Nearly 100 actors and filmmakers signed an open letter on Tuesday calling out the Berlin Film Festival for its "silence" on Gaza after the festival defended the right to avoid political questions.

Variety revealed that at least 93 current and former Berlin Film Festival participants — including Mark Ruffalo, Tilda Swinton, Tatiana Maslany and Javier Bardem — condemned the organization after festival jury head and German filmmaker Wim Wenders fielded several questions regarding the conflict in Gaza, claiming filmmaking was "the opposite of politics."

"You cannot separate one from the other. We are deeply concerned that the German state-funded Berlinale is helping put into practice what Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion recently condemned as Germany’s misuse of draconian legislation 'to restrict advocacy for Palestinian rights, chilling public participation and shrinking discourse in academia and the arts,'" the letter read.

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The letter also came after festival head Tricia Tuttle issued a statement defending actors and filmmakers who were avoiding political questions at press events.

"We do not believe there is a filmmaker screening in this festival who is indifferent to what is happening in this world, who does not take the rights, the lives and the immense suffering of people in Gaza and the West Bank, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Sudan, in Iran, in Ukraine, in Minneapolis, and in a terrifying number of places, seriously," Tuttle said.

She added, "Artists are free to exercise their right of free speech in whatever way they choose. Artists should not be expected to comment on all broader debates about a festival’s previous or current practices over which they have no control. Nor should they be expected to speak on every political issue raised to them unless they want to."

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The letter claimed that the festival was censoring criticism of Israel's "genocide" and demanded it issue a statement in favor of the Palestinian cause.

"We call on the Berlinale to fulfil its moral duty and clearly state its opposition to Israel’s genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes against Palestinians, and completely end its involvement in shielding Israel from criticism and calls for accountability," the letter concluded.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Berlin Film Festival for comment, but did not immediately hear back. 

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The letter followed a September pledge from more than 1,000 Hollywood figures — including actors, directors and producers — to boycott Israeli film institutions.

The Berlin Film Festival recieved widespread attention after some attendees, including actors Michelle Yeoh and Neil Patrick Harris, declined to comment on political issues while discussing their projects.

The avalanche that claimed the lives of eight skiers this week near Lake Tahoe in California is the deadliest in state history. 

With avalanche warnings in effect through early Thursday, officials are still waiting for a powerful storm to clear so they can recover the bodies of the victims of Tuesday's avalanche, which struck near Frog Lake in the Castle Peak area, northwest of Lake Tahoe. Six of the 15 skiers involved in the avalanche survived, while one remains missing. 

"The group involved four guides from Blackbird Mountain Guides and 11 participants. They were returning to the trailhead on the last day of a three-day Hut Trip involving backcountry skiing. Five participants and one Blackbird guide survived the avalanche," Zeb Blais, founder of Blackbird Mountain Guides, said in a statement. 

"We ask that people following this tragedy refrain from speculating. We don’t have all the answers yet, and it may be some time before we do," Blais added. "In the meantime, please keep those impacted in your hearts."

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The ski group involved also has deep ties to the alpine recreation community in Lake Tahoe, including the Sugar Bowl Academy ski school, which issued a statement late Wednesday mourning the loss of victims with "strong connections to Sugar Bowl, Donner Summit and the backcountry community." 

It did not say how the skiers, said to range in age from 30 to 55, were connected to the school, which offers alpine and backcountry ski instruction and academics for young athletes. Officials have not yet released their names. 

The avalanche is the deadliest in the U.S. since 1981, when 11 climbers were killed on Mount Rainier in Washington state, and the second deadly avalanche near Castle Peak this year, after a snowmobiler was buried in January.

In 1982 in California, an avalanche crashed into the Alpine Meadows Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe, killing seven people, including four resort employees who remained on site even though the resort had been closed for the day because of the dangerous conditions. 

In 2008, three men were killed in an avalanche while skiing out of bounds near the Mountain High resort in the San Gabriel Mountains, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

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Blackbird Mountain Guides said in a statement Wednesday night that it has launched an investigation and paused field operations at least through the weekend while it prioritizes supporting the victims’ families.

The company guides who led the group were trained or certified in backcountry skiing and were also instructors with the American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education. 

While in the field, the guides "are in communication with senior guides at our base, to discuss conditions and routing based upon conditions," Blais added.

The Sierra Avalanche Center issued an avalanche watch Sunday morning. It was elevated to a warning by 5 a.m. Tuesday, indicating that avalanches were expected. It is not clear whether the guides would have known about the change before they began their return trek, the AP reported. 

Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.