It’s only her first year as Berlinale artistic director, but Tricia Tuttle has already put her stamp on one of Europe’s biggest film festivals. When we meet in the middle of the 75th annual Berlin Film Festival , which so far has seen Robert Pattinson, Timothée Chalamet, Jessica Chastain and Jacob Elordi touch down in Germany, Tuttle shows no signs of sleep deprivation or slowing down. At the same time, she always knew this wasn’t going to be an easy job.
An erudite lover of films and a straight-shooter, Tuttle — an American who’s lived in Europe for so long that she’s adopted a hybrid British accent — admits that it’s been a tough year due to the ongoing political turmoil in Germany with the rise of the far right in the run up to the national election on Sunday. Then there’s the mounting pressures for the Berlinale to pick a side in the Gaza-Israel conflict. (Tuttle’s perspective has been to stay neutral and to embrace cinema from all over the world.
) These tensions aside, Tuttle is pleased with the reception to the 2025 edition of the Berlinale, which kicked off with Tilda Swinton delivering a political speech about the importance of artistic expression as she accepted a Golden Lion for career achievement. Tuttle, who previously spearheaded the BFI London Film Festival with great success for five years, says she’s helped reinvigorate the Berlinale by ramping up the number of screenings, building two new venues (including the Stage Bluemax Theatre) in.
