Moritz de Hadeln
Encyclopedia
Moritz de Hadeln is a Swiss documentary Film director
and photographer, who became a Film Festival director
. He headed the Locarno International Film Festival
from 1972 to 1977, the Berlin International Film Festival
from 1980 to 2001 and the Venice International Film Festival in 2002 and 2003.
(Italy) and his mother Alexandra Bălăceanu an Romanian immigrant was a painter and sculptor. Moritz de Hadeln after obtaining the French Certificate A level (Baccalauréat), started studying Physics and Chemistry in Paris. He soon joined the film research laboratory Avenue Hoch as an apprentice. After freelancing as a photographer for some years, de Hadeln was given the opportunity to direct his first documentary Le Pèlé in 1963. Followed several years of work with cinematographer Ernest Artaria in Zurich. In 1966, de Hadeln directed his second film Ombres et Mirages and during this same period, worked as a film editor in Zürich together with Yves Allegret
and as assistant director at CCC Film Studios in Berlin.
Moritz married Erika von dem Hagen in 1968. In 1969, Moritz de Hadeln and his wife founded the Nyon International Documentary Film Festival (today Visions du réel
film festival) in Switzerland, which he directed until 1979. He assisted Erika when she took over as head of the festival from 1981 to 1993. In those 25 years, they made Nyon a unique meeting place for documentary filmmaking while discovering many new talents. From 1972 to 1977, de Hadeln headed the Locarno International Film Festival, heralding a new era of international recognition for the event. He gave an original profile to the newly introduced outdoor screening on the Piazza Grande and introduced several sidebar events to broaden the festival's international impact.
In 1979, de Hadeln was invited to head the Berlin International Film Festival. His aim was to establish the German event as one of the “best organized festivals in the world” by introducing among other as first festival in the world the use of computer technology for the data processing of the event. In the early 80's, in spite of the ongoing Cold War
situation in the divided city, he managed to bring East and West together at the festival. Together with Beki Probst, he founded the European Film Market. Tireless world traveler, de Hadeln was one of the first to discover the newly emerging Chinese cinema. As the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and German unity was restored, de Hadeln was quick in seizing the opportunity to make the festival one of the most prestigious meeting places of the newly born German capital. After years of detailed planning, in 2000, he successfully managed to relocate the event in the newly rebuilt Potsdam Square, the historical heart of the town, while giving to the festival a new corporate identity.
In May 2001, Moritz de Hadeln founded in Berlin together with his wife Erika "de Hadeln & Partners", a company specializing in film consulting and event management.
In March 2002, as first ever non-Italian, Moritz de Hadeln was invited to head the Venice International Film Festival (the Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica) - part of the Venice Biennale
. He directed only the two events in 2002 and in 2003. During this short period, while fighting for the independence of the event from external influences, he started together with the president of the Biennale, Franco Bernabè, to modernize its organizational infrastructure while giving it a renewed international prestige.
Finally, early in 2005 he was named Program Director of the short-lived New Montreal FilmFest of 2005, an event wanted by both Federal and Quebec
governments. The first and only edition of the event, meant as work in progress, took place from September 18 to 25, 2005. In spite of the limited time available, Moritz de Hadeln and his team were able to deliver a program with over 22 world premières. But local mismanagement by those in charge of its organization led regretfully to discontinue the event.
Both for the festivals in Nyon, Locarno and later in Berlin, Moritz de Hadeln together with his wife Erika, were the authors of several landmark retrospectives, among many others The Uzbek cinema (1971), The New Indian Cinema(1972), Canadian ‘cinema-direct' 1958-1972 (1976), The ‘March of Time' newsreels (1978), Drew Associates 1960-1969 (1981), Selling Switzerland - Marketing Guillaume Tell (1984), Swiss Army Film Unit(1985), Panorama of the South East Asian Cinema (1980) and together with Hans-Joachim Schlegel: Documentary films of the Baltic Soviet Republics (1987/88), Documentary Films of the Armenian Soviet Republic (1989/90), Romania: the documentary films 1898-1990 (1990/91).
