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Bero Beyer appointed new CEO of the Netherlands Film Fund

Bero Beyer has been appointed CEO of the Netherlands Film Fund. The appointment will take effect on 1 March 2020. He will succeed Doreen Boonekamp, whose final term of appointment expires in autumn 2019.

Bero Beyer has established himself in the national and international film industry. He has been director of International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) since 2015 and will lead the festival for the last time in January 2020. Beyer previously worked for the Netherlands Film Fund from 2013 to 2015 as a feature film consultant. Before this position he was involved as producer with his production company Augustus Film in the award-winning feature films Rana’s Wedding (Cannes 2002), Paradise Now (2005) and Atlantic. (2014).

Laetitia Griffith, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Film Fund: “With Bero Beyer, the Fund will be led by an experienced, skilled and inspiring new CEO with extensive artistic and business knowledge of film and a broad network in the rapidly changing international film sector. Again the Fund will be spearheaded by an energetic connector, with a keen eye for the challenges and opportunities within the industry. We are convinced that, together with the various organizations in the (inter)national film and media sector, the national government, the cultural funds and other parties, he will continue to ensure the quality, diversity and visibility of Dutch films."

Bero Beyer: ”In recent years at International Film Festival Rotterdam I have been conveying my love for film in its many forms. Long and short cinema, from fiction to documentary and hybrid, episodic or animated, from accessible to experimental. I am very much looking forward to dedicate myself at the Film Fund to Dutch cinema, which audiences can identify with and which inspires them. Film remains a wonderful medium, both influential and relevant and it flourishes through a healthy cinema culture.”

The Supervisory Board is grateful to Doreen Boonekamp for her dedication and strategic role in cooperation with the government and the industry over the past ten years. “Under Doreen's management, the Fund has grown into a proactive and professional organization with a broad national and international network. Doreen has also placed a strong emphasis on international cooperation by entering into partnerships with funds, co-production markets and talent labs and through co-production agreements. Important milestones were the introduction of the Film Production Incentive and the Netherlands Film Commission. Doreen also introduced the system of film consultants for the selection of applications based on the Scandinavian model. We are very grateful for her work, her boundless energy and passion to strengthen the position of Dutch film and film makers and to promote the international competitive position of the sector,” says Griffith.

Beyer’s term will start on 1 March 2020, after leading the 49th edition of International Film Festival Rotterdam. Doreen Boonekamp ​​will lead the Fund until 3 October 2019, when her term ends.

Peter Schrurs, former general director of public broadcaster VPRO, will be appointed interim CEO of the Netherlands Film Fund from 3 October 2019 until the appointment of Bero Beyer on 1 March 2020. To this end, Schrurs temporarily resigns from his position as Supervisory Board member of the Film Fund. During this interim period, Deputy Director George van Breemen, together with Peter Schrurs, will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund.

(Photo Bero Beyer by Jan de Groen)