Dr. Maxa Zoller has been appointed as the new director of the Dortmund | Cologne International Women’s Film Festival, a press release announced. She’s succeeding Silke J. Räbiger, who was appointed to the position in 2007, and has been involved in the fest for over three decades. The first edition of the fest under Zoller’s direction will be 2019.
“I am stepping down from my role as Festival Director after over 30 years and handing over this task to my successor, Maxa Zoller. She will continue to organize the Festival together with our long-serving General Manager Christina Essenberger and the rest of the team. She has my full support,” said Räbiger in a statement.
A freelance film curator and lecturer in experimental film history, theory, and contemporary art, Zoller previously worked as an associate lecturer at the American University in Cairo and has organized film programs for Locarno Film Festival and Tate Modern.
“Being able to listen to and see more stories told by women means promoting a cinema culture that is socially relevant,” Zoller emphasized. “What is missing in German film culture is a sharp self-analysis of why we work, think, dream in such gender-specific ways and how we can change this. We need a change of perspective. Who is speaking and who is listening?”
The 2019 Dortmund | Cologne International Women’s Film Festival will run from April 9-14.
