DEFA Film Library’s Executive Director, Skyler J. Arndt-Briggs, Retires

The executive director of the DEFA Film Library (DFL), Skyler J. Arndt-Briggs, is retiring. Many will remember Arndt-Brigg’s generosity and team spirit, and her role in nurturing university programs and the study of East German cinema and culture over nearly 25 years of service.

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Together with DFL’s Founding Director, Barton Byg, and the team, Arndt-Briggs was a driving force behind establishing DFL’s reputation among scholars and educational and cultural institutions in the U.S. and abroad. She was responsible for grant-writing and the operations and finances of DFL, as well as for its community of student employees. She helped establish DFL’s record of innovative scholarly and film-related projects. With her collaborative leadership style and outstanding organizational skills and acumen, she was foundational to DFL’s steady development and growth as an institution and her efforts made lasting interventions into both (East) German Studies and German Cinema Studies.

Arndt-Briggs’s passion for exploring East German cinema by deconstructing Cold War assumptions and incorporating contemporary issues and debates helped broaden the understanding of filmmaking in the GDR. She was involved in critical interdisciplinary and transnational programming on campus, as well as at national and international conferences, and launched a series on Film and the Global Cold War with Berghahn Books. 

Arndt-Briggs taught undergraduate classes in German and Scandinavian Studies (LLC), mentored undergrad and graduate students and served on MA and doctoral committees. She also supervised, mentored and trained DFL student employees and interns, providing extra-curricular experience and support that helped them thrive and discover careers after graduation.