Christine Kopf, who has been acting Director of the DFF since July 2024, will be the new Artistic Director of the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum e.V. 

This has now been announced by the DFF Administrative Board.

 

This follows an extensive application process following the withdrawal of the previous director, Ellen Harrington. In the end, Christine Kopf convinced the Administrative Board with her ideas and concepts for the museum on Frankfurt’s Museumsufer. Until July last year, Kopf was head of the DFF’s film education department.

Together with Administrative Director Tobias Römer, who has been in office since July 2024 and is responsible for human resources and finance, Christine Kopf will form the dual leadership of the DFF in future. Both will also take on the role of the Executive Board and will be jointly responsible for managing the organization.

 

“On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I would like to warmly congratulate Christine Kopf on her new position and wish her all the best for the tasks ahead,” emphasized the Chair of the Board, Dr. Ina Hartwig, Head of Cultural Affairs for the City of Frankfurt.

“A cineaste and passionate film mediator like Christine Kopf will preserve the German film heritage in particular and keep the DFF visible internationally with outstanding new exhibitions such as the recently opened, visually stunning show “Entfesselte Bilder” about dynamic one shots and long takes or with interesting new projects of the archives. We wish her every success and a lucky hand.”

 

Christine Kopf has worked for the DFF in various functions since the 1990s. She was curator for exhibitions and festival director for goEast – Festival of Eastern and Central European Film, but also worked for the ZKM Karlsruhe and the Robert Bosch Stiftung.Most recently, she built up the DFF’s film education and mediation department, which she headed for eleven years. For four years, she was co-head of “Strategic Development” at the DFF. She is considered to be innovative and exceptionally well networked throughout Germany and Europe.

 

The DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum e.V. is a non-profit organization and is institutionally supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the State of Hesse, the City of Frankfurt am Main, the State Capital of Wiesbaden, the public broadcasters and Beta Film GmbH.

Supported by FIAF and ACE

The National Film Institute Hungary – Film Archive has selected the participants for its two-day Projectionists’ Workshop, aimed at introducing active projectionists and cinema professionals to the world of analogue film carriers and 35mm projectors.

Under the mentorship of experts from the film archive and lab, the workshop will provide hands-on training and facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experience among professionals. This initiative is part of a broader effort by the Association des Cinémathèques Européennes (ACE) and the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) to preserve and promote the craft of analogue film projection. The Hungarian Film Institute’s workshop is the fourth in this series, following successful editions hosted by Cinemateca Portuguesa in Lisbon, Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique in Brussels, and DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum in Frankfurt.

The Projectionists’ Workshops, organized under the auspices of FIAF and ACE, aim to support both current and future professionals by providing a platform for learning and sharing expertise in analogue film projection. These workshops focus on best practices for repairs and maintenance, sourcing equipment and spare parts, and strengthening connections among projectionists, including those not yet working in archival cinemas.

The call for applications for the Hungary workshop exceeded expectations, attracting a high number of both national and international candidates. Given the outstanding professional references of the applicants, the selection process was challenging. As a result, the committee expanded the number of participants from the originally planned seven to nine. The strong interest in this free training programme, which begins on 31 March, highlights the ongoing need for 35mm projectionist training and the importance of fostering continuous knowledge-sharing in this field.

The selected participants for the workshop are:
Márk Beleznai (Cirko Gejzir cinema, Budapest)
Boris Šlapeta (Slovak Film Institute, Bratislava)
Lehel Fazakas (Cinema ARTA, Cluj-Napoca)
Gábor Tamás Fehér (Cinema City, Budapest)
José Martins (Cinemateca Portuguesa, Lisbon)
Vanda Martinfalvi (Bem Cinema, Budapest)
Attila Szabó (Művész Art Cinema, Budapest)
Balázs Szathmári (Corvin Cinema, Budapest)
Tamás Tulipán (Puskin Cinema, Budapest)

A major change is taking place at the DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum: the current director, Ellen Harrington, is stepping down for personal reasons. The former CEO of Messe Frankfurt GmbH, Michael von Zitzewitz, has been appointed to the board of the association for an initial period of one year, replacing the previous director, Aurélio de Sousa. Christine Kopf, previously head of the film education department at the DFF, will take over as acting director. Her deputy will be Tobias Römer, commercial director of the DFF since the beginning of the year, who will be responsible for personnel and finance as administrative director. This was announced jointly by the Chairwoman of the DFF Board of Directors, Head of the Department of Culture of Frankfurt am Main, Dr. Ina Hartwig, and the DFF.

“After more than six and a half years as Director of the DFF here in Frankfurt am Main, I have made the decision to retire from this position and will now return to our home in Los Angeles. It has been an honor and a pleasure to work for this institution during this dynamic and challenging time for the cultural sector – and for our world at large. However, personal medical and family priorities require that I take some time to refocus my energies. I am pleased that with the support of our Board of Directors, the DFF will continue to have a strong leadership team,” said Ellen Harrington.

“On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I would like to thank Ellen Harrington for her outstanding work”, emphasized the Chairwoman of the Board, Dr. Ina Hartwig. “She has made a significant contribution to preserving Germany’s film heritage and has also made the DFF internationally visible through archive acquisitions and exhibitions that had an impact far beyond Frankfurt. We wish her all the best for the future.”

Christine Kopf has been involved with the DFF in various capacities since the 1990s. She has been a curator for exhibitions and the festival director for goEast – Festival of Eastern and Central European Film, and has also worked for the ZKM Karlsruhe and the Robert Bosch Stiftung. Most recently, she built up the DFF’s film education department, which she has headed for eleven years. For four years, she was co-head of “Strategic Development” at the DFF.

The DFF – Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum e.V. is a non-profit association and is institutionally funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the State of Hesse, the City of Frankfurt am Main, the State Capital of Hesse, Wiesbaden, the public broadcasters and Beta Film GmbH

The Deutsche Kinemathek has launched a trainee programme in 2022, generously supported by the Sunrise Foundation for Education and the Arts.

Each year, a new trainee starts their two-year traineeship at our film archive, meaning that two trainees overlap by a year to work and share the experience together and to pass on the baton.

We are now looking for the next trainee film archivist (full-time) from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2026.

Applications are welcome until 9 June 2024.

Please find the German-language job description and all details here: deutsche-kinemathek.de/de/kinemathek/karriere.

We are looking forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,

Daniel Meiller and Franz Frank