00:00Artists and filmmakers in Germany took advantage of the Berlin International Film Festival to
00:05condemn the genocide perpetrated against the people of Palestine and the ethnic
00:08cleansing campaign carried out in the enclave. More details in the following material.
00:18Alongside a celebration of cinema, the 2026 Berlin Ali also served as a space where artists
00:23and filmmakers condemned Israel's genocide in Gaza as well as the racial and political
00:28persecution of its inhabitants. One of the most powerful moments came when Syrian Palestinian
00:38filmmaker Abdallah Al-Khatib took the stage to receive the award for best debut feature for
00:43Chronicles from the Siege. Wearing a keffiyeh, the film's director condemned the German government's
00:48position on this issue.
00:54I would love to say thank you. I'm happy to be here and receive this award, you know,
00:59but I'm a Palestinian and I have to use this moment to talk about Palestine.
01:02We will talk about politics before we talk about fame. We will talk about resistance before we talk
01:07about art, about freedom before we talk about beauty, and humanity before culture. My final word to the
01:14German government, you are complicit in Israel's genocide in Gaza. I believe you're intelligent
01:19enough to recognize that it's true, but you choose not to care. Free Palestinian from now until the end of
01:26the world.
01:26Libre, desde ahora y hasta el fin del mundo.
01:31In his statements, the filmmaker also expressed his hope that film festivals could soon be organized in
01:38different cities in Palestine, including Gaza, under a completely free territory.
01:46However, the main stage of this international film festival in Berlin was not the only place where
01:51celebrities from the world of cinema expressed their views. During the event, Tunisian director
02:00Kalweather Benhenia refused the award she received for her film, The Voice of Hein Rajab, and sent a strong
02:06criticism pointing out that peace must be pursued as a legal and moral imperative, and not just been used
02:11as a backdrop to talk about it.
02:18Today I feel more responsibility than gratitude. The Voice of Hein Rajab is not just about a girl,
02:24it is about a system that made her murder possible. What happened to Hein Rajab is not an exception,
02:31it is part of a genocide. And tonight, in Berlin, there are people who gave political coverage to that
02:38genocide. As you know, peace is not perfume spread over violence. If we talk about peace,
02:44we must just talk about justice. Justice means accountability. Without accountability, there is no peace.
02:51Sin rendición de cuentas, no hay paz.
02:55To this was added a letter signed by more than 80 film personalities, who also condemned the Berlinals
03:00silence on the genocide in Gaza. Actors such as Javier Bardem and Tilda Swinton, together with some
03:09directors and filmmakers, expressed their dismay at the festival's involvement in censoring artists who
03:14oppose Israel's genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. The letter was published after the festival
03:21jury, led by German screenwriter Wim Wenders, assured that the organization should be disassociated from politics.
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