Film director slams German support for Israeli war on Gaza, withdraws film from Berlinale festival

By Anadolu staff

BERLIN (AA) – Ghanaian filmmaker Ayo Tsalithaba has withdrawn his film from the Berlinale film festival, protesting Germany’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza.

“I have made the decision to withdraw my film Atmospheric Arrivals from Berlinale Forum Expanded and I will not be attending the festival,” Tsalithaba said in a statement posted on social media.

“I have joined over 1,000 artists and cultural workers who have signed onto the STRIKE GERMANY call to boycott German cultural institutions. This comes as a response to racist and fascist German government censorship, repression, endorsement of unspeakable violence against Palestinians, and backing of the US and UK military strikes on Yemen” he said.

Despite growing public pressure, Germany remains one of the strongest supporters of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Cabinet members have repeatedly said Germany bears special responsibility for Israel due to its Nazi past.

In a new poll released this week, 61% of Germans said Israel’s military actions in Gaza are unjustified as they have claimed too many civilian victims. Only 25% voiced support for Israel.

Israel’s military offensive in Gaza after a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 killed more than 25,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

The deadly onslaught has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.