Film Festival Chiefs, Including Thierry Frémaux, Rally to the Defense of Berlinale Boss Tricia Tuttle as Her Future Hangs in the Balance

Film festival chiefs from around the world have signed a joint statement in support of Berlin Film Festival boss Tricia Tuttle, whose future will be debated at a meeting of its governing body tomorrow in Berlin.

Among the signatories are the heads of Cannes, Toronto, Sundance, Busan, Karlovy Vary, Locarno, San Sebastian, Rotterdam and London.

The statement underscores the importance of debate. It says: “We need to maintain spaces where discomfort is embraced, where debates can be expansive, where new ideas can propagate and where unexpected – and sometimes conflicting – perspectives are made visible.”

Related Stories

Harrison Ford Fights Back Tears Accepting SAG-AFTRA's Life Achievement Award and Says He's at the 'Half Point of My Career. I'm Still a Working Actor'

It also reminds stakeholders of their responsibilities, stating, “We need all our stakeholders – audiences, creators, festival teams, public and private partners, industry, media, fellow institutions – to show each other grace, respect and solidarity as communities and networks connected through the love of film, or we risk losing these spaces completely.”

During its 76th edition, running Feb. 12-22, the Berlin Film Festival was at first accused of censoring political talk when prominent attendees, including jury president Wim Wenders, declined to discuss politics. But the controversy blew up when on closing night, some prize-winners used their acceptance speeches to voice support for Palestine and Gaza.

After a story in German tabloid Bild on Wednesday suggested that Tuttle was about to be sacked, film business insiders and Berlinale staffer rallied to her defense. A petition supporting her, signed by film professionals – including luminaries such as Sean Baker, Todd Haynes, Tilda Swinton and Kleber Mendonça Filho – gathered more than 3,000 names.

Then, on Thursday morning, more than 500 staffers at the festival wrote an open letter to voice their support for Tuttle.

Here is the statement in full:

As film festival directors and leaders, we stand in support of Tricia Tuttle’s wish to continue as Berlinale Festival Director, in full trust and with institutional independence.

In the debates that have surrounded the 2026 Berlinale and other cultural and artistic events in preceding months, we recognise the mounting pressures on film festivals everywhere to navigate volatile times while maintaining a safe space for the exchange of cinema, and of ideas.

A core aspect of our role as cultural custodians is to create and protect the space for filmmakers, artists, professionals and audiences to come together. This includes people who bring with them not only a shared love of cinema, but also a huge variety of lived experiences and viewpoints. This is what gives our film festivals their vitality, relevance and value, and it is what festival ‘spirit’ is made from.

We must also navigate – with care – the fact that ‘everyone’ can include people with political and personal views that don’t always align, with each other, or with socially accepted or politically mandated positions. And while film festivals that are long-lived, and well-attended, may appear to be indestructible meeting places, these spaces are often fragile, hard-won and complex to preserve.

Film festivals as we know, and need them, are becoming increasingly challenging to sustain in a climate where the appreciation of nuance is collapsing. Supporting genuine freedom of expression, including the freedom to articulate imperfect or unpopular opinions, has never been more important. We need to maintain spaces where discomfort is embraced, where debates can be expansive, where new ideas can propagate and where unexpected – and sometimes conflicting – perspectives are made visible.

We need all our stakeholders – audiences, creators, festival teams, public and private partners, industry, media, fellow institutions – to show each other grace, respect and solidarity as communities and networks connected through the love of film, or we risk losing these spaces completely. It is so much easier to destroy than it is to build.

Kristy Matheson, Artistic Director, BFI London Film Festival

Jung Hanseok, Festival Director, Busan International Film Festival
Ellen Y. D. Kim, Director, Asian Contents & Film Market
Karen Park, Program Director, Busan International Film Festival

Thierry Frémaux, General Delegate, Cannes Film Festival
Christian Jeune, Director of Films Department – Deputy General Delegate, Cannes Film Festival

Amr Mansi, Executive Director & Co-Founder, El Gouna Film Festival

Ilda Santiago, Executive Director, Festival do Rio

Pia Lundberg, Artistic Director, Göteborg Film Festival
Mirja Wester, VD/CEO, Göteborg Film Festival

Vanja Kaludjercic, Festival Director, International Film Festival Rotterdam
Clare Stewart, Managing Director, International Film Festival Rotterdam

Karel Och, Artistic Director, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Kryštof Mucha, Executive Director, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival

Giona A. Nazzaro, Artistic Director, Locarno Film Festival

Damien Hodgkinson, CEO, Melbourne International Film Festival
Al Cossar, Artistic Director, Melbourne International Film Festival

Daniela Michel, Founding Director, Morelia Film Festival

Roman Gutek, Head of New Horizons Association
Dorota Lech, Festival Director, New Horizons International Film Festival

José Luis Rebordinos, Director, San Sebastian International Film Festival
Maialen Beloki, Lucía Olaciregui – Deputy Directors, San Sebastian International Film Festival

Jovan Marjanović, Festival Director, Sarajevo Film Festival

Renata de Almeida, Director, São Paulo International Film Festival

Eugene Hernandez, Festival Director, Sundance Film Festival
Kim Yutani, Director of Programming, Sundance Film Festival

Nashen Moodley, Festival Director, Sydney Film Festival
Frances Wallace, CEO, Sydney Film Festival

Julie Huntsinger, Executive Director, Telluride Film Festival

Cameron Bailey, CEO, Toronto International Film Festival
Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, Toronto International Film Festival

Shozo Ichiyama, Programming Director, Tokyo International Film Festival