Film festival
Roth appoints Oscar winner Berger to the Berlinale commission
Film director Edward Berger in commission for Berlinale. photo
© Moritz Frankenberg/dpa
Director Edward Berger will have a say in who will direct the Berlinale in the future. The current leadership duo is quitting. In the future there will only be one person at the top.
When looking for a new one At the top of the Berlinale, Oscar winner Edward Berger is part of the search committee convened by Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth.
The director (“Nothing New in the West”) is to find a director in the committee chaired by Roth as a successor to the previous management duo of Carlo Chatrian (51) and Mariette Rissenbeek (66). A spokesman for Roth confirmed a corresponding report in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.
In addition to Roth and Berger, the search committee includes the managing director of the German Film Academy Anne Leppin, the actress Sara Fazilat and the producer Roman Paul.
About a week ago, Roth announced that the Berlinale would now only be managed by one person – instead of the current dual leadership. Chatrian then drew conclusions and announced that he would be leaving the festival after the 2024 edition. Rissenbeek had already announced her departure.
Criticism of Roth
Numerous filmmakers criticized Roth in connection with the planned change in leadership. Her dealings with the previous artistic director Chatrian were “harmful and unprofessional,” said an open letter published in the US trade journal Variety. Directors Martin Scorsese and Margarethe von Trotta were among the more than a hundred signatories.
Along with Cannes and Venice, the Berlinale is one of the major film festivals – this year, for example, US actress Kristen Stewart was jury president and Hollywood star Sean Penn presented his documentary about Ukraine in Berlin.