Michael Stütz, curator of Panorama, discusses the queer film programme, his curatorial approach, and an incredibly challenging year for cinema and the film industry.
SPEAKERS
Michael Stütz
Michael Stütz has been head of the Panorama section since June 2019.
He was born in Linz, Austria in 1977 and studied theatre, film and media at the University of Vienna and the Freie Universität Berlin. During this time, he also worked on film productions at Studio Babelsberg. He has lived and worked in Berlin since 2005.
Following an internship at the 2005 TEDDY AWARD, the Berlinale’s queer film prize, Stütz became assistant to the then Panorama head Wieland Speck in 2006. He subsequently took on further roles in the section including office manager, programme coordinator, coordinator for the TEDDY AWARD and programme advisor for Wieland Speck. From July 2017 to May 2019, he was Panorama curator and programme manager. He is also project leader for the TEDDY AWARD.
Alongside his work at Panorama, Stütz has been involved in numerous other festivals as guest speaker, curator and jury member, including at the Guadalajara International Film Festival, Crossing Europe, Mix Brazil and the Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival. From 2011 to 2017, he was co-director of the XPOSED International Queer Film Festival in Berlin where he was responsible for curating numerous programmes with a particular focus on Austrian avant-garde and experimental film.
Foto © Berlinale
HOST:
Zsombor Bobák
Zsombor has graduated from the University of Amsterdam’s Heritage Studies: Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image programme in 2018. Since then he is a member of the TEDDY AWARD-Team conducting interviews with filmmakers and film professionals. He is passionate about queer cinema, queer film histories, and the political potential of film festivals.