Cave reacts to Wenders’ Berlinale statement on art & politics – and explains why he agrees with the director.
The Berlinale 2026 has been over since February 22, 2026 and the coveted prizes have been awarded by the jury. This time the president was director Wim Wenders. In addition to the award ceremony, he spoke about the role of films in political contexts – to which Nick Cave responded with his own statement.
Can films influence politics?
Wim Wenders has a long art house career and made a name for himself with films like “Paris, Texas” and “Wings of Desire”. At the last Berlin Film Festival he was asked whether films have an influence on politics and whether film works can even bring about change.
The Oscar-nominated director had a clear opinion on this: No – in his opinion, films should not have political influence. He said: “We have to stay out of politics because when we make films that deal only with politics, we are entering the territory of politics. But we are the counterbalance to politics, we are the opposite of politics. We have to do the work of the people, not the work of the politicians.” A Cave also agreed with this statement.
Nick Cave is “deeply moved”
In his blog “Red Hand Files,” Nick Cave recently answered a fan question and wrote about Wim Wenders’ words at the Berlinale that they “deeply moved” him. The musician and the German director have known each other for 40 years.
The singer added: “It confirmed my image of him as a passionately principled, thoughtful and courageous man – a person deeply interested in film and the state of the creative world. His words were a caring, gentle and protective gesture aimed not only at the artistic community but at humanity itself, and despite the predictable criticism, I suspect that many artists, perhaps even most, will sincerely appreciate his words.”
Did Wim Wenders want to save the Berlinale?
Continuing his statement, Nick Cave speculated whether Wim Wenders was trying to “save the Berlinale from succumbing to the fate of those festivals that are little more than a narrowing of the cultural imagination.” At the same time, he criticized many modern events for being “one monolithic ideology – one voice, one cause, one disagreement.”
The 68-year-old also wrote: “I do not believe that Wim believes that art should ignore the great and persistent injustices of the world. He seems to believe, as I do, that art can be very effective in raising awareness of these injustices, but perhaps he also believes that art is more than the sum of its usefulness; it is more than a tool or a weapon.”
He concluded his statement by saying, “Perhaps, like me, he believes that great art, at its core, exists for its own sake – and that at its most transformative, it reveals itself subtly, ambiguously, and curiously; that it is something we approach with awe and wonder, that humbles us while expanding our hearts, that creeps into our souls and minds and leads us to what is good and beautiful and true. Art captivates us and gives us a sense of what it means to be human It expands our understanding of the world and our place in it – that we have the right to love, to laugh, to cry and to be amazed by the world – to remind us that life is worth living.
