Director and producer Tom Tykwer joins Uwe Schott as Managing Director of the Berlin production company X Filme Creative Pool, which is best known for "Babylon Berlin". Tykwer succeeds Stefan Arndt, one of Germany's leading producers.

The restructuring of the company's management is intended to "sharpen the focus on the development and realisation of creative, bold and unusual material for film and television", according to a statement.

Stefan Arndt is stepping down from active management of the company, but will continue to work as a producer.

X Filme Creative Pool was founded 30 years ago by Tykwer together with the writers and directors Wolfgang Becker and Dani Levy as well as Arndt. The four founders, who remain shareholders together with Beta Film and Bogey, orientated themselves towards United Artists with the aim of producing sophisticated and audience-appealing films - or, as Variety put it, "intelligent films that audiences want to see".

Tykwer said: "We want to encourage creative and unconventional filmmakers from across Europe to tell their stories for cinema or series. Bold and original stories that appeal to a broad audience have been our focus since the inception of X Filme and I still believe that audiences are yearning to experience something new. I want to help sharpen this focus again and not only contribute as a writer and director, but also actively shape the day-to-day business together with Uwe Schott and our great team."

Arndt said: "I would like to withdraw from the day-to-day business so that I can concentrate more on producing again. 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."

Schott said: "Stefan Arndt has significantly shaped the company as Managing Director for many years and will remain associated with X Filme as a producer. Tom Tykwer has repeatedly set new standards with his productions and has had a lasting impact on the German cinema and series landscape. In addition to his own projects, he will now also focus his creative eye on the themes of other talents and actively help to shape them."

Tykwer's films include "Tödliche Maria" (1993), "Winter Sleepers" (1997), "Run Lola Run" (1998), "The Princess and the Warrior" (2000), "Heaven" (2002), "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" (2006), "The International" (2009), "3" (2010), "Cloud Atlas" (2012) and "A Hologram for the King" (2016). Since 2015, he has also been shooting high-quality TV series, including the international series "Sense8" (2015-2017) and "Babylon Berlin" (since 2017), the fifth season of which is currently in development.

Upcoming X Filme cinema projects include Tykwer's "The Light" (cinema release in Germany on 19 December), Wolfgang Becker's "Der Held vom Bahnhof Friedrichstrasse" and Dani Levy's "Kochschule Schwarz".

At the sales subsidiary X Verleih AG, the two Management Board members Leila Hamid and Martin Kochendörfer have extended their contracts until the end of 2025. They will continue to work closely with the production team, but are also on the lookout for German and international acquisitions.