Todd Haynes named as Jury President of 75th Berlin Film Festival

US director Todd Haynes will preside over the jury of the upcoming 75th Berlin International Film Festival.

It will mark the first edition headed by Tricia Tuttle, the former head of the BFI London Film Festival. She is succeeding Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeek, who had co-headed the Berlinale as artistic and executive directors since 2020.

Tuttle described Haynes as “a dazzlingly gifted writer and director with an impressive range; his body of work is at once stylistically versatile but also unmistakably his.”

“Ever since his debut feature Poison won the Teddy Award in 1991, the Berlinale has followed and loved his filmmaking,” said Tuttle.

Haynes has directed 10 feature films, including 1998’s Velvet Goldmine, 2002’s Oscar nominated Far From Heaven, 2007’s Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There,  2015’s Carol, and 2023 Netflix drama May December. 

In a statement, the Berlinale also underlined: “Over nearly 40 years, Todd Haynes has been one of the most bold and distinctive filmmaking voices in US-American cinema, beloved for his great sensitivity in exploring the interior worlds of outsiders and women, and his fascinating investigations into gender and identity.” 

“His skill at creating complex characters has attracted many of the world’s finest actors. Stars such as Julianne Moore, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Kate Winslet, Anne Hathaway, Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo, Christian Bale and Ewan McGregor have played the multi-layered characters in his films. Todd Haynes’ films and their actors have won awards at numerous international film festivals,” the statement added. 

Recently, Haynes made headlines for a film he isn’t making (for now). He was set to make a queer romance drama with Joaquin Phoenix. However, Phoenix dropped out just five days before production was set to begin.

The 2024 Berlinale jury was led by Lupita Nyong’o, with the Golden Bear going to Mati Diop’s Dahomey.

The 2025 Berlinale runs from 13-23 February.