay out of politics” when asked about the German government’s support for Israel impacting the festival’s stance on Gaza, sparked a backlash. This led to author Arundhati Roy pulling out of the festival in anger. The bombardment of political questions in each media meet only intensified from there.
However, when does it become the responsibility of an artist attending a festival to speak out?
Many might have assumed that Wenders, who has previously asserted that “every film is political,” wouldn’t have deflected a question that most festival vets would have known was coming and perhaps offered something stronger to say.
But then, should Yeoh — who has been living in Switzerland for the last seven years — be expected to offer a soundbite about the political situation in the U.S.? And why would Neil Patrick Harris, in town to promote ‘Sunny Dancer,’ a British coming-of-age comedy about teenagers with cancer from a 25-year-old director, want the top line to be his opinions on American diplomatic threats? In each case, however, their comments — or lack thereof — became the story.
As Berlinale head Tricia Tuttle wrote in a lengthy statement, filmmakers are now “expected to answer any question put to them,” and are “criticized if they do not answer.”
Tilo Jung, a German political journalist, argues that artists with a “bigger reach” should be using their platforms to speak out, especially given the “rise of fascism” across much of the West. He believes that artists — particularly the Hollywood elite — have a special role in raising their voices and stepping up.
One artist who did speak up — to an extent — was Rupert Grint, who was asked about the rise of the far-right in the U.K. during the press conference for Finnish horror ‘Nightborn.’ His answer — “Obviously, I’m against it” — sparked debate about the point of asking celebrities such questions.
However, Jung praised Grint's response as better than Neil Patrick Harris's, emphasizing that while no one expects a TED Talk, artists should at least be prepared to answer one question. Jung argues that if an artist is afraid to speak up about fascism, they shouldn’t attend the festival.
In the same press conference for ‘Nightborn,’ screenwriter Ilja Rautsi agreed that it was important to shed light on the issues we face because art is about empathy. He suggested that creating pressure or raising awareness of global events is beneficial.
Despite these statements, there has been a sense that the festival has been trying to keep politics on the sidelines, at least displayed through the art rather than the artist. While Tuttle mentioned the political nature of ‘No Good Men’ as a reason for its selection for the opening night, the ceremony itself was politics-free, a stark contrast to 2023 when Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the guests.
In the press conference for Charli xcx’s ‘The Moment,’ the moderator dominated the conversation by asking softball questions, taking only two questions from the journalists.
But leave it to an outspoken U.S. rocker to buck the trend just a day later. Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, in town as co-director of the music doc ‘The Ballad of Judas Priest,’ wasted little time wading into the debate.
‘What a time to be alive, where you can both make a documentary about one of your favorite bands and fight fascism at the same time,’ he said, eliciting applause from the journalists.
This incident highlights the ongoing debate about the responsibility of artists to engage in political discourse at film festivals.
