Michael Stütz

Michael Stütz has been head of the Panorama section since June 2019 and Co-Director of Film Programming since July 2024.

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. 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, Sarajevo International Film Festival, Thessaloniki International Film Festival, and European Work in Progress Cologne.

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. Since 2022, he is serving on the jury of the Filmfonds Vienna. He is also serving on the board of directors of the TEDDY foundation and a member of the European Film Academy.