German Film Industry Anxiously Awaits New Berlinale Director Amid Swirling Rumors
variety.comEd Meza @edmezavar The German film industry is eagerly awaiting the appointment of the Berlin Film Festival’s new director, expected to be announced tomorrow, and as the guessing game surrounding the choice shifts into high gear, one thing looks increasingly clear: the new head will face considerable financial and political challenges at the Berlinale.
Speculation in the local industry has been rife with likely candidates to succeed Carlo Chatrian and Mariëtte Rissenbeek, who have co-led the Berlinale as artistic and executive directors since 2020 and will step down after this year’s edition when their respective mandates end.
A number of potential contenders have now quashed those rumors, among them Matthijs Wouter Knol, CEO and director of the European Film Academy, who made it clear to Variety that he was not in the running and was very content in his current post; Kirsten Niehuus, head of funding org Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, who said she was not a candidate; and Unifrance chief Daniela Elstner, who denied the speculation as false.
Also seen as a possible pick was Munich Film Festival director Christoph Gröner, who likewise appears happy to remain where he is. “We are of course flattered by this appraisal, but I am at the helm of the Munich Film Festival along with [artistic co-director] Julia Weigl,” Gröner told Variety. “In view of the recent developments at the Berlinale, with a reduction in sections for German programming, we define ourselves as No.
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