Dear colleagues, dear friends,

It is with great regret we must yield to Brigitta Burger-Utzer's wish to retire from her longtime position as managing director of sixpackfilm where she has been profoundly valued by her team, her colleagues and filmmakers alike. Although Brigitta's retirement is so richly deserved, it is fortunate for us that she will continue to contribute as a member of the board, while dedicating herself to special projects and free-lance work.

Brigitta Burger-Utzer co-founded sixpackfilm in 1990, together with its first board members. She proceeded to play an instrumental role in transforming the small operation into an internationally renowned film sales and distribution company that consistently contributes to the global reputation of innovative film produced in Austria. Brigitta led her engaged team with passion, guided by a deep conviction that proceeding democratically only enriches the making of important decisions and is well worth the time invested.

Brigitta has been highly respected for her curatorial and film brokering experience as well as her enterprising business savvy. Her fierce nature and unshakeable belief in the value of film art for aesthetic experience and socio-political insight gives her the necessary staying power to passionately fight the good fight for the cause of innovative film.

That said, we are very happy to have found an exceptionally qualified successor in Dietmar Schwärzler who is likewise deeply dedicated to promoting the art of film. Dietmar will take over management as of January 2021.

He too has been working for more than two decades for sixpackfilm. The know-how Dietmar brings to the job includes his profound knowledge of our catalogue of films, an education in cultural management, and social skills required by the highly team-based work structure at sixpackfilm. In addition to his longtime festival and distribution work, Dietmar has spearheaded a number of special programs in cinemas and exhibition spaces, recently including the In Person: Nazli Dinçel at mumok program and the current TALKING SCREEN at Künstlerhaus. Since its very beginnings, Dietmar has also worked as supervisor and co-editor of the INDEX Edition (DVD + VOD), a collection currently encompassing 50 releases.

Within the scope of his free-lance cultural work, Dietmar Schwärzler is responsible for the financing, conception and organization of numerous projects, whether in the public event arena or publishing. (Please find a comprehensive resume and list of Dietmar's projects here).

We know that with Dietmar Schwärzler our mission rests in good hands. He will help us meet ever-growing challenges, sustaining and further developing the international success of sixpackfilm as a world distributor as well as a vital advocate for filmmakers, artists and film culture worldwide.

With Warmest Best Wishes,
Peter Tscherkassky (Chairman) and Christine Dollhofer (Deputy Chairman)

“A film that provides a glimpse of a new film language, an exploration of the potential of the digital image to its desiccation, where the work in the body of the image and the sound are a perfect fit for the theme in question, by toxically deconstructing images that provide a geological, political, social and historical picture of a place.”

The jury-statement at Bilbao's Zinebi Documentary & Shortfilmfestival for Lukas Marxt's "Imperial Irrigation" receiving the ZINEBI GRAND AWARD. Congratulations !