German-Turkish director Ilker Khattak, whose film “Yellow Letters” recently won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, has spoken out on the recommendations of Germany’s Ministry of Culture, following criticism from Berlin Film Festival Director Tricia Tuttle earlier this week.
Tuttle’s leadership was under threat after the 2026 film festival was overshadowed by political debate, with several filmmakers using their acceptance speeches at the ceremony to make pro-Palestinian statements and comments about Gaza, sparking a backlash from politicians and some German media.
The Berlinale confirmed on Tuesday that Mr Tuttle would remain on its board following an audit committee meeting in which the festival’s funding board issued a series of recommendations, including the establishment of a code of conduct. Training staff who handle politically sensitive content. It also saw the launch of an independent advisory forum representing diverse social groups, including Jewish voices.
“An international A-list festival like the Berlinale is a festival dedicated to the liberal arts, freedom of expression, and film from a diverse range of voices, and should never be subject to ‘advisory’ or any form of outside direction,” Khattak said in a statement to Variety.
“Aside from the inviolability of human rights, and in this case the German constitution, nothing may dictate how festival leaders organize their programs,” he added. “Filmmakers and guests alike must be free to express whatever they wish within this framework. Anything else would be blatant state interference in the independent practice of art. We should call it censorship,” the Golden Bear Award-winning director continued.
Responding to reports that the government was planning to fire Tuttle, Cuttack previously said, “Does the government understand that all of us, and of course myself included, that I will never submit a film to the Berlinale again?”
Directed by Khattak, the timely “Yellow Letters” is a political drama starring Turkish actors Ozgu Namal (Deriya) and Tansu Bissar (Aziz) as an artist couple whose political views cause them to lose their jobs and their marriage falls apart.
