Chaired by the Minister of State for Culture and the Media, Claudia Roth, the Board of Supervisors of the Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin GmbH (KBB) today approved the selection committee's proposal to appoint Tricia Tuttle as director of the Berlin International Film Festival from April 2024.

Recent director of the BFI London Film Festival, Tricia Tuttle is currently Head of Directing Fiction at the UK’s prestigious National Film and TV School. During her five years as a director, she successfully repositioned the London Film Festival, creating sections on series television and immersive cinema, as well as greater audience engagement through both digital access and offerings across the UK.

Tricia Tuttle holds a Masters in Film Studies from the British Film Institute and Birkbeck University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Radio, Television and Motion Pictures from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Minister of State for Culture and the Media Claudia Roth: "Tricia Tuttle brings 25 years of film and film festival experience with her. Under her leadership, the BFI London Film Festival has not only seen an increase in audience numbers, but has also gained in international profile and significance. She has developed creative strategies to meet the challenges of digitalisation and made the festival more colourful, diverse and accessible. Above all, she has convinced us with her clear ideas on the artistic perspectives of the Berlinale, a modern, team-orientated festival management, sustainable support for young talent and contemporary sponsorship models. I am extremely pleased that we were able to win Tricia Tuttle for the directorship of the Berlinale. She is the right choice to lead it into a successful future.

I am convinced that Mariëtte Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian will organise the transition well with her. I am also looking forward to supporting them now in making the upcoming Berlinale 2024 a brilliant success."

Tricia Tuttle: "I have attended the Berlinale for many years as a professional and have really come to appreciate it very much. The Berlinale is a leader amongst A-list film festivals - welcoming and inclusive, and brimming with a breath-taking diversity of films. It's a festival that shows cinema as a most vibrant, often magical artform, one which can transform how we see the world and how we understand each other. What an immense thrill and privilege it is to have this opportunity to lead this important Festival. I look forward to a very successful Berlinale in 2024, and to joining the team afterwards."

With its decision, the Board of Supervisors of the KKB has followed the recommendation of the selection committee consisting of Oscar winner Edward Berger, actress Sara Fazilat, Managing Director of the German Film Academy Anne Leppin, producer Roman Paul, Head of the Senate Chancellery Berlin Florian Graf and Minister of State for Culture and the Media Claudia Roth.

Tricia Tuttle will take over the directorship from 1 April 2024. The upcoming Berlinale 2024 will take place under the direction of Carlo Chatrian and Mariëtte Rissenbeek.

Vita Tricia Tuttle

Tricia Tuttle has over 25 years of experience in film festivals and education and has held senior roles at British Film Institute (BFI), British Academy of Film and Television (BAFTA) and the National Film and Television School (NFTS). She is currently the Head of Directing Fiction at NFTS. Prior to this she was at the British Film Institute for a decade, first as Deputy Head of Festivals then as Festivals Director, leading the team to deliver both BFI London Film Festival and BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival.

Tricia is passionate about the ways cinema and film festivals can bring people together. As Director of BFI London Film Festival she introduced LFF screenings around the UK, increased digital access to the Festivals and introduced LFF For Free, a programme of free screenings and events, all contributing to expanding the Festival’s reach by over 50 percent. She also launched sections on series television, as well as an immersive filmmaking programme that commissioned new XR works from Guy Maddin and Asif Kapadia. While Deputy Head of Festivals, she developed BFI Flare’s LGBTQIA+ Mentorship programme delivered in partnership with BAFTA which offered early support to filmmakers such as Aleem Khan, Amrou Al-Kadhi, Georgia Oakley and Georgi Banks-Davies. In March 2019, she was recognized in Variety’s annual International Women’s Impact Report and in 2022 was included in Variety500, an index of influential business leaders shaping the global media industry.

Tricia has a Masters in Film Studies from the BFI and Birkbeck University, and a dual major BA in Literature and Radio, Television and Motion Pictures from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Earlier in her career she worked as a film programmer for BFI alongside writing and teaching on film. Tricia is from North Carolina in the South of the United States where she began her career playing music as guitarist for the band June signed to Beggars Banquet Records.

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