Thorsten Ritter leaves Beta Cinema after 13 years

After more than 13 years as Executive Vice President, Acquisitions, Sales & Marketing at Beta Cinema, Thorsten Ritter is leaving the company to take on new professional challenges. With his extensive experience in acquisitions, sales, marketing, festivals, and funding, Ritter remains closely connected to the European film industry and looks forward to new projects and collaborations.

Ritter looks back on more than 30 years of experience in the international film industry. He began his career as co-founder and co-director of the Oldenburg International Film Festival before joining Bavaria Film International, where, as Head of Marketing and later Managing Director, he oversaw campaigns for such acclaimed films as "Nowhere in Africa," "Good Bye, Lenin!," "Head-On," "Sophie Scholl – The Final Days and Let the Right One In."

Since 2012, he has played a key role in shaping Beta Cinema’s international strategy and contributed to the worldwide success of numerous award-winning productions, including "Child’s Pose," "Jack," "Sand Storm," "The Happy Prince," "Never Look Away," "Styx," "Calibre," "Woman at War," "System Crasher," "Nowhere Special," "I’m Your Man," "One Last Evening," "With Love," "Hilde," "William Tell" and most recently "Amrum."

“It has been a great privilege to accompany so many outstanding films on their journey into the world, together with an exceptionally dedicated and cooperative team. My heartfelt thanks go to Dirk Schürhoff, who gave me the opportunity to bring my passion for content-driven collaboration with producers and filmmakers to Beta Cinema – and, along the way, to discover an unexpected joy in selling. Now feels like the right moment to open a new chapter,” Ritter said.

Dirk Schürhoff added: “We would like to express our sincere thanks to Thorsten Ritter for his exceptionally good, long-standing cooperation, his great commitment, loyalty, and substantive contributions. It has been a great time working with him, and I wish him all the very best for his personal and professional future.”