Tilda Swinton says Berlinale attendance was ‘personal’ decision amid Gaza boycott calls

British actor Tilda Swinton, known for her often eccentric and quirky roles in both independent and blockbuster films, said on Friday that she decided “in a personal moment” to attend the Berlin Film Festival despite boycott calls over the war in Gaza.

At a news conference the morning after collecting the event’s honorary Golden Bear award in recognition of her long-running career, Swinton also says she was taking a hiatus from acting for at least the rest of the year.

Asked about calls to boycott this year’s festival by the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, Swinton says she had made “a personal judgement call” to travel to the German capital.

“In a way, the most difficult thing that we are all having to cope with right now is this feeling of helplessness, this feeling of powerlessness. And so any powerful action gesture we can make feels like a good option,” she says.

“I understand absolutely that boycotting can feel, and very often is, the most powerful thing we can do,” she says.

“I decided it was more important for me to come. I was given, thanks to the festival, a platform as I am given today, which I decided, in a personal moment, was potentially more useful to all our causes than me not turning up,” Swinton says.

In her acceptance speech at Thursday evening’s ceremony, Swinton took aim at US President Donald Trump’s stated plans to make Gaza the “Riviera of the Middle East” as well as “greed-addicted” governments that enable war criminals and destruction of the planet.