Niklas Engstrøm Photo: Emil Hartvig
Niklas Engstrøm has been appointed Artistic Director of Copenhagen Film Festivals, which includes CPH:DOX, CPH PIX and BUSTER, and will work closely with a new managing director which the festival board is in the process of recruiting. Engstrøm has, since 2015, been Head of Programme at CPH:DOX.
Tine Fischer, newly appointed director of The National Film School of Denmark and outgoing CEO of Copenhagen Film Festivals, will sit on the board.
“Going forward, the festivals will operate with a new shared management structure, with the managerial tasks being divided between an Artistic Director responsible for the festival’s artistic vision and a Managing Director looking after the organisation’s financial and administrative operations,” says a statement from Copenhagen Film Festivals.
New Artistic Director Engstrøm commented: “It is strange and sad for me to say goodbye to Tine Fischer after having worked together closely for 18 years. But I am glad that the board has confidence in me and that they believe I can carry on the work in the right spirit as Artistic Director. I am looking forward to the task and challenges, and I am confident that I can deliver – first and foremost because I have such an amazing team behind me. I believe that the new managerial structure is the right one and I am eager to find and start working closely together with our upcoming managing director.”
Erik Stephensen, Chairman of the Board of Copenhagen Film Festivals, added: “Tine has managed to create one of the world’s leading documentary film festivals together with her colleagues at CPH:DOX. As Head of Programme, Niklas has been a central part of the organisation since the early years. With his insights and dedication, he will continue the work and maintain the high level of ambition that the Copenhagen Film Festivals are known for. We are now searching for a Managing Director who will work closely with Niklas and whose main responsibility will be to ensure the smooth running of the festivals moving forward.”
Tine Fischer, outgoing CEO of Copenhagen Film Festivals, commented: “I am incredibly pleased with the fact that Niklas Engstrøm will be the festivals’ new Artistic Director. Niklas was one of my very first employees, and he is the right person to take the festivals forward. I am looking forward to collaborating with him and the new festival management in my new position, and I am equally excited about contributing as a newly appointed member of the Board.”
The festival statement further underlines how Niklas Engstrøm helped launch CPH:DOX together with Tine Fischer in 2003, “and since then he has worked on turning the festival’s programme into a relevant, ambitious and exciting take on the world, appealing to both a national audience as well as the international film industry.” In 2015, Niklas took on the role of Head of Programme at CPH:DOX and since 2018 he has been a member of Copenhagen Film Festival’s management.
Copenhagen Film Festivals produces three of the biggest film festivals in Denmark: the documentary film festival CPH:DOX, the feature film festival CPH PIX and the kids film festival BUSTER. Under Tine Fischer’s leadership the three festivals were gathered under a new umbrella organisation in 2019.
The position of Managing Director for Copenhagen Film Festivals has been advertised.
