This was decided unanimously by the supervisory board of MOIN Film Fund, the parent company of FILMFEST HAMBURG, following the recommendation of the commission that was entrusted with the selection of the personnel.

The 52-year-old Franco-German Malika Rabahallah is well connected in the international film industry. For almost 30 years, the film expert has been moving very successfully between the areas of festivals, German cinema, international co-productions and film funding.

Dr Carsten Brosda, Senator for Culture and Media"With Malika Rabahallah, we have gained a proven film expert for the festival management of FILMFEST HAMBURG. She not only knows the Hamburg film scene inside out, but has also been an established name in both the German and international film industry for many years. Her infectious passion for film and her distinctive hospitality will captivate audiences and guests alike. With her commitment and new ideas, Malika Rabahallah will continue to expand the importance of FILMFEST HAMBURG and inspire audiences with new enthusiasm for film every year. I would like to thank the outgoing festival director Albert Wiederspiel for his outstanding, formative work for FILMFEST and the cultural city of Hamburg. He has wholeheartedly made FILMFEST HAMBURG a festival for film and has always brought international film to Hamburg with a clear attitude and an alert eye. I am looking forward to a successful and joyful last festival edition!"

Helge Albers, CEO of MOIN Film Fund"Malika Rabahallah has played a key role in shaping our location over the past ten years. I will miss her very much at Filmfest Hamburg and at the same time I am delighted to know that our subsidiary FILMFEST HAMBURG will continue to be in the best hands in the future. I am very much looking forward to continuing our excellent co-operation. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Albert Wiederspiel for his services to FILMFEST and the location."

Malika Rabahallah, designated director of FILMFEST HAMBURG"I am very pleased to continue the renowned FILMFEST HAMBURG as its new director from 2024 and to take over the baton from Albert Wiederspiel. With great passion and a dedicated team, he has shaped the festival like no other. It is a great honour for me to follow in his footsteps and to be able to further develop this festival with my ideas. I want to inspire all the people of Hamburg with inspiring films from all over the world and unforgettable encounters. FILMFEST HAMBURG should be a meeting point for the industry and a festival with international appeal that celebrates the diversity and creativity of the regional, national and international film industry. Above all, I also see it as a place for cultural and social exchange. Personally, the topics of diversity and sustainability are very close to my heart. I also want the festival to reflect new challenges such as disruptive technological changes."

Malika Rabahallah, born in France in 1970, studied business administration at the Ecole Nationale de Commerce in Paris and foreign languages at the Université Nanterre, also in Paris. This was followed by further training in film production and distribution at the Filmakademie Ludwigsburg and the FEMIS Paris film school (Atelier Ludwigsburg-Paris) as well as at EAVE (European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs).

She started her career in the film industry as a project manager for the international film and television festival Cologne Conference in the areas of programme research and international cooperation. She then switched to film production. After more than ten years as a producer, co-author and co-director at zero one film, among others, she began working as a funding officer at MOIN Film Fund in 2011. She has been head of the funding department there since 2015 and has played a decisive role in shaping the Hamburg location in this position in recent years.

FILMFEST HAMBURG was organised for the first time in 1992 under the motto "Filmfest for everyone - everywhere in Hamburg". Since then, it has developed into one of the most important film festivals in Germany. In 2003, the successful MICHEL Kinder und Jugend Filmfest was added when long-time festival director Albert Wiederspiel took office. FILMFEST HAMBURG is a subsidiary of the MOIN Film Fund under the direction of Helge Albers.

With its decision, the Supervisory Board of MOIN Film Fund followed the decision of the highly qualified selection committee. The committee was chaired by Dr Carsten Brosda, Senator for Culture and Media and Chairman of the Supervisory Board, and included external experts: Matthijs Wouter Knol, Managing Director at the European Film Academy since 2020 after many years of working at various international film festivals such as the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and heading the European Film Market at the Berlinale, Roshanak Khodabakhsh, film producer at DCM among others and Executive Producer and Member of the Executive Board at Port au Prince Film & Kultur Produktion GmbH since 2023, and Sonja Heinen, former Head of the Berlinale Co-Production Market and CEO at European Film Promotion since 2017. In addition to Helge Albers, CEO of MOIN Film Fund, Jana Schiedek, State Councillor of the Ministry of Culture and Media, and Susanne Bieler-Seelhoff, Head of Culture at the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture of the State of Schleswig-Holstein, also took part from the Supervisory Board. Hans Heinrich Bethge, Head of Cultural Affairs at the Ministry of Culture and Media, was also part of the commission.

A photo of Malika Rabahallah is available atpressestelle@bkm.hamburg.de via the press office of the Ministry of Culture and Media.