Rudi Furstberger_credit Mathias Bothor_adapted

Source: Copyright: Mathias Bothor

Rudi Furstberger

Agent, Schlag

  • Moved to New York in 1992, working for Bruce Goldstein at Film Forum repertory cinema, the NewFest, in the Sundance press office and as a publicist at Jeremy Walker & Associates
  • Career stints include festival programming for Berlin’s Fantasy Filmfest, sales agent and freelance publicist
  • Joined Schlag in Berlin in 2018, becoming an agent in 2020

Fürstberger has only been an agent since 2020, but he knows the industry well having worked for many years in PR, licensing and festival programming before starting at Berlin-based Schlag. He says his past experiences all helped to make him a better agent. “It is about so much more than just looking for jobs for somebody. It’s about knowing how to read scripts and communicate with people.”

His years in New York were helpful too, adds Fürstberger, allowing him to communicate “in proper shorthand” with people in the US and UK. His clients include Lea Drinda, the lead in Amazon Studios’ upcoming big-budget fantasy series The Gryphon, Benny O Arthur (Django), Langston Uibel (Afire, Unorthodox) and Almila Bagriacik (The Empress).

Securing international roles for German, Austrian and Swiss talent is more of a challenge than might be expected, he says, even though they are more visible now thanks to streaming platforms. The biggest lesson he has learnt during his time in the industry? “Be patient and speak no ill.”

Contact: fuerstberger@schlag-agentur.de