European Film Market Director Dennis Ruh to Step Down After 2024 Edition

Dennis Ruh, the head of the European Film Market, has issued a statement saying that he will step down from his position after the 2024 edition of the Berlin Film Festival.

Ruh unveiled the news of his upcoming departure in a letter sent to journalists shortly after Tricia Tuttle, the former head of the BFI London Film Festival, was announced as the new director of the Berlinale starting in 2025.

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“The designated director of the Berlinale has decided to appoint a new head of the European Film Market for the 2025 edition and to let my contract as EFM Director expire in March 2024,” said Ruh. He added that he hadn’t had a conversation with Tuttle and found out through “official channels.”

“I look back on three editions in which we created important momentum for the international film and distribution industry, initially even in the newly developed virtual format,” said Ruh. “With the EFM 2023, we delivered a brilliant return to the physical format, breaking all previous participation and exhibition records.”

Ruh joined the European Film Festival in 2020, and spearheaded the event’s turn to digital during the pandemic.

He said he considered “the past three years a great success … despite the pandemic and political conditions,” as well as the “challenging bureaucratic organizational structure” of the Berlinale.

Ruh is also predicting a strong 2024 edition. “Our exhibition spaces are sold out, and registration numbers already exceed those of the previous year.”

Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek, who also joined the Berlinale in 2020 as artistic and executive directors, will step down after this year’s edition when their respective mandates end. Tuttle, who will be the sole director of the Berlinale starting in 2025, led the BFI London Film Festival during a fast-growing five-year era in which audiences nearly doubled.

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