The leadup to the 2022 Berlin Film Festival has been a veritable rollercoaster ride for co-directors Mariette Rissenbeek and Carlo Chatrian due to the global spread of the Omicron variant.But while other top fests such as Sundance and Rotterdam went online again, Berlin has stayed the course due to the two chiefs’ determination to not go virtual and also to keep their February slot, albeit in its current reduced Feb. 10-16 form. The festival opens with Francois Ozon's "Peter von...
Carlo
Chatrian
Artistic Director
After making his mark running Switzerland’s Locarno Festival, Europe’s preeminent independent film event, for six years, Italian film critic Chatrian emerged last year as the surprise choice to become Berlin Film Festival artistic director starting this May, running the starry event in tandem with managing director Mariette Rissenbeek, who moves up to executive director and becomes the first woman to co-head the event. The low-key Chatrian has already started putting his stamp on the Berlinale by bringing in the core of his Locarno team and introducing a more cutting-edge competitive strand. Known as a dedicated and discerning cinephile with good networking skills, he is expected to set the festival on a new course, especially reviving its role as a key driver of German cinema.