Berlin Film Festival defends US actors avoiding political questions: ‘Their right of free speech’

The Berlin Film Festival head defended actors and filmmakers who choose to avoid politics in press interviews in a lengthy statement Saturday night.

Director Tricia Tuttle made the comments after actors like Neil Patrick Harris and Michelle Yeoh declined to comment on US political matters while attending the festival. Festival jury head and German filmmaker Wim Wenders also came under scrutiny for fielding several questions regarding the conflict in Gaza.

Tuttle defended their apolitical stances, adding that artists should not be expected to offer “a brief sound bite” on every political issue.

“People have called for free speech at the Berlinale,” Tuttle said. “Free speech is happening at the Berlinale. But increasingly, filmmakers are expected to answer any question put to them. They are criticized if they do not answer. They are criticized if they answer, and we do not like what they say. They are criticized if they cannot compress complex thoughts into a brief sound bite when a microphone is placed in front of them when they thought they were speaking about something else.”

Tuttle also defended their work, saying that they all provide different perspectives on political issues, whether it was politics with a “small ‘p'” or a “capital ‘P.'”

“In a media environment dominated by crisis, there is less oxygen left for serious conversation about film or culture at all, unless it can be folded as well into a news agenda,” she said.