Berlin World Cinema Fund head Vincenzo Bugno to depart

Vincenzo Bugno has left the World Film Fund in Berlin after 21 years of postal mail.

He sets out at the end of the year to focus on his work as an artistic director at the Bolzano Film Festival, as well as a curator for Torino Film Love/featureLab.

Berlinale is currently looking for a successor to replace Bugno and plans to spend some of the new heads to oversee the European Film Market (EFM) toolbox program.

Bugno joined Berlinale in 2004 and played an instrumental role in the founding of WCF. It aims to use the funds to enhance production in areas where cinema infrastructure is limited and to encourage cooperation with producers in Germany and Europe. To date, it has funded 370 projects. Recently supported projects included I can’t sleep anymoreThe latest features of the Argentine road movies of Indonesian filmmakers Edwin and Ivan Fund message.

In addition to his leadership at WCF, Bugno has been representatives of Italian festivals (2005-2019) and Maghreb and Mashrek Region (2007-2018) and a member of the Competition Select Committee (2014-2019).

“For over 20 years, Vincenzo Bugno’s extraordinary vision, passion and expertise have promoted the global film fund, and WCF has built global production equity while supporting so many exceptional films.”

“The fact that so many WCF projects have been launched at major international film festivals and distributed worldwide is a testament to Vincenzo’s eyes to the talent and sensitivity to identify very important jobs. We are very grateful for his work and he is very overlooked.”

“These years have been a privilege and an incredible learning process for me,” Bunyo said. “WCF is more than just a fundraising opportunity, it relates to the meaning of films in a particular geopolitical and historical context.

“In these challenging times, institutions like the WCF are necessary to address the complexities of the world. We need European institutions that can reach out to the wider world and provide intensive support for cultural exchange and collaboration between European producers and filmmakers in the WCF region.

Tanja Meissner, director of Berlinale Pro and EFM, added: “Vincenzo is definitely a difficult act to follow and we have been looking for leaders who will nurture this program for the future.