German director Tom Tykwer has been named Managing Director of Babylon Berlin producer X Filme Creative Pool as part of a restructure that sees company co-founder Stefan Arndt step down.
The pair co-founded the German production powerhouse 30 years ago, but Tykwer will now succeed Arndt in the MD role, and joins Uwe Schott on the management team in Berlin. Arndt is exiting “at his own request” but will remain “associated” with the producer and stays on its board.
X Filme noted the restructure was “intended to sharpen the focus on the development and implementation of creative, bold and unusual material for film and television.”
“I would like to withdraw from the day-to-day business so that I can concentrate more on producing again,” said Arndt. “Some exciting projects are already in the pipeline and I’m looking forward to realising them as a freelance producer with the X Filme team.”
Tykwer, Arndt and fellow co-founders Wolfgang Becker and Dani Levy remain shareholders, along with Beta and Bogey.
Tykwer, a film director, screenwriter, composer and producer, counts features such as Die Tödliche Maria, Sleepers, Heaven, The International, Drei, Cloud Atlas andWin Hologramm Für Den König as credits, and has been shooting high-end TV shows since 2015, most notably on Netflix’s sci-fi series Sense8 and Babylon Berlin, the Sky Deutschland and ARD Degeto drama X Filme co-produces with Beta.
Arndt’s exit comes at a busy time for X Filme, whose current slate includes films include Tykwer’s Das Licht, Becker’s Der Held Von Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse and Levy’s Kochschule Schwarz.
Said Schott: “Stefan Arndt has significantly shaped and characterised the company over many years as Managing Director and will remain associated with X Filme as a producer. With his productions, Tom Tykwer has repeatedly set new standards and left a lasting mark on the German cinema and series landscape. In addition to his own projects, he will now also direct his creative eye to the topics of other talents and actively contribute to them.”
“We want to encourage creative and unconventional filmmakers from all over Europe to tell their stories for the cinema or series,” said Tykwer. “Bold and original stories that seek a broad audience have been our focus since the founding of X Filme, and I still believe that audiences long to experience something new. I want to help us sharpen this focus again and not only contribute to this as a writer and director, but also actively help shape the day-to-day business together with Uwe Schott and our great team.”
In related news at X Filme’s distribution subsidiary X Verleih, board members Leila Hamid and Martin Kochendörfer have extended their contracts until the end of 2025.