When the announcement came at the end of August that the Berlin International Film Festival was to get a new management, it caused a stir – also internationally. Now Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) wants to introduce the successor to the previous leadership duo of Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek in Berlin. The designated director will be present at the press conference on Tuesday afternoon in Berlin’s Gropius Bau, as the announcement said.
The new director will take over the Berlinale from April 2024. A commission chaired by Roth was tasked with finding a suitable person to succeed him. Also there were director and Oscar winner Edward Berger (“Nothing New in the West”), the managing director of the German Film Academy Anne Leppin, the actress Sara Fazilat and the producer Roman Paul.
Roth had announced that the Berlinale would only be managed by one person in the future. Chatrian then drew conclusions and announced that he would be leaving the festival after the 2024 edition. Rissenbeek had already announced her departure.
First dual leadership in Berlinale history
The 52-year-old and the 67-year-old officially took up their positions in June 2019. For the first time in the history of the film festival, they took on dual leadership, with Chatrian as artistic director and Rissenbeek as executive director.
Numerous filmmakers had criticized Roth in connection with the planned change in leadership. Along with Cannes and Venice, the Berlinale is one of the major film festivals. Kenyan actress and Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o will head the jury for the upcoming edition from February 15 to 25, it was announced on Monday. The 40-year-old succeeds US actress Kristen Stewart, who was jury president this year.
