Jacqueline Lyanga and Michael Stütz Are the Berlinale’s New Film Programming Heads
Christian Blauvelt
New Berlinale director Tricia Tuttle announced June 19 that two new names are joining her executive leadership team for the annual February festival.
Jacqueline Lyanga and Michael Stütz will be the new co-directors of film programming, starting for the 2025 edition. Lyanga was formerly director of AFI Fest, before exiting in the summer of 2018 to become artistic director of Film Independent at a moment when IndieWire called the organization that puts on the Indie Spirits “something of a fixer-upper.” Her success there clealry caught Tuttle’s eye.
Lyanga said in a press release from the Berlinale, “It’s exciting to be joining the Berlinale team as the Co-Director of Film Programming as the festival prepares to celebrate its 75th edition next February. I look forward to collaborating with the team as we build the festival’s future. It’s a thrill to join Tricia Tuttle and Michael Stütz in programming an international film festival with one of the largest public audiences in the world.”
Stütz, meanwhile, has spent most of his curatorial career with the Berlinale, starting as an intern with the organization in 2005 before ultimately becoming the head of the Panorama section, which selects 30 titles each year that, in his words, are “not aesthetically conventional.” Panorama is part of the official Berlinale selection each year, along with the Main Competition and Encounters.
Stütz said, “I am looking forward to this new adventure, overseeing Panorama alongside this expanded role as Co-Director of Film Programming. I would like to thank Tricia Tuttle for her trust and I am especially looking forward to working with Tricia and Jacqueline Lyanga, the section heads and all my colleagues. We are excited to continue to make Berlinale an excellent place to launch great cinema from around the world.”
Tuttle was just named the new director of the Berlin Film Festival in December 2023, and resumed her post in April, following the conclusion of the 2024 edition. She previously served as the head of the BFI London Film Festival, and, with the hire of Lyanga and promotion of Stütz, is clearly looking to make her mark.
“Michael and Jacqueline bring a strong and complementary combination of skills and networks, and they are both hugely smart, collaborative creative leaders as well as passionate, generous cinephiles. I can’t wait to work alongside them to shape dynamic Berlinale film programmes,” Tuttle said.
