William Gilcher of Goethe-Institut Washington moderates a timely discussion about how cultural life should be supported and financed. Rachel Goslins, the Executive Director of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, and Kristina Hasenpflug, a curator at the Wüstenrot Foundation in Ludwigsburg, Germany, offer their unique perspectives about what Germans and Americans learn from each other about the nature of public-private partnerships in support of a cultural life for all our citizens.
William Gilcher is a writer/producer and divides his time between independent projects and work for the Goethe-Institut Washington. Prior to joining the Goethe-Institut, he worked on cultural policy issues for the incoming Clinton administration. As a film and video producer, he specializes in cultural and intercultural projects. He produced a film version of *Beckett Directs Beckett: Samuel Beckett’s Endgame* for the University of Maryland Visual Press and the Smithsonian Institution as well as many European-American projects for the Goethe-Institut. Most recently, he produced *For Tomorrow: Ich hoff’ auf morgen – The Story and Poetry of Hilda Stern Cohen*, a feature film shot in Germany, Poland, Austria, and the USA about Holocaust survivor and poet Hilda Stern Cohen. The film features performances of a number of his musical compositions. Bill also served as American producer for Georges Rouquier’s final feature film, *Biquefarre*, in the early 1980’s and continues to be in the leadership of the Association Georges Rouquier in Goutrens, France.
Kristina Hasenpflug is a curator of photographic competitions at the Wüstenrot Foundation in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The Foundation is active in many areas of German cultural life, especially in the arts and humanities, education, and historic preservation.
Rachel Goslins is a documentary director/producer and arts administrator. Her feature films include *'Bama Girl*, an award-winning documentary following a black woman running for Homecoming Queen at the University of Alabama, and *Besa: The Promise*, a film about Albanian Muslims who saved Jews during World War II. She has worked on productions for National Geographic, Discovery, PBS, A&E and the History Channel, as well as serving as the Programming Director for the Impact Film Festival, and as the Director of the Independent Digital Distribution Lab, a joint PBS/ITVS project focused on distributing independent films online. Prior to her film career, Goslins was an international copyright attorney in the office of Policy and International Affairs in the U.S. Copyright Office and for the law firm of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.