New boss plans shake-up of Locarno film festival
The new president of the Locarno International Film Festival, Giuseppe Buffi, says the organisation has to adopt a more professional approach, if it's to survive in the long-term.
The new president of the Locarno International Film Festival, Giuseppe Buffi, says the organisation has to adopt a more professional approach, if it’s to survive in the long-term.
Buffi, a member of the Swiss Senate, said Locarno had to introduce professional structures, if it was to stave off eventual financial collapse.
Speaking at his first official information meeting since he became president last year, Buffi said the festival had only kept its head above water because of growing public support.
“Every year,” he said, “an organisation consisting mostly of volunteers starts from scratch to create an event costing over SFr4 million.”
He said this situation could not continue, and the festival’s ability to survive and prosper depended on it “being run like a business”.
Buffi went on to say that the festival’s organisers wanted a capital injection of between one and two million francs to invest in premises.
At present, the festival spends about one million francs a year on rental charges and temporary infrastructures.
By Richard Dawson
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