Berlinale Festival Director Tricia Tuttle appoints four members to a new-look selection committee, shaping Competition, Berlinale Special and contributing to the discovery-focused Perspectives section. They will work alongside Tuttle and her Co-Directors of Film Programming, the experienced Heads of Sections of Panorama, Generation, Berlinale Shorts, Forum and Forum Expanded to deliver a dynamic and diverse Berlinale programme that showcases contemporary cinema as a dazzling art form.

Selection Committee Members:

Mathilde Henrot is a programmer, a producer and the co-founder of Festival Scope. She was a member of the selection committee of the Locarno Film Festival from 2018 to 2024 and has been a programmer for the Sarajevo Film Festival since 2012.

Jessica Kiang is a Berlin based film critic, essayist and programmer who has been writing about film for almost 15 years. Since 2022 she has been the international programmer of the Belfast Film Festival.

Jacqueline Nsiah is a film festival, art and culture consultant based in Accra, Ghana. She brings many years of working in cinema, and has served as project manager at the Goethe-Institut and joined the Berlinale selection committee in 2023.

Elad Samorzik is a film programmer, industry consultant and former journalist. He has over a decade of experience as Artistic Director of the Jerusalem Film Festival from 2014 to 2024.

The committee, chaired by Co-Directors of Film Programming, Jacqueline Lyanga and Michael Stütz, and overseen by Tricia Tuttle will select the films competing for the Golden and Silver Bears and those screening as Berlinale Special Presentations. Existing Heads of Sections will also contribute to these selections. All will select films competing in the new Perspectives section for the Best First Feature Award and for the nominations for the Best Documentary Award.

Tuttle and her Co-Directors of Film Programming also confirm a group of Advisors and Delegates who offer programming support and deepen the expertise and international networks of the Berlinale.

To shore up Berlinale’s expertise in genre cinema and also in television and series programming, Tuttle welcomes film critic and programmer Jin Park who will advise on genre films. Programmer Rowan Woods brings expertise in curating international series for film festivals.

Berlin-based curator and programmer Ana David, Glasgow-based film programmer, festival organiser Kate Taylor, Berlin-based curator Rabih El-Khoury and journalist and curator Toby Ashraf will be advisors involved in the general preselection. Ashraf brings specialist experience in German and LGBTQIA+ programming with El-Khoury bringing years of experience curating Arab cinema.

Long-standing Berlinale programme contributor, journalist, author and curator Jenni Zylka returns to support on German cinema programming with a special focus on German new talent and film schools.

A further group of internationally-based regional/country delegates will scout for and act as ambassadors for all programmes of the Berlinale.

Mara Fortes: Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador

Luciano Monteagudo: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay

Meenakshi Shedde: South Asia

Eduardo Valente: Brazil

Ryan Werner: United States

Norman Wang: Taiwan, Hong Kong, China

Jacob Wong: Taiwan, Hong Kong, China

Former Director of EFM Beki Probst also continues in her role as a longstanding Delegate and Ambassador for the Berlinale.

“Berlinale welcomes nearly 20,000 international professionals each year, while also attracting over 324,000 public admissions. We introduce films locally which we hope will go on to reach audiences around the globe; it is always a privilege to be part of this journey, as we know that cinema is an art form that is as dazzlingly vibrant as it is vital. To build a programme befitting this Festival, we need a team with tremendous knowledge and networks, as well as different perspectives and tastes. This group brings a generous love of diverse forms of cinema and an excitement about sharing that passion. Together we are eagerly looking forward to the 75th edition of the Berlinale,” says Festival Director Tricia Tuttle.

Press Office

August 22, 2024