Moritz De Hadeln, a major architect of Europe's festival landscape, has died at 85 in Switzerland. Born in England to an artistic family, he began as a filmmaker before co-founding the Nyon Documentary Film Festival in the 1960s, establishing himself as a festival innovator. Over subsequent decades, he held leadership positions at three of the world's most prestigious film events, leaving a lasting imprint on each.

De Hadeln's most visible legacies include introducing Locarno's beloved outdoor Piazza Grande screening space in the 1970s and steering Berlin's festival through decades of transformation and German reunification. He also served as Venice's first non-Italian director and helped establish Montreal's festival. His impact was formally recognised through honours from France, Italy, and Germany, and commemorated in a 2018 biography titled 'Mister Filmfestival'.