Moritz de Hadeln, a British-born film festival director who later adopted Swiss nationality, passed away at age 85. Over his career, he held leadership positions at five significant film festivals across Europe and North America, leaving a substantial mark on the international film festival landscape.
De Hadeln’s career in festival management began with his founding of the Nyon International Documentary Film Festival in 1969, which he established as a premier venue for documentary cinema. He subsequently took over direction of the Locarno Film Festival in the mid-1970s, where he implemented controversial programming decisions that transformed the Swiss event into a notable fixture on the international calendar. His tenure at Locarno featured open-air screenings of avant-garde and adult-themed films that generated significant local opposition.
In 1979, De Hadeln accepted the directorship of the Berlin International Film Festival, a position he maintained for over two decades. During his tenure, he relocated the festival to February to position it ahead of the Cannes Film Festival and cultivated relationships with major Hollywood productions and their stars. He oversaw the festival’s expansion during German reunification and its relocation to new headquarters in Potsdamer Platz. However, his autocratic management style and close working relationship with his wife, who served as head of protocol, eventually drew criticism from local filmmakers and authorities. His contract was not renewed, with the February 2001 festival marking his final edition.
Following his departure from Berlin, De Hadeln held brief directorships at the Venice Film Festival for the summers of 2002 and 2003, becoming the first non-Italian to lead that institution. He subsequently accepted a position directing the Festival Internationale du Films de Montréal, launched in 2005 as a competitor to existing Canadian festivals. This venture proved unsuccessful and ceased operations after a single year. Throughout his career, De Hadeln received numerous international honors, including the Order of the Arts and Letters from the French Ministry of Culture.
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