Moritz de Hadeln has served on many International Juries among others in the festivals of Karlovy Vary, Venice, Moscow, Montreal, Torino, Tehran , Damascus, Kiev and Yerevan. He is member of the European Film Academy
(EFA). Swiss citizen since 1986, Moritz de Hadeln currently resides Gland
, Vaud
(Switzerland) where he is from 2007 to 2011, as part of the Socialist group, a member of the Town Council. Actually he is a member of Green's local party called "Les Verts de Gland".
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
and photographer, who became a Film Festival director
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
. He headed the Locarno International Film Festival
Locarno International Film Festival
The Film Festival Locarno is an international film festival held annually in the city of Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. After Cannes and Venice and together with Karlovy Vary, Locarno is the Film Festival with the longest history...
from 1972 to 1977, the Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
from 1980 to 2001 and the Venice International Film Festival in 2002 and 2003.
Life
Born in 1940 in Exeter, England, de Hadeln's European family background provided him with a unique education in the Arts. His grandfather Detlev Freiherr von Hadeln was an art historian, his father Harry founded an art edition company in FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
(Italy) and his mother Alexandra Bălăceanu an Romanian immigrant was a painter and sculptor. Moritz de Hadeln after obtaining the French Certificate A level (Baccalauréat), started studying Physics and Chemistry in Paris. He soon joined the film research laboratory Avenue Hoch as an apprentice. After freelancing as a photographer for some years, de Hadeln was given the opportunity to direct his first documentary Le Pèlé in 1963. Followed several years of work with cinematographer Ernest Artaria in Zurich. In 1966, de Hadeln directed his second film Ombres et Mirages and during this same period, worked as a film editor in Zürich together with Yves Allegret
Yves Allégret
Yves Allégret was a French film director in the film noir genre.He is noted as having been the husband of actress Simone Signoret between the years 1944–1949.-Selected filmography:...
and as assistant director at CCC Film Studios in Berlin.
Moritz married Erika von dem Hagen in 1968. In 1969, Moritz de Hadeln and his wife founded the Nyon International Documentary Film Festival (today Visions du réel
Visions du réel
Visions du Réel is an international documentary film festival held in April each year in Nyon, Switzerland. Established in 1969 as the Nyon International Documentary Film Festival, the event adopted its current name in 1995....
film festival) in Switzerland, which he directed until 1979. He assisted Erika when she took over as head of the festival from 1981 to 1993. In those 25 years, they made Nyon a unique meeting place for documentary filmmaking while discovering many new talents. From 1972 to 1977, de Hadeln headed the Locarno International Film Festival, heralding a new era of international recognition for the event. He gave an original profile to the newly introduced outdoor screening on the Piazza Grande and introduced several sidebar events to broaden the festival's international impact.
In 1979, de Hadeln was invited to head the Berlin International Film Festival. His aim was to establish the German event as one of the “best organized festivals in the world” by introducing among other as first festival in the world the use of computer technology for the data processing of the event. In the early 80's, in spite of the ongoing Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
situation in the divided city, he managed to bring East and West together at the festival. Together with Beki Probst, he founded the European Film Market. Tireless world traveler, de Hadeln was one of the first to discover the newly emerging Chinese cinema. As the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and German unity was restored, de Hadeln was quick in seizing the opportunity to make the festival one of the most prestigious meeting places of the newly born German capital. After years of detailed planning, in 2000, he successfully managed to relocate the event in the newly rebuilt Potsdam Square, the historical heart of the town, while giving to the festival a new corporate identity.
In May 2001, Moritz de Hadeln founded in Berlin together with his wife Erika "de Hadeln & Partners", a company specializing in film consulting and event management.
In March 2002, as first ever non-Italian, Moritz de Hadeln was invited to head the Venice International Film Festival (the Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica) - part of the Venice Biennale
Venice Biennale
The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...
. He directed only the two events in 2002 and in 2003. During this short period, while fighting for the independence of the event from external influences, he started together with the president of the Biennale, Franco Bernabè, to modernize its organizational infrastructure while giving it a renewed international prestige.
