UPDATE (7 September): 300 filmmakers from all over the world have issued an open letter in support of the artistic director, protesting against "the harmful behaviour of German state minister Claudia Roth". Signatories include Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, Radu Jude, Margarethe von Trotta, Bertrand Bonello, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Kleber Mendonça Filho. Read the full letter here.

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It’s official: Berlinale artistic director Carlo Chatrian will leave his post after the 2024 edition of the German gathering, when his contract is set to expire.

On Thursday, the Kulturveranstaltungen des Bundes in Berlin (KBB) announced that it would abandon the model of having an executive director and an artistic director, and return instead to having a single director in charge of both positions. Executive director Mariëtte Rissenbeek will also step down after next year’s edition, as previously announced.

The official statement provided by Chatrian and published by the Berlinale reads as follows: “For the past four years at the Berlinale, I have been fortunate enough to work alongside extraordinary people, as in love with movies as I am, who are totally dedicated to revitalising one of the world’s great film festivals. Together, we have helped so many talents and great stories reach out to the world. And I am grateful to all the people who have supported and believed in me.

“I thought that continuity could be facilitated if I remained part of the festival, but in the new structure as it has been presented, it is quite clear that the conditions for me to continue as artistic director no longer exist. The next edition of the festival will therefore be the end of this rewarding journey.”

Rissenbeek and Chatrian began working together for the Berlinale in June 2018 and co-directed their first edition in 2020, filling Dieter Kosslick’s position. The 74th Berlinale will unspool from 15-25 February 2024.

Watch this space.