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Seit knapp 15 Jahren arbeitet Anne Ballschmieter nun schon für den so wichtigen deutschsprachigen Nachwuchspreis First Steps. Jetzt hat sich die Künstlerische Leiterin aber dazu entschieden, ein neues Kapitel in ihrem Leben aufzuschlagen.

Anne Ballschmieter ist die aktuelle Künstlerische Leiterin bei First Steps (Credit: Florian Liedel/First Steps)

Auf Instagram hat der Nachwuchspreis First Steps Award am Montag mitgeteilt, dass die Künstlerische Leiterin Anne Ballschmieter ihre Tätigkeit nach der Preisverleihung Ende September beenden wird. Ballschmieter hatte die Leitung im Jahr 2020 von Andrea Hohnen übernommen und dann drei Jahre zusammen mit Jennifer Stahl eine Doppelspitze gebildet. Für wenige Monate kam nach Stahls Abschied Toby Ashraf dazu. Diesen Jahrgang machte aber Ballschmieter wieder allein.

„Wir hätten bald Kristallhochzeit gefeiert“, schreibt der First Steps Award auf Instagram. „Doch jetzt heißt es wohl ‚time to say goodbye‘. Nach knapp 15 Jahren bei First Steps verabschiedet sich unsere Künstlerische Leiterin Anne Ballschmieter mit der diesjährigen Verleihung von First Steps,...

Former Jerusalem Film Festival artistic director Elad Samorzik, Berlin-based critic, essayist and programmer Jessica Kiang, Ghana-based festival and art consultant Jacqueline Nsiah, and Festival Scope co-founder and programmer Mathilde Henrot have been appointed to the selection committee of festival director Tricia Tuttle’s first Berlin International Film Festival, taking place from February 13-23, 2025.

The committee chooses the Competition and Berlinale Special titles and contributes to the Perspectives section. It is overseen by Tuttle. with co-directors of film programming Jacqueline Lyanga and Michael Stutz, who were appointed in June.

Tuttle, Lyanga and Stutz have also confirmed a group of advisors and...

Berlinale Festival Director Tricia Tuttle has unveiled the selection committee that will help her shape her inaugural Competition and Berlinale Special line-ups for the 2025 edition.

It comprises former Jerusalem Film Festival artistic director Elad Samorzik, Locarno and Festival Scope co-founder Mathilde Henrot, critic Jessica Kiang and Ghana-based festival, art and culture consultant Jacqueline Nsiah.

The quartet, which will also contribute to the discovery-focused Perspectives section, will work alongside Tuttle and her co-directors of Film Programming Jacqueline Lyanga and Michael Stütz, as well as the heads of the Panorama, Generation, Berlinale Shorts, Forum and Forum Expanded sections.

Tuttle has also appointed a number of advisors spanning: film critic and programmer Jin Park, who will advise on genre films; U.K. programmer Rowan Woods, who 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...

The revamped Berlin International Film Festival continues to take shape, with new festival director Tricia Tuttle on Thursday unveiling a new four-member selection committee and expanding the festival’s network of advisors and delegates.

The new selection committee consists of industry veterans, including festival programmer and producer Mathilde Henrot; film critic and programmer Jessica Kiang; festival and cultural consultant Jacqueline Nsiah; and Elad Samorzik, the former artistic director of the Jerusalem Film Festival.

They join Michael Stütz and Jacqueline Lyanga, appointed in June as the new co-directors of film programming ahead of the 75th anniversary Berlinale next year. This committee will work alongside Tuttle to pick films for the Competition, Berlinale Special, and the new Perspectives section.

To broaden its expertise, the Berlinale has also brought on board several advisors, including Jin Park for genre films; Rowan Woods for television and series programming; Ana David, Kate Taylor, Rabih El-Khoury, and...

Under the new leadership of Tricia Tuttle, the Berlin Film Festival has unveiled the members of its selection committee for different Berlinale sections including the Competition, Berlinale Special and Perspectives. The upcoming edition will mark the first spearheaded by Tuttle, who succeeds to Carlo Chatrian and Mariëtte Rissenbeek.

The four members of the new-look selection board are Mathilde Henrot, 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, a Berlin based film critic, essayist and programmer who regularly writes reviews for Variety. Kiang 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 afilm festival, art and culture consultant based in Accra, Ghana. She has served as project manager...

Mit der Preisvergabe ist die 40. Jubiläumsrunde des von der Kurzfilm Agentur Hamburg veranstalteten Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg zu Ende gegangen. Im deutschen Wettbewerb zeichnete die Jury um Anna Henckel-Donnersmarck, Toby Ashraf und Gerald Weber „That’s All from Me“ von Eva Könnemann aus.

40. Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg: Die Gewinner (Credit: Kurzfilm Agentur Hamburg)

Eva Könnemanns „That’s All from Me“, der bei den Berlinale Shorts Weltpremiere feierte, gewann den Jury Award des deutschen Wettbewerbs beim 40. Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg. Der Preis ist mit 2000 Euro ausgestattet. Die Jury um Anna Henckel-Donnersmarck, Toby Ashraf und Gerald Weber lobt, dass Könnemann „gekonnt Realität und Fiktion verwebt, Videobriefe mit gedrängten Totalen kombiniert und sich an unerwartete Orte begibt, um Antworten auf ihre Frage zu finden: Wie bleibt man eine Künstlerin, wenn man Mutter geworden ist? Mit subtilem Humor und präzisem Timing entwickelt der Film einen ganz eigenen Zauber und zaubert einem ein Lächeln ins Gesicht, während die Wildgänse in den Himmel fliegen.

Indiewire is more than happy to welcome a new addition to the blog network, /bent, which is now officially the queerest blog around these parts -- we'd like to think -- the most fabulous. The blog is the brainchild of longtime Indiewire Senior Writer Peter Knegt, who brings with him Matthew Hammett Knott (of Indiewire's "Heroines of Cinema" and Oscar Bitchfest fame), Berlin-based Toby Ashraf, London-based Sophie Smith and Toronto-based Oliver Skinner. And what exactly will they be doing? Well, here's a mission statement of sorts: Who needs a queer blog? Possibly not you, in which case, feel free to avoid. But for those even mildly intrigued, allow us to explain what we are offering. /bent is an irreverent look at how queer culture is represented on film and in other media. Whether we’re talking the heights of lesbian cinema, the lows of TV stereotypes or the latest politician’s homophobic outburst,...