The Berlin Movie Pageant 2026 got here to an in depth on Saturday with a ceremony reflecting the controversy over Gaza that has dogged this yr’s version. The closing night time noticed German filmmaker Ilker Catak’s political thriller Yellow Letters profitable the Golden Bear, the pageant’s high prize. However the focus was on the politically charged speeches from the stage, most in help of Palestine and significant of the pageant organisers.
A number of award winners spoke out in favour of the Palestinian trigger, pushing again after jury president Wim Wenders had sparked outrage earlier by making an attempt to steer the pageant away from the problem. Pageant director Tricia Tuttle acknowledged Saturday that this yr’s version had been “emotionally charged”.
Yellow Letters wins Golden Bear
Yellow Letters, winner of the pageant’s high prize, tells the story of a Turkish director and his actor spouse, out of the blue barred from working due to their political views. Jury head Wim Wenders referred to as the movie “a terrifying premonition, a glance into the close to future that would presumably occur in our nations as nicely.”
Emin Alper’s Salvation received the Silver Bear, the pageant’s runner-up prize. Impressed by a real story, the movie depicts the implications of a land feud between two clans in a distant mountain village.
Winners help the Palestinian trigger
In his speech, Emin Alper, the winner of the Silver Bear, expressed solidarity with a number of high-profile opposition figures in jail in Turkey, together with jailed Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu. He additionally spoke up for “the individuals of Iran struggling beneath tyranny” and “Kurds in Rojava and the Center East struggling for his or her rights for nearly a century — you aren’t alone.” Alper additionally spoke of “the Palestinians in Gaza dwelling and dying beneath probably the most horrible situations.”
Syrian-Palestinian director Abdullah Al-Khatib received the Finest First Function Award for Chronicles From the Siege. He accepted the award with a keffiyeh, an emblem of the Palestinian trigger, draped over his shoulder. In his impassioned speech, he accused the German authorities of being “companions within the genocide in Gaza by Israel.” His speech earned soms cheers, but additionally heckles.
The Gaza shadow over Berlinale 2026
The row over Palestine and Gaza on the Berlinale started proper at first of the pageant final week, when Wenders answered a query concerning the German authorities’s help for Israel by saying: “We can’t actually enter the sector of politics.”
His feedback prompted a storm of concern. Award-winning Indian novelist Arundhati, who was attributable to current a restored model of her 1989 movie, withdrew from the occasion, condemning Wenders’ remarks.
Many business figures signed an open letter, condemning the Berlin pageant’s “silence on the genocide of Palestinians” and accused it of being concerned in “censoring” artists who oppose Israel’s actions. The pageant has rejected the allegations.
Different winners at Berlin Movie Pageant
Amid all this, different winners have been topped on the pageant. German actress Sandra Hueller obtained the Silver Bear for Finest Efficiency for her title position in Markus Schleinzer’s Rose. Queen at Sea, by American director Lance Hammer, which stars Juliette Binoche as a girl caring for her mom with dementia, picked up two awards. Tom Courtenay, 88, and 79-year-old Anna Calder-Marshall, shared the Silver Bear for Finest Supporting Efficiency. The movie additionally picked up the Silver Bear Jury Prize, thought of the third most prestigious award.
Grant Gee received the Finest Director award for All people Digs Invoice Evans. his black-and-white biopic of the legendary jazz pianist.
(With AFP inputs)