Berlinale Thanks WCF Head Vincenzo Bugno for His Longstanding Commitment

After 21 successful years, Vincenzo Bugno will leave his position as head of the Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund (WCF) at the end of 2025. He will then focus on his work as Artistic Director of the BFFB/Bolzano Film Festival Bozen and curator of the TorinoFilmLab/FeatureLab.

The Berlinale is currently recruiting a successor to Bugno via a public job advert, with plans for the new Head to spend part of the year overseeing the Toolbox Programme of the European Film Market (EFM).

Vincenzo Bugno has been with the Berlin International Film Festival since 2004. He has been instrumental in the establishment and development of the WCF and, together with the WCF team, has developed it into one of the leading institutions in the field of international film funding. The WCF questions the hierarchy and geography of the international film industry. It is committed to the democratization and decolonization of the international film landscape. With targeted funds, the WCF contributes to strengthening film production in regions with a weak or not sustainable film infrastructure and promotes cooperation with German and European producers. The WCF has been supporting artistically innovative productions and the visibility of cultural diversity in cinema for over 20 years. 370 projects were funded so far. The Kulturstiftung des Bundes (Federal Cultural Foundation) is the founding partner of the WCF and remains its most important supporter.

In addition to his leadership at the WCF, Vincenzo 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’s selection committee (2014-2019).

Tricia Tuttle, Director of the Berlinale: “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. 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.”

Vincenzo Bugno: “These years have been a privilege and an incredible learning process for me. 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.“

Vincenzo Bugno will fulfill his role as Head of the WCF till the end of the year. With the aim to create new synergies between the two initiatives, the future WCF management will also be responsible for the Toolbox programmes of the Berlinale‘s European Film Market (EFM). Established in 2022, Toolbox is designed to support film producers from countries underrepresented in the international film industry to develop new professional networks and pathways.

Tanja Meissner, Director Berlinale Pro* and EFM: “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.“

The position is to be filled later this summer to enable a good handover period and a smooth transition.