Tricia Tuttle will remain in place as director of the Berlinale for now after no decision was taken over her future in the role in a crisis meeting at the Ministry of Culture on Thursday morning, according to local media reports.
“A supervisory board meeting of KBB GmbH took place this morning at the Chancellery. The topic was the Berlinale,” a spokesperson for German Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer was quoted as saying by German newswire DPA.
“Discussions about the direction of the Berlinale will continue in the coming days between the artistic director, Tricia Tuttle, and the supervisory board.”
Wolfram called the meeting with the festival’s managing body, the Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin GmbH (KBB), in the wake of a political backlash against a series of pro-Palestinian speeches at the closing ceremony on Saturday in which Germany came under attack for its support of Israel.
The KBB is headed by Tuttle alongside fellow directors Bonaventure Soh Bejeng Ndikung and Matthias Pees and Managing Director Charlotte Sieben. Weimer is also involved in the body as chair of its supervisory body.
Speculation has been rife that Tuttle was on the verge of either being fired or resigning from the post of Berlinale director in the wake of a tumultuous 76th edition of the festival in which it has come under fire from all sides of the polarised global debate over the Israel-Gaza war.
Rumors hit a fever pitch on Wednesday on the back of a report in Conservative tabloid newspaper Bild that Tuttle was on the way out.
News that the respected and much-liked festival exec was on the cusp of being removed has prompted a groundswell of support from cinema professionals in Germany, Europe and beyond.
An open letter protesting the proposed plans to fire Tuttle began circulating late Wednesday and has garnered more than 700 signatures in less than 24 hours, with names attached including Tilda Swinton, Nancy Spielberg, Sean Baker, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Karim Aïnouz, and Radu Jude.
A trio of key pan-European film bodies, many of whom are key attendees of the Berlinale’s European Film Market (EFM), also signaled their support in a joint statement.
Berlinale staff and contractors also issued a statement on Thursday morning expressing their support for Tuttle, describing her as an “extraordinary” festival director.
“In light of the ongoing debates and deeply worrying developments around our Festival Director, Tricia Tuttle, more than 500 Berlinale employees have now jointly shared this message with policymakers,” read the introduction to the letter posted on Instagram.
They signatories heaped praise on Tuttle saying: “We do not exaggerate when we say, as one, that it is unlikely the KBB Supervisory Board could have appointed a more intelligent, ethical and responsive leader for the Berlinale, nor one more dedicated to the core principles that make this festival a vital platform for cinema in Germany and internationally.
“We hope this message will go some way to communicating the extent of the admiration and loyalty Tricia has inspired in all who are invested in the future of the Berlinale, and the future of cinema.”