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Marie Wilke (left) and Catherine Ann Berger take over the management of the DFFB on August 1st
Photo: Mathias Bothor
The German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB) has new management: Catherine Ann Berger and Marie Wilke will jointly take over management on August 1, 2021.
Berger will work as commercial director, Wilke as artistic director.
This was announced by the board of trustees of the film school on Friday afternoon.
With the decision in favor of a dual leadership, the Board of Trustees is tying in with the DFFB from the founding years, in which the artistic and commercial management was divided in its tasks. For the first time, however, a female duo is at the helm. "The division of tasks is intended in particular to help distribute the large number of tasks appropriately and thus give teaching even more weight," explains Christian Gaebler, head of the Senate Chancellery and chairman of the board of trustees and the search committee.
"We are both very happy to take over the management of the DFFB together," said the new management duo Wilke / Berger about their appointment.
»We are convinced that our profiles complement each other optimally in terms of professional experience and skills.
The DFFB is a film school with a strong tradition and signature, which we want to honor and at the same time want to lead into a bright future with new accents. "
New appointment necessary after scandal
Marie Wilke has worked as a director and lecturer so far. Her documentary study »Aggregat« on the interlinking of media and politics in Germany has received several awards, and at the beginning of the year her true crime television series »Höllental« started on ZDF. Catherine Ann Berger initially worked as an editor and film critic for Swiss television before moderating the 3sat culture magazine »Kulturzeit« from 1997 to 2003. She then worked from 2013 to the beginning of 2021 as director of the Swiss Films promotion agency and on the board of European Film Promotion (EFP).
The replacement of the DFFB top had been necessary after the previous head Ben Gibson exposed himself in a dispute with a student at the Potsdam Film University Babelsberg and showed her his bare bottom.
Gibson was immediately on leave, with Sandra Braun serving as interium director from April 2020 to July 2021.
The DFFB is considered the most prominent film school in Germany.
Her alumni include Christian Petzold, Helke Sander, Harun Farocki and Emily Atef.
Most recently, DFFB graduate Alexandre Koberidze was invited to the Berlinale competition with his graduation film "What do we see when we look at the sky?"
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