Berlinale Becomes Political Battleground as Celebrities Face Pressure to Denounce Fascism and Wim Wenders Tells Artists to Stay Out of Politics

The 76th Berlin International Film Festival was supposed to be about cinema. Instead, it has become a test case for how far political activism should extend into the arts — and whether celebrities have an obligation to take sides on the defining geopolitical controversies of the day.

The flashpoint came on Thursday, when jury president Wim Wenders was asked by German blogger Tilo Jung whether Germany's financial support for Israel, and its backing of the Berlinale, compromised the festival's freedom of expression. Wenders responded that filmmakers needed to remain separate from politics — that they serve as a counterweight to the political world, not participants in it Rupert Grint on the Rise of Fascism: ‘Obviously, I’m Against It’variety.com·Secondary“Harry Potter” star Rupert Grint was asked to speak on the rise of fascism and far-right politics during the Berlin Film Festival press conference for his new film “Nightborn,” saying: “Obviously, I’m against it.” The question follows a trend of celebrities being asked about politics at the festival, with several — including Michelle Yeoh and jury president Wim Wenders — declining to answer, sparking arguably the biggest talking point of the Berlinale so far.. The comments immediately drew a firestorm.

Acclaimed Indian author Arundhati Roy, winner of the Booker Prize for The God of Small Things, pulled out of a scheduled Berlinale screening of her restored 1989 film. Roy called the remarks unconscionable, writing in India's The Wire that the suggestion art should remain apolitical amounted to shutting down conversation about an unfolding humanitarian crisis Rupert Grint Quizzed on Rise of Fascism in the U.K. at Berlin ‘Nightborn’ Presser: “I’m Against It… But I Choose My Moments When to Speak”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryIt was Rupert Grint‘s turn to talk politics as he and the Nightborn cast hit Berlin in back-to-back star-studded pressers Saturday afternoon. The Harry Potter star followed a host of talent screening their films at the Berlinale, including Pamela Anderson, Callum Turner (who addressed those Bond rumors), and Charli xcx (waving goodbye to “Brat” in Aidan Zamiri’s The Moment)..

Roy's withdrawal was the sharpest rebuke, but it was hardly the last salvo. In the press conferences that followed over the weekend, European journalists systematically pressed visiting talent on U.S. politics, Gaza, and what they framed as a rising tide of fascism in the West.

Honorary Golden Bear recipient Michelle Yeoh was asked almost immediately about the American political landscape. She declined, saying she did not feel she was in a position to comment on U.S. politics, and redirected to her work Rupert Grint Quizzed on Rise of Fascism in the U.K. at Berlin ‘Nightborn’ Presser: “I’m Against It… But I Choose My Moments When to Speak”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryIt was Rupert Grint‘s turn to talk politics as he and the Nightborn cast hit Berlin in back-to-back star-studded pressers Saturday afternoon. The Harry Potter star followed a host of talent screening their films at the Berlinale, including Pamela Anderson, Callum Turner (who addressed those Bond rumors), and Charli xcx (waving goodbye to “Brat” in Aidan Zamiri’s The Moment).. Neil Patrick Harris, in Berlin with the Generation title Sunny Dancer, faced pointed questions about American democracy and healthcare. Harris acknowledged having personal political views but said he had never read his film's script as a political statement Rupert Grint Quizzed on Rise of Fascism in the U.K. at Berlin ‘Nightborn’ Presser: “I’m Against It… But I Choose My Moments When to Speak”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryIt was Rupert Grint‘s turn to talk politics as he and the Nightborn cast hit Berlin in back-to-back star-studded pressers Saturday afternoon. The Harry Potter star followed a host of talent screening their films at the Berlinale, including Pamela Anderson, Callum Turner (who addressed those Bond rumors), and Charli xcx (waving goodbye to “Brat” in Aidan Zamiri’s The Moment)..

The pattern continued Saturday when Harry Potter star Rupert Grint appeared at the press conference for Nightborn, a supernatural horror from Finnish director Hanna Bergholm. A reporter asked Grint whether, since he had previously spoken out against J.K. Rowling's views on gender identity, he would also comment on the rise of the far-right in Britain Rupert Grint on the Rise of Fascism: ‘Obviously, I’m Against It’variety.com·Secondary“Harry Potter” star Rupert Grint was asked to speak on the rise of fascism and far-right politics during the Berlin Film Festival press conference for his new film “Nightborn,” saying: “Obviously, I’m against it.” The question follows a trend of celebrities being asked about politics at the festival, with several — including Michelle Yeoh and jury president Wim Wenders — declining to answer, sparking arguably the biggest talking point of the Berlinale so far.. Grint replied that he was against it but that he chose his moments to speak, adding that the issue was hugely relevant and that people would hear from him Rupert Grint on the Rise of Fascism: ‘Obviously, I’m Against It’variety.com·Secondary“Harry Potter” star Rupert Grint was asked to speak on the rise of fascism and far-right politics during the Berlin Film Festival press conference for his new film “Nightborn,” saying: “Obviously, I’m against it.” The question follows a trend of celebrities being asked about politics at the festival, with several — including Michelle Yeoh and jury president Wim Wenders — declining to answer, sparking arguably the biggest talking point of the Berlinale so far..

