Wolfgang Jacobsen, organiser of 12 retrospectives and 15 homages for the Berlinale since 1990, has stepped down from his position, citing "a series of conflicts" about the structure of the collaboration with the festival's TV sponsors

Replacing him, this year's retrospective, on FW Murnau, will be overseen by Hans Helmut Prinzler, director of the Film Museum Berlin.

Organised by the Film Museum Berlin-Deutsche Kinemathek, Murnau's twelve preserved films such as Nosferatu, The Last Laugh (Der Letzte Mann), Faust, Sunrise and Tabu, will be shown in new, part-restored prints during the 53rd Berlin International Film Festival (February 5-16, 2003)..

Speaking to the Berlin daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel at the weekend, Jacobsen explained that "a series of conflicts" had led to his decision to step down from the organisation of the festival's retrospective. "I am taking the consequence because I don't believe that I am able to contribute to the success of the event under these conditions".

According to Der Tagesspiegel, there had been "insurmountable differences" between Jacobsen and the Berlinale directorate on the structuring of the collaboration with the festival's TV sponsors.