The director of the Berlinale, Tricia Tuttle, has expressed her desire to remain in her position despite several controversies surrounding the Middle East conflict. The Syrian-Palestinian director, Abdallah Al-Khatib, accused the German government of being a partner to "genocide in the Gaza Strip", which led to Environment Minister Carsten Schneider walking out of the event. Despite these controversies, Tuttle defended herself and said cultural institutions must be trusted to operate within democratic and legal frameworks.