Giorgio Gosetti is on the way back to Venice. The much-travelled festival programmer and curator is to return to the Lido as Delegate General of Venice Days, the event he founded in 2004 as the Venice Festival's answer to the Cannes Director's Fortnight.

The appointment comes as Fabio Ferzetti steps down. Gosetti left Venice in 2006 to work at the Rome Film Festival but will now return for the 2009 edition.

On Gosetti's request, the Venice Days Board has established an 'Executive Committee committed to sustaining the continued growth of Venice Days, in its relations with the international audiovisual industry (maintained by Sylvain Auzou) as well as its permanent projects.'

Venice Days is also pushing ahead with its initiative 100 + 1, spearheaded by Ferzetti and dedicated to promoting Italian cinema culture and heritage. 'I am positive that the work on this project will continue in the best possible way during 2009 and I hope that Fabio Ferzetti will contribute to its growth and dynamism staying with us in this new enterprise,' Goseti commented.

For three of its five editions, a Venice Days title has won Lion of the Future for Best Debut Feature of the Venice Film Festival. Last year's edition - the third directed by Ferzetti, now a member of the Venice Days Association - featured several titles that went on to win awards at other festivals including Bohdan Slama's A Country Teacher in Stockholm and Adrian Sitaru's Hooked at Thessaloniki.