Roberto Cicutto, former president of the Venice Biennale, has been elected president of Eurimages, the co-production fund of the Council of Europe.
Cicutto will succeed Catherine Trautmann, who has chaired the Eurimages board since 2017 and whose term of office comes to an end on December 31.
Venice-born Cicutto has worked in the film industry for over 40 years. He was president of the Venice Biennale from 2020 to 2024, and before that was president and CEO of Istituto Luce – Cinecittà, which manages the Italian studios, from 2009 to 2020.
Earlier in his career, Cicutto founded production company Aura Film, whose film The Legend Of The Holy Drinker by Ermanno Olmi was awarded the Golden Lion at the 1988 Venice Film Festival. He then established Mikado Film, co-founded Sacher Distribuzione and was Ermanno Olmi’s partner in production company Cinemaunidici.
He is a member of the Council of the Atelier du Cinéma Européen and the European Film Academy and joined the board of the Locarno Film Festival in October 2024.
Catherine Trautmann said: “I hope that the success of this exemplary Fund will continue to benefit professionals and that it will be strengthened to reaffirm democratic values, which have never been so threatened.”
Cicutto said he “looks forward to defending both the essential role and the values of such an organisation.” He will chair the fund for a four-year term.
Based in Strasbourg, Eurimages is financed by contributions from its 38 European member states and Canada and primarily supports film co-productions. It has an annual budget of approximately €27.5m.
No comments yet