Decision about Berlinale director Tuttle postponed

According to the federal government, no decision was made about the future of director Tricia Tuttle at a crisis meeting for the Berlinale. “This morning a supervisory board meeting of KBB GmbH took place in the Chancellery. The topic was the Berlinale,” said a spokesman for Minister of State for Culture Wolfram Weimer. “Discussions about the organization of the Berlinale will continue in the coming days between the director, Tricia Tuttle, and the supervisory board.”

There had previously been reports that Minister of State for Education Wolfram Weimer wanted to replace Tuttle. First they had Bild reported about it. In response to an SZ request on Wednesday, a spokesman for Weimer confirmed that an extraordinary supervisory board meeting of KBB GmbH had been called for Thursday morning on Weimer’s initiative. The Berlinale is a division of the KBB (federal cultural events in Berlin); Weimer is chairman of the supervisory board.

The reason for the rumors about Tuttle’s possible dismissal are allegations of anti-Semitism at this year’s Berlinale. The Syrian-Palestinian director Abdallah Alkhatib, who received an award for his film “Chronicles From the Siege,” sharply criticized the federal government’s attitude to the war in the Gaza Strip in his acceptance speech. “We will remember everyone who stood with us and we will remember everyone who was against us,” says the filmmaker, who brings a Palestinian flag. Alkhatib accuses the German government of being a de facto partner in “the genocide in the Gaza Strip.”

During the speech, Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider left the hall. The SPD politician was the only representative of the black-red federal government at the gala and, according to a spokesman, considered these statements “unacceptable”.

Now a photo that is said to have been taken a few days before the closing ceremony is circulating about the premiere of “Chronicles From the Siege.” It shows Tricia Tuttle with Abdallah Alkhatib and other crew members, some wearing keffiyehs or holding Palestine flags. For Weimer, this supposedly represents an inappropriate political positioning by the Berlinale boss.

According to the report of the Bild Weimer and the American are said to have agreed that things cannot continue with Tuttle at the helm of the film festival. A restart is necessary. Tuttle has directed the Berlinale since 2024.