Co-founders of the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) Nadja Schildknecht and Karl Spoerri will step down from their post in 2020. They are planning their succession after 15 years leading its operations, they announced Thursday.


“It is our wish that in the long term we can transfer operational management to other hands. We’re looking forward to working with the new management on a strategic level as board members and advisors to the festival from 2020 onwards,” the co-founders said in an emailed statement.


Founded in 2005, the ZFF will run this year from September 26 to October 6. Its line-up will be announced September 12.


Christian Jungen, chief cultural editor at the German-language Swiss newspaper “NZZ am Sonntag,” will take over Spoerri’s role as artistic director, joining the team this year before the baton is formally passed in 2020. Jungen has a PhD in film studies and 25 years of experience as a critic. He was president of the Swiss Association of Film Journalists from 2011 to 2017 and a member of the Zurich Film Commission from 2013 to 2018. He is also the author of two books, “Hollywood in Cannes” and the biography “Moritz de Hadeln – Mister Film Festival.” Spoerri praised his successor’s “comprehensive track record and extensive experience” in a statement, adding that Jungen was “very well-connected in the industry.”


Viviana Vezzani, who worked over a decade as senior programmer for the festival, will also be stepping down from her operational role at the end of the year. She will however remain on as a senior advisor to support Jungen and the new team.


A search for the future commercial management team has begun. Schildknecht is currently responsible for the commercial side of the festival and matters related to finance, events, sponsoring and marketing, but has begun the search for who will replace her by January 2020.