Recommendations of the Editorial team
After the “talking, flags and kufyia” scandal at the end of the Berlinale 2026, boss Tricia Tuttle has apparently finally shot herself out of the picture.
According to information from “Bild” and dpa, Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer, as the top budget donor, has called an extraordinary meeting of the responsible committees for tomorrow, Thursday (March 26th). Officially it’s about “hosting the Berlinale”. Unofficially probably about the orientation of the exit door.
Political escalation
The background is a photo that has been circulating since Sunday evening (February 23rd): Tuttle is posing there with the crew of the film “Chronicles from the Siege” – including the Palestine flag and Palestinian scarves as decoration.
Ever since the film was officially awarded and director Abdallah Alkhatib used his stage for an angry reckoning with Israel and Germany, nerves were on edge. Cinema features had become a government matter.
The Berlinale, according to the accusation, was turned into a tribunal stage against Israel by activists. And Weimer, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s friend, had already made it clear when he took office that he wanted to make a different film in terms of cultural policy than his predecessor Claudia Roth. On the first day he set a demonstrative example – including a meeting with Josef Schuster, the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
New start or just a new door sign?
According to reports, Tuttle and Weimer have already agreed that things cannot continue like this. A “restart” is required.
In Berlin, experience shows that this means a new name on the door sign, while the debates in the foyer continue at the same volume. Apparently the 56-year-old American underestimated the Federal Republic’s sensitivities in the Israel-Palestine war. It is also said at filmbiz insider beer tables that she is already very annoyed by the German political clique – and especially by the harshness of Berlin’s local politics towards her festival.
This naive photo posing with the Alkhatib crew seems like self-absorption. The well-connected Tuttle should quickly get a job again in the Anglo-American film scene. Shortly after “Bild” announced the resignation, international specialist media such as the “Screen Daily” newsletter immediately picked up and classified the matter.
The Berlinale wanted to “somehow” show a stance – and now shows above all how thin the line has become between artistic freedom and the political stage. While world politics is often played out on the red carpet, the tall man with an office in the Chancellery reminds us who ultimately pays for the tickets.
Follow-up discussion has already begun
Discussions are already underway – albeit prematurely – about successors. The hot candidate is film scientist Christian Jungs from the Zurich Film Festival, who was apparently already in the last selection round, from which Tricia Tuttle ultimately emerged as the winner. For barely two years.
Tempi Passati. Things can happen so quickly in heated times – especially in the highly subsidized film industry, where there is always a politician with his own agenda at the table.
What this means for the Berlinale itself cannot yet be predicted. The already reeling festival would be well advised to take care of the upcoming personnel changes quickly so as not to leave a large gap. Even and especially at annual film festivals, the following applies: after the game is before the game.
