A Change of Direction for the 2025 Berlinale
by Rose Finlay

In 2023, it was announced that the two directors of the Berlinale, Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian, would be stepping down. Their time as directors was one fraught with difficulty as they took on the reigns for the 2020 festival and then had to navigate the pandemic shutdowns and economic difficulties that followed.

Under their direction, the festival gained the ENCOUNTERS section, but also lost its beloved Culinary Cinema, nATIVE, and the Perspektive Deutsches Kino sections. The acting awards were halved as we lost the Best Actor and Best Actress categories in favor of the more gender neutral Best Leading Performance award. The popular food trucks also stopped appearing that were a highlight for every festivalgoer looking for something quick to eat. The festival became more fragmented, as the CineStar at Sony Center shut down, forcing the festival to move many press and industry screenings around the city.

Some of these changes were simply bad luck for the two directors (such as CineStar’s closure), but others were the direct reflection of their vision to slim down the festival and focus more on cinematic output. Certainly not all of the changes were popular, and one can only hope that the vision of newcomer Tricia Tuttle will breathe some life into the festival which seems to be getting smaller and more budget conscious each year with a distinct lack of the glitz, glamor, and fun of a prestigious festival. Tricia Tuttle is an American director, journalist, and program manager who previously held the position of director of the London Film Festival from 2018 until 2022. Under her leadership, the festival gained sections focusing on series, as well as VR (virtual reality) and immersive films, while also expanding digital viewing opportunities via a video on demand service from the British Film Institute, the BFI Player. The result of her changes was a 76 percent increase in visitors to the festival. With her track record of success, even during pandemic times, and her focus on digital and industry expansion, the future of the Berlinale under her direction looks bright.