i.c.o.n.p.x.: r.e.i.c.o.n.p.x. #19

Fielding a pointed question about German support for Israel during the Gaza war and “selective” solidarity with besieged peoples around the world, Wenders pushed back at the notion that the film industry or the festival should actively take political stances:

“We have to stay out of politics because if we make movies that are dedicatedly political, we enter the field of politics,” he said. “But we are the counterweight of politics, we are the opposite of politics. We have to do the work of people, not the work of politicians.” Wim Wenders, 2026

“Every film is political. Most political of all are those that pretend not to be: ‘entertainment’ movies. They are the most political films there are because they dismiss the possibility of change. In every frame they tell you everything’s fine the way it is. They are a continual advertisement for things as they are.” Wim Wenders, 1988.

Damiel Der Himmel über Berlin by Wim Wenders 1987