3 weeks ago
Vincenzo Bugno, nan erstwhile longtime head of nan Berlinale’s World Cinema Fund (WCF), will beryllium feted pinch nan inaugural Arab Cinema Gamechanger Award connected nan fringes of nan Cannes Film Festival this year.
Bugno was caput of nan WCF for 21 years anterior to stepping down astatine nan extremity of 2025. Under his direction, nan money evolved into a cornerstone of world co-production and circulation for films from Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.
Notable Arab world recipients nether this tenure included Hala Lotfy’s Coming Forth By Day, Kaouther Ben Hania’s Four Daughters, Ayten Amin’s Souad, Suhaib Gasmelbari’s Talking About Trees and Morad Mostafa’s Aisha Can’t Fly Away.
The prize, overseen by nan Arab Cinema Center (ACC), will beryllium bestowed connected Bugno astatine nan awards ceremonial for its 10th Critics’ Awards for Arab Films successful Cannes connected May 16.
In a merchandise announcing nan honor, nan ACC said Bugno had built a profession “defined by a uncommon operation of taste sensitivity, curatorial rigor, and an unwavering committedness to reshaping nan world cinematic landscape”.
The halfway continued that Bugno had played an influential behind-the-scenes domiciled successful championing independent voices from regions historically marginalized wrong nan world movie industry, and notably nan Arab World.
“Central to Bugno’s accuracy is simply a rejection of Eurocentric frameworks and reductive narratives. His curatorial attack has consistently emphasized authenticity complete conformity, guided by his long-held belief that ‘the much local, nan much international’, it said.
It noted that Bugno besides played a cardinal domiciled successful shaping nan Middle East attraction of Open Doors astatine nan Locarno Film Festival successful 2007, an inaugural that helped present emerging filmmakers from nan region to European manufacture networks for nan first time.
Bugno remains actively progressive successful different cardinal manufacture initiatives. He serves arsenic a curator for nan TorinoFilmLab Feature Lab and is engaged successful show activity successful Bolzano/Bozen, while maintaining beardown ties to awesome taste hubs specified arsenic Berlin and Venice.
“Receiving this grant brings maine immense joy. It is profoundly heartening to cognize that colleagues successful nan Arab World person viewed my activity truthful positively complete nan years, peculiarly our efforts to amplify nan voices of caller filmmakers and champion innovative storytelling,” said Bugno.
“This accomplishment is not excavation alone; it would ne'er person been possible, whether done nan WCF aliases different initiatives, without nan passion and dedication of nan unthinkable squad and colleagues I’ve had nan privilege of moving pinch for years”.
