Tilda Swinton Plans Acting Hiatus After Berlinale Amid Boycott Calls

Tilda Swinton attended the Berlin Film Festival to accept her Honorary Golden Bear, despite ongoing calls for a boycott related to the Israel-Hamas conflict. During a press conference, Swinton expressed her admiration for the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement but emphasized that her presence at the festival was a personal choice aimed at utilizing her platform for advocacy. She passionately condemned 'state-perpetrated and internationally-enabled mass murder,' linking her concerns to broader global issues. Additionally, Swinton announced that she would be taking a break from filmmaking for the rest of the year to focus on personal projects, citing the pressures and changes in the indie film landscape since the pandemic. She noted the industry's current urgency for production as detrimental to the creative process, reminiscing about a time when filmmakers could take longer to develop their projects. Swinton's decision comes after a busy year promoting several films and participating in awards season activities.