Berlin Film Festival Taps Jenni Zylka to Scout for Emerging German Filmmakers

Elsa Keslassy
·2 min read
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The Berlin Film Festival has created a new scouting role to curate a rising generation of German filmmakers. The next edition, which is set to take place from Feb. 15-25, will see its section dedicated to newcomer German films merged into the main program.

Jenni Zylka, the former director of Perspektive Deutsches Kino, has been tapped to look for first or second films and liaise with film schools. An award, called the Heiner Carow Prize for the promotion of German cinematic art, will be awarded to a first or second German film playing across all the sections of the Berlinale. The prize, endowed with €5,000, is sponsored by the DEFA Foundation.

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“The aim of Berlinale 2024 is to once again spark enthusiasm for cinema, creating enjoyment and a festive mood. A film festival is more than the sum of its programmes,” said Berlinale directors Mariëtte Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian, who will be stepping down after this next edition when their contracts expire.

The pair said their aim was for the Berlinale to “combine political relevance, aesthetic experiences and grand emotions.”

The Berlin Film Festival is governed by a German body called Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin (KBB) which is chaired by Germany’s Minister of State for Culture and Media.

News of Chatrian’s exit after the 2024 edition stirred uproar within the international film community when it broke last month. The well-respected artistic director was expected to have his contract extended by the German state body. In the wake of the announcement, hundreds of filmmakers and talent, including Martin Scorsese, Radu Jude, Kristen Stewart, Hamaguchi Ryusuke signed an open letter in support of Chatrian.

The Germany body had previously said it would abandon the model of having an executive director and an artistic director and return instead to having a single director beyond 2024.

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