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New Berlin Festival director Tricia Tuttle continues to build up her team for the 2025 Berlinale, on Wednesday naming Michael Stütz and Jacqueline Lyanga the co-directors of film programming for the A-list German event.
Stütz will stay on as head of Berlin’s Panorama sidebar, taking on the new duties in July. Lyanga also has close ties with the festival as the U.S. delegate to the Berlinale. She will also take on the new role next month.
“Michael and Jacqueline bring a strong and complementary combination of skills and networks, and they are both hugely smart, collaborative creative leaders as well as passionate, generous cinephiles,” said Tuttle in a statement. “I can’t wait to work alongside them to shape dynamic Berlinale film programs.”
Stütz and Lyanga will work with Tuttle to curate Berlin’s main competition and Berlinale Special sections as well as the Berlinale Special Gala line-up and will lead the festival’s wider team in the overall film selection.
“It’s exciting to be joining the Berlinale team as the Co-Director of Film Programming as the festival prepares to celebrate its 75th edition next February,” said Lyanga. “I look forward to collaborating with the team as we build the festival’s future. It’s a thrill to join Tricia Tuttle and Michael Stütz in programming an international film festival with one of the largest public audiences in the world.”
Added Stütz: “I am looking forward to this new adventure, overseeing Panorama alongside this expanded role as Co-Director of Film Programming. I would like to thank Tricia Tuttle for her trust and I am especially looking forward to working with Tricia and Jacqueline Lyanga, the section heads and all my colleagues. We are excited to continue to make Berlinale an excellent place to launch great cinema from around the world.”
Tuttle took over as the new Berlinale boss in April, replacing the outgoing co-directors co-directors Carlo Chatrian and Mariëtte Rissenbeek. She has made it clear that she intends to overhaul the festival’s governance structure, to improve cooperation, communication and efficiency between Berlin’s various sections. She has already made several key appointments, including naming veteran European film executive Tanja Meissner the new head of Berlinale Pro*, a newly-created position that will include running the Berlin film festival‘s European Film Market.
In other appointments, Tuttle named Berlinale regular Florian Weghorn, who is currently program manager at Berlinale Talents, as the festival’s first Chief of Staff. In the new job, Weghorn’s duties will include supporting Tuttle in communicating the festival’s strategies internally and with key external stakeholders. Tommy Kommer, an expert in corporate finance in the cultural sector, was named the new director of finance and business operations. Miriam Reimers was named the Berlinale’s director of program operations and production, charged with implementing audience programs, as well as production, protocol, accreditation and security services at red-carpet events.
“It’s wonderful to have most of my executive team in place now,” said Tuttle. “I am so excited about working with them to support the Berlinale staff, but also planning for the future. One of my major objectives is to revitalize the ways in which Berlinale connects to a sense of place, to take advantage of our incredible home city. If we can do this while also building stronger links between the public film program and the European Film Market and the marketplace, we can make the festival even more impactful for audiences and also the important films, filmmakers and rights holders who trust us with their premieres. I so look forward to working with this team to achieve much over the next few years.”
Tuttle’s first Berlinale as festival director will the 75th anniversary event, which runs February 13-23, 2025.