Bergholm herself wore a watermelon pin — a symbol of Palestinian solidarity — and took a more direct position. She argued that grown-up human beings have a responsibility to speak up against violence and injustice, and that silence is also a choice Rupert Grint Quizzed on Rise of Fascism in the U.K. at Berlin ‘Nightborn’ Presser: “I’m Against It… But I Choose My Moments When to Speak”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryIt was Rupert Grint‘s turn to talk politics as he and the Nightborn cast hit Berlin in back-to-back star-studded pressers Saturday afternoon. The Harry Potter star followed a host of talent screening their films at the Berlinale, including Pamela Anderson, Callum Turner (who addressed those Bond rumors), and Charli xcx (waving goodbye to “Brat” in Aidan Zamiri’s The Moment).. Her co-screenwriter Ilja Rautsi said that politicians and millionaires who cause problems deserve pressure, and called for artists to bring awareness to conflicts including Ukraine and what he described as events in Palestine Rupert Grint Quizzed on Rise of Fascism in the U.K. at Berlin ‘Nightborn’ Presser: “I’m Against It… But I Choose My Moments When to Speak”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryIt was Rupert Grint‘s turn to talk politics as he and the Nightborn cast hit Berlin in back-to-back star-studded pressers Saturday afternoon. The Harry Potter star followed a host of talent screening their films at the Berlinale, including Pamela Anderson, Callum Turner (who addressed those Bond rumors), and Charli xcx (waving goodbye to “Brat” in Aidan Zamiri’s The Moment)..

The festival's organizers eventually issued a statement defending the talent, saying artists should not be expected to address every political issue raised to them. They acknowledged Roy's withdrawal with regret Rupert Grint Quizzed on Rise of Fascism in the U.K. at Berlin ‘Nightborn’ Presser: “I’m Against It… But I Choose My Moments When to Speak”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryIt was Rupert Grint‘s turn to talk politics as he and the Nightborn cast hit Berlin in back-to-back star-studded pressers Saturday afternoon. The Harry Potter star followed a host of talent screening their films at the Berlinale, including Pamela Anderson, Callum Turner (who addressed those Bond rumors), and Charli xcx (waving goodbye to “Brat” in Aidan Zamiri’s The Moment)..

The dynamic has divided opinion both inside and outside the festival. For critics of the press conduct, what is happening at the Berlinale amounts to a form of political conscription — forcing actors and directors into binary declarations on enormously complex geopolitical issues, then weaponizing their responses (or silences) on social media. Grint's careful reply was immediately clipped and circulated as either inadequate or evasive, depending on the audience Rupert Grint on the Rise of Fascism: ‘Obviously, I’m Against It’variety.com·Secondary“Harry Potter” star Rupert Grint was asked to speak on the rise of fascism and far-right politics during the Berlin Film Festival press conference for his new film “Nightborn,” saying: “Obviously, I’m against it.” The question follows a trend of celebrities being asked about politics at the festival, with several — including Michelle Yeoh and jury president Wim Wenders — declining to answer, sparking arguably the biggest talking point of the Berlinale so far..

Others argue the opposite: that the Berlinale was built as a political festival from inception. Conceived in 1950 by American film officer Oscar Martay as a Cold War showcase for the free world, the festival has historically backed Iranian protesters, condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and platformed filmmakers in exile Rupert Grint Quizzed on Rise of Fascism in the U.K. at Berlin ‘Nightborn’ Presser: “I’m Against It… But I Choose My Moments When to Speak”hollywoodreporter.com·SecondaryIt was Rupert Grint‘s turn to talk politics as he and the Nightborn cast hit Berlin in back-to-back star-studded pressers Saturday afternoon. The Harry Potter star followed a host of talent screening their films at the Berlinale, including Pamela Anderson, Callum Turner (who addressed those Bond rumors), and Charli xcx (waving goodbye to “Brat” in Aidan Zamiri’s The Moment).. The argument that art and politics should be kept separate, critics contend, is itself a political position — one that happens to align with the German government's stance on Israel.

There is a reasonable case for both sides. Wenders' formulation — that artists serve as a counterweight to politics rather than as political actors themselves — echoes a long tradition of artistic autonomy, the idea that cinema explores the human condition without reducing itself to policy advocacy. Many working filmmakers share this view privately, even if the current atmosphere makes it difficult to say so publicly.

But Roy's objection also carries weight. When a government is actively funding both a military campaign and a cultural institution, claiming that the institution should stay apolitical is not neutrality — it is a choice with consequences. The question of whether government funding creates obligations for cultural events to address the conflicts that funding enables is not a frivolous one.

What is harder to defend is the specific press-conference dynamic, in which journalists repeatedly demand yes-or-no answers to sweeping moral questions and then treat hedging or silence as damning. This is less journalism than performance, and it risks alienating precisely the artists whose engagement activists claim to want.

The Berlinale controversy also reflects a broader cultural rift. In the United States, conservative critics have long complained that film festivals function as echo chambers for progressive politics, where the correct positions are treated as prerequisites for professional acceptance. The spectacle of celebrities being publicly grilled on whether they are sufficiently anti-fascist — with the clear implication that insufficient enthusiasm is itself suspect — will reinforce that perception.

As the festival enters its final days, the political temperature shows no sign of dropping. The films themselves, several of which explore themes of identity, displacement and institutional power, continue to screen to largely enthusiastic audiences. But the conversation around them has been almost entirely consumed by a question the Berlinale was not designed to answer: what do the famous people in the room think about Gaza?

For a festival that prides itself on artistic freedom, it is a deeply ironic turn.