No Decision Reached on Future of Berlin Film Festival Chief

The governing physique of the Berlin Film Festival has failed to succeed in a choice on whether or not to continue the contract of its pageant director, Tricia Tuttle.

The non-decision got here at a rare assembly, called by Germany’s tradition minister Wolfram Weimer, of the Berlin Film Festival’s governing physique, KBB GmbH, on Thursday morning to debate the “future direction” of the Berlinale. It is believed the assembly was convened in response to criticism of political statements made at the pageant.

“This morning, a supervisory board meeting of KBB GmbH took place in the Chancellery. The topic was the Berlinale,” said a spokesman for Weimer. “Talks on the Berlinale will continue in the coming days between the director, Tricia Tuttle, and the supervisory board.”

After a story in German tabloid Bild on Wednesday advised that Tuttle was about to be sacked, movie enterprise insiders and Berlinale staffer rallied to her protection. A petition supporting her, signed by movie professionals – including luminaries such as Sean Baker, Todd Haynes, Tilda Swinton and Kleber Mendonça Filho – quickly gathered round 700 names.

Then, on Thursday morning, more than 500 staffers at the pageant wrote an open letter to voice their assist for Tuttle.

The letter said: “We don’t exaggerate after we say, as one, that it’s unlikely the KBB Supervisory Board may have appointed a more clever, moral and responsive chief for the Berlinale, nor one more devoted to the core ideas that make this pageant a significant platform for cinema in Germany and internationally.

“We hope this message will go some way to communicating the extent of the admiration and loyalty Tricia has inspired in all who are invested in the future of the Berlinale, and the future of cinema.”