Berlin film fest chief staying on until 2019: organisers

The head of the Berlin International Film Festival since 2001, Dieter Kosslick, will stay in the job until at least 2019, event organisers said Wednesday.

Kosslick, who is credited with dramatically boosting the size, prestige and glamour of the first major European cinema festival of the year, accepted the offer of the German government, the event’s main source of financing, to extend his contract.

The Berlinale, as the 11-day February event is known, said in a statement that Kosslick had “enriched the festival with numerous innovations and initiatives” including establishing its European Film Market, where film rights are bought and sold, as “one of the most important worldwide”.

The 66-year-old’s folksy style and penchant for one-liners have endeared him to Hollywood stars such as George Clooney, a regular guest at the festival.

And Kosslick, the former head of a powerful German state film fund, has managed to parlay the growing global appeal of the reunited German capital into an A-list draw for filmmakers from five continents to showcase their work.

“I’m very pleased that I’ll be helping shape the profile of the Berlinale for another five years,” Kosslick said in the statement.

Next year’s Berlinale will run February 5-15 with US director and screenwriter Darren Aronofsky (“Black Swan”, “Noah”) leading the jury selecting the Golden and Silver Bear top prizes.