Beki Probst – European Film Market #Berlinale2018

PODCAST| Chiara Nicoletti interviews Beki Probst, president of the European Film Market.

The European Film market wouldn’t have this name and wouldn’t be the pioneer it is known to be had it not been for Beki Probst and her work from 1988 onwards. Since 2014 she has been the president of the EFM that she created and the 68a Berlinale has awarded her with the most prestigious award, the Berlinale Camera. On FRED Beki Probst describes the first years of EFM, the atmosphere that there was back then and how it slowly but strongly became the big and essential market we know and attend annually to kick off the cinematographic year.

Beki Probst is considered the grande dame of the film world. Under her direction, the European Film Market has developed into one of the largest and most important trade fairs for cinema on the international scene. Dieter Kosslick congratulates his long-time colleague and friend on 30 years of successful work: “Without Beki Probst and her contacts worldwide, her charm and cosmopolitan gift for combining business and culture, the EFM would never have become such a successful platform and the strong backbone of the festival.” Beki Probst was born in Istanbul, where she first worked as a journalist after completing her studies in law and journalism. In 1960, Probst moved to Switzerland, where she became the general manager of the Probst-Kinobetriebe, known today as Quinnie Cinemas. From 1981 to 1988, Beki Probst served as the Berlin International Film Festival’s official delegate for Turkey and Greece. Up until 1995 she also served as a member of the selection committee for Locarno International Film Festival. From 1988 to 2014, Beki Probst was the director of the Berlinale’s European Film Market – Probst rebranded the former “film fair” as the European Film Market and subsequently transformed the event into one of the most significant industry meet-ups for the international film business. In addition, from 1988 to 1996 Beki Probst was the artistic director of the Geneva-based festival “Stars de Démain”. She has served as a jury member on multiple occasions at international film festivals, including appearances in Toronto, Jerusalem and San Sebastián. In 1992 Beki Probst was decorated as “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Ministry of Culture. Beki Probst was honoured with the Berlinale Camera on Friday, February 16, 2018, at 11.30 at Berlin’s Martin-Gropius-Bau.

To discover more about the European Film Market and Beki Probst, click here.