The governing body of the Berlin Film Festival has not reached a decision on whether to continue the contract with festival director Tricia Tuttle.
The decision was made public on Thursday morning at an extraordinary meeting convened by German Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer of KBB GmbH, the festival’s governing body, to discuss the Berlinale’s “future direction.” The meeting is believed to have been called in response to criticism of political rhetoric at the festival.
“This morning, a meeting of the supervisory board of KBB GmbH was held in the Prime Minister’s Office. The topic on the agenda was the Berlinale,” a spokesperson for Weimer said. “Negotiations regarding the Berlinale will continue between Director Tricia Tuttle and the Supervisory Board over the next few days.”
After an article in the German tabloid Bild on Wednesday suggested that Tuttle was about to be fired, film industry insiders and Berlinale staff rallied to her defense. A petition in support of her, signed by film experts including celebrities such as Sean Baker, Todd Haynes, Tilda Swinton and Kleber Mendonça Filho, quickly gathered around 700 names (now over 1,000).
And on Thursday morning, more than 500 festival staff wrote an open letter expressing their support for Tuttle.
The letter states: “It is no exaggeration to say that the KBB Supervisory Board could not have appointed a more wise, ethical and responsive leader for the Berlin Festival, and a leader more committed to the core principles that make this festival an important platform for the German and international film community.
“I hope this message goes some way to conveying the degree of admiration and loyalty that Tricia has had in the future of the Berlinale and all those invested in the future of cinema.”
The festival was initially accused of censoring political topics during its 76th edition, which ran from February 12 to 22, after prominent attendees, including jury president Wim Wenders, refused to discuss politics. But controversy exploded on the closing night when several winners expressed support for Palestine and Gaza in their acceptance speeches.
