Wolfram-Weimer_credit Jesco Denzel Bundesregierung

Source: Jesco Denzel Bundesregierung

Wolfram Weimer

Wolfram Weimer, Germany’s state minister for culture and media, has provided details to the Bundestag’s culture and media committee of the agreement reached today with Berlinale festival Tricia Tuttle that will see her stay at the head of the event. 

Weimer heads the supervisory board of the Berlinale’s governing body. Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin (KBB).

“The good news today is that we have come to the decision, together with Ms Tuttle and the KBB supervisory board, that she will continue in her role,” Weimer said, pointing out he had been “in close daily contact” with Tuttle since last week’s extraordinary meeting of the KBB supervisory board on February 26 “to discuss how we can move forward”.

“We are hopeful the turbulences of the past week and the wounds that have arisen here and there will cease and can be healed.”

Weimer revealed the KBB’s supervisory board “will issue recommendations on how to better protect ourselves in the future and what measures can be taken to better protect artists, including future juries”.

“For this reason, the supervisory board has made a number of recommendations, ranging from the development of a KBB-wide code of conduct to the establishment of an advisory forum,” he continued. “But also the recommendation that the KBB and the Berlinale position themselves more broadly in terms of acceptance within their own milieu, especially the film industry, media companies, streamers, and potential investors, because the question of refinancing the Berlinale is obviously on the table, and this has a lot to do with this acceptance.” 

Weimer declared himself “very happy” with the decision taken by the KBB’s 12-person supervisory board. whose members include the FFA president Kirsten NIehuus, the German Film Academy’s managing director Anne Leppin and Alistair Hudson, scientific and artistic chairman of ZKM Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe.

“I am glad that this week of irritations is over, that we have a clear decision, clear guidelines and clear guardrails that will apply for the future,” the minister concluded.

Closing this session on the latest developments at the Berlinale, the committee’s chairperson Sven Lehmann proposed Tuttle be invited to come to a future committee meeting “by the summer or in the autumn” to discuss how she and the Berlinale’s organisation will implement these recommendations outlined by the KBB supervisory board.

 

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