Bayreuth Festival the world of opera. Other notable directors to have participated in "Werkstatt Bayreuth" included Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Sir Peter Hall of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Götz Friedrich of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Harry Kupfer of the Berlin State Opera in the former communist East Germany and Heiner Müller of the Berliner Ensemble. In the end, Wolfgang's decision to bring in experimental directors helped rejuvenate Bayreuth and restore its reputation as the world leader in Wagnerian opera. There was uncertainty over how the Festival was to be managed after the retirement of Wolfgang Wagner at the end of August 2008. In 2001,
Berlin & Beyond Film Festival Berlin & Beyond Film Festival Berlin & Beyond Film Festival is an annual film festival based in San Francisco, California featuring new cinema from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Founded in 1996, the festival is a program of San Francisco's branch of the Goethe-Institut and has become one of the largest and most significant German-speaking film festivals outside of Europe. Notable guests have included Mario Adorf, Doris Dörrie, Mara Eibl-Eibesfeldt, Hannelore Elsner, Anke Engelke, Florian David Fitz, Bruno Ganz, Tom Schilling, Aylin Tezel, Michael Verhoeven, and Wim Wenders. Annually, the festival welcomes over 10,000 people, and celebrates seasoned masters, up-and-coming new