Vincenzo Bugno is leaving the Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund after 21 years in post. He departs at the end of the year to focus on his work as ar
Vincenzo Bugno is leaving the Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund after 21 years in post.
He departs at the end of the year to focus on his work as artistic director at Bolzano Film Festival Bozen and curator of the TorinoFilmLab/FeatureLab.
The Berlinale is currently recruiting a successor to replace Bugno, with plans for the recent head to spend part of the year overseeing the Toolbox programme of the European Film Market (EFM).
Bugno joined the Berlinale in 2004, playing an instrumental role in the establishment of the WCF, which aims to apply its funding to strengthen production in areas with circumscribed film infrastructure and promote cooperation with German and European producers; it has funded 370 projects to date. Projects it has recently backed include Sleep No More, the latest feature from Indonesian filmmaker Edwin, and Ivan Fund’s Argentinian road movie The Message.
In addition to his leadership at the WCF, Bugno was for many years the festival’s delegate for Italy (2005-2019) and the Maghreb and Mashrek region (2007-2018) as well as a member of the Competition selection committee (2014-2019).
“For more than two decades, Vincenzo Bugno’s extraordinary vision, passion and expertise has fuelled the World Cinema Fund, with WCF building equity in global production while supporting so many exceptional films,” said Tricia Tuttle, director of the Berlinale.
“That so many WCF projects have launched at major international film festivals and been distributed around the world is a testament to Vincenzo’s eye for talent and sensitivity in identifying work of great significance. We are very grateful for his work, and he will be very much missed.”
“These years have been a privilege and an incredible learning process for me,” said Bugno. “The WCF is about more than just funding opportunities; it concerns the meaning of cinema in a specific geopolitical and historical context.
“In these challenging times, institutions like the WCF are needed to address the world’s complexities. We need European institutions that reach out to the wider world and can provide intensive support for cultural exchange and cooperation between European producers and filmmakers in the WCF regions. I wish the World Cinema Fund all the best for its future and my special thanks go to the great WCF-team and the Berlinale colleagues.”
Tanja Meissner, director at Berlinale Pro and EFM, added: “Vincenzo will undoubtedly be a hard act to follow, and we are taking great care in our search for a leader who can nurture this programme for the future. We are deeply grateful to Vincenzo for his many years of dedication, and also to our partners Kulturstiftung des Bundes (Federal Cultural Foundation) and Creative Europe MEDIA for their continued support.”
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