Finally, early in 2005 he was named Program Director of the short-lived New Montreal FilmFest of 2005, an event wanted by both Federal and Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
governments. The first and only edition of the event, meant as work in progress, took place from September 18 to 25, 2005. In spite of the limited time available, Moritz de Hadeln and his team were able to deliver a program with over 22 world premières. But local mismanagement by those in charge of its organization led regretfully to discontinue the event.
Both for the festivals in Nyon, Locarno and later in Berlin, Moritz de Hadeln together with his wife Erika, were the authors of several landmark retrospectives, among many others The Uzbek cinema (1971), The New Indian Cinema(1972), Canadian ‘cinema-direct' 1958-1972 (1976), The ‘March of Time' newsreels (1978), Drew Associates 1960-1969 (1981), Selling Switzerland - Marketing Guillaume Tell (1984), Swiss Army Film Unit(1985), Panorama of the South East Asian Cinema (1980) and together with Hans-Joachim Schlegel: Documentary films of the Baltic Soviet Republics (1987/88), Documentary Films of the Armenian Soviet Republic (1989/90), Romania: the documentary films 1898-1990 (1990/91).
Moritz de Hadeln has served on many International Juries among others in the festivals of Karlovy Vary, Venice, Moscow, Montreal, Torino, Tehran , Damascus, Kiev and Yerevan. He is member of the European Film Academy
European Film Academy
The European Film Academy is an initiative of a group of European filmmakers who came together in Berlin on the occasion of the first presentation of the European Film Awards in November 1988.- European Film Academy :...
(EFA). Swiss citizen since 1986, Moritz de Hadeln currently resides Gland
Gland
A gland is an organ in an animal's body that synthesizes a substance for release of substances such as hormones or breast milk, often into the bloodstream or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface .- Types :...
, Vaud
Vaud
Vaud is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the French-speaking southwestern part of the country. The capital is Lausanne. The name of the Canton in Switzerland's other languages are Vaud in Italian , Waadt in German , and Vad in Romansh.-History:Along the lakes,...
(Switzerland) where he is from 2007 to 2011, as part of the Socialist group, a member of the Town Council. Actually he is a member of Green's local party called "Les Verts de Gland".
Honours
- Moritz de Hadeln is Commander in the Ordre des Arts et des LettresOrdre des Arts et des LettresThe Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
of the French Ministry of Culture (1986), - Commander in the Order of Merit of the Italian RepublicOrder of Merit of the Italian RepublicThe Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was founded as the senior order of knighthood by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi in 1951...
(1988) - Officer in the Order of Merits of the Federal Republic of Germany (BundesverdienstkreuzBundesverdienstkreuzThe Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...
1. Klasse) (2000). - He has been awarded the De Curtis Award (1975) for organizing the first retrospective of Italian actor "Totò",
- the honorary medal Pro Cultura Hungarica(1986)
- the Silver Medal of the Slovak Cinematography (1986).
- Elected honorary member of the Romanian Film maker's Union
- the European Prize of the European Film Forum in Strasbourg as "tribute to a great festival director" (2000),
- the Gold medal of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation (2001),
- the Gay Teddy Bear (Teddy AwardTeddy AwardThe Teddy Award is an international film award for films with LGBT topics, presented by an independent jury as an official award of the Berlin International Film Festival . Here, an "independent jury" implies that its members are not officially selected by the committee of the Berlinale...
)(2001), - the honorary FIPRESCIFIPRESCIThe International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...
prize, jointly with Erika de Hadeln - the honorary Oecumenical Jury prize (2001) jointly with Erika de Hadeln
- Tribute medal from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in Venice, 2002
- Honorary Diploma of Appreciation at the 20 Fajr International Film Festival,Tehran (2002)
- Honorary Diploma of Appreciation at the Damascus International Film Festival, Syria (2003)
- the Armenian Filmmakers Union ANAHIT Award (2006) for the "great effort promoting Armenian Cinema and helping it find its place in the international cinema scene".
External links
- Official biography
- Official biography of Erika de Hadeln
- Several documents and tributes
- History of the Locarno Film Festival (1960 to 1980) by Paolo Mereghetti
- History of the Berlin International Film Festival (1980 and following pages)
- Robin Gatto on Moritz de Hadeln in Filmfestival.com
- History of the Venice Film Festival