Carlo Chatrian to step down as artistic director of the Berlin film festival

BERLIN — The artistic director of the Berlin International Film Festival, Carlo Chatrian, said on Saturday that he will step down next year after Germany’s culture minister announced a new management structure for the event.

Chatrian joined the “Berlinale,” which along with its peers in Cannes and Venice is one of Europe’s major annual film festivals, as one of two leaders in 2019 alongside executive director Mariette Rissenbeek. The duo replaced long-serving festival director Dieter Kosslick.

Earlier this year, officials said that Rissenbeek had decided not to extend her contract and would leave when it expires in March 2024. On Thursday, Culture Minister Claudia Roth said that officials had decided that the festival “should in the future once again be led and represented by one person.”

Her office said a commission was set up to look for a new leader, and Chatrian had declared himself ready to enter “constructive talks with the new directorship on a future role in the new Berlinale team.”

But in a statement posted on the festival website Saturday, Chatrian said he won’t be staying.

“I thought that continuity could be facilitated if I remained part of the festival, but, in the new structure as it has been presented, it is quite clear that the conditions for me to continue as Artistic Director no longer exist,” he said.

“The next edition of the festival will be therefore the end of this rewarding journey.”

The 2024 festival, the event’s 74th edition, will run from Feb. 15-25.

Chatrian, 51, was the artistic director of the Locarno film festival in Switzerland before moving to Berlin.