Berlinale: CEO Mariette Rissenbeek leaves

Managing Director Mariette Rissenbeek will not extend her contract, which runs until the end of March 2024, at her own request. The supervisory board of the federal cultural events in Berlin (KBB) noted this at its meeting on Thursday, March 30, “with great regret and respect” for its decision, as stated in a statement.

The news comes as no surprise. Rissenbeek, who took office in 2019 together with the new artistic director Carlo Chatrian, succeeding Dieter Kosslick, will organize the 74th Berlinale with Chatrian. Recently, it has often been asked how well the two get along.

Rissenbeek will be 68 next year, and as the chairwoman of the supervisory board, Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth, in addition to the high commitment of the Dutchwoman, also expressly acknowledged her decision to “actively initiate a generational change from a prominent position”. This deserves the utmost respect.

According to the supervisory board, Rissenbeek successfully managed the Berlinale with the greatest personal commitment and saved it from serious damage, especially during the corona pandemic. “The fact that the festival was able to take place every year despite all the restrictions is thanks to their tireless work,” added Roth.

In fact, it has been four challenging years so far: The first Berlinale under the new dual leadership, the 2020 anniversary edition, was all about program reform. This was followed by two pandemic years with radically reduced audience options, a film festival that was even divided between industry meetings and public events in the summer in 2021, and partners from business withdrawing – here the federal government stepped in in each case. The good news for 2023: Despite higher ticket prices, the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and inflation, the Berlinale recorded a higher utilization of space than in 2020 with 320,000 tickets sold.

Rissenbeek, who previously worked as a producer and at the German Films branch office abroad, and has been managing director since 2011, wants to devote herself to new tasks when she retires.

Apparently, the future of artistic director Carlo Chatrian has not yet been decided. Claudia Roth, as chair of the supervisory board, was commissioned to hold talks with the 51-year-old about extending his contract and, according to the announcement, to also evaluate the governance structure of the Berlinale.

A successor for Rissenbeek will not be easy to find. Already during the search for candidates to succeed Kosslick – who held the management and artistic direction in personal union – there had been long discussions about a suitable person for the post. In the end, the selection committee, Monika Grütters, Minister of State for Culture at the time, and Björn Böhning, head of the Berlin Senate Chancellery at the time, asked their third member to take on the job: Mariette Rissenbeek.

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