Claudio Franscella succeeds Nicola Pini as president of the Ticino Film Commission

After having accompanied the Ticino Film Commission along a journey that has seen it go from being a pilot project of regional economic policy to a benchmark for the audiovisual industry and the canton's economic development strategy, Nicola Pini expressed his desire to resign from his position as president of the Foundation, held since 2016. At its last meeting, the Foundation Board took note of Nicola Pini's resignation and appointed two new members: Claudio Franscella and Elena Tatti.

Claudio Franscella was unanimously appointed as the new president of the Ticino Film Commission.

The remaining members of the Foundation Board were all reconfirmed: Michela Pini (vice-president), Simona Gamba, Alessandra Gavin Müller and Kaspar Weber representing the founding members of the Ticino Film Commission, namely AFAT - Associazione Film Audiovisivi Ticino, Locarno Film Festival, GRSI - Gruppo Registi e Sceneggiatori Svizzera Italiana and Ticino Turismo.

Nicola Pini, Grand Councillor and Municipal Councillor of the City of Locarno at the head of the Department of Economic and Regional Development, presided over the Ticino Film Commission in the first and most delicate phase of its existence. Established in 2014 thanks to the public financial support guaranteed by the regional economic policy of the Republic and Canton of Ticino through the Department of Finance and Economy, the Ticino Film Commission reached a point of consolidation at the end of 2022 with the approval by the Ticino Grand Council last December of a new legal framework that guarantees its long-term operation. In addition to the fundamental cantonal support, the non-profit foundation created with the aim of promoting and enhancing the Ticino region as a location for films and for all forms of audiovisual production, from 2023 can also count on the important partners Banca Stato and the cantonal tourism sector, with Ticino Turismo and the four regional tourism organizations.

"I am now leaving a Ticino Film Commission", emphasizes Nicola Pini, "perfectly integrated within a vision of culture as an engine not only of civil but also of social and economic progress. The results speak for themselves: the audiovisual productions we supervised brought 1 million in induced revenue to the territory in 2015, 2 million in 2017, 3 million in 2019, and no less than 5 million in 2021. My years at TFC have strengthened a conviction in me: cinema can give so much to Ticino as a whole and the people who lead this sector have passions and skills that deserve respect, room, and opportunity. I thank them for what they do, not only to make people think or entertain, but also to promote the area, and bring work and vision. Thanks are also due to the colleagues with whom we have collaborated on the Foundation Board and the operations team. Last but not least, I would like to express my thanks to all the people, institutions and organizations that have believed in and worked with TFC over the years, because the more the region believes and participates, the greater the positive spin-offs for everyone".

For its future challenges, the Ticino Film Commission can now count on Claudio Franscella. Born in 1959, from Locarno, in the Grand Council for almost twenty years until the end of the last legislature, a profound connoisseur of the world of tourism in Ticino, the new president has had the opportunity to closely observe both cultural policy (member of the Cantonal Parliament's Education and Culture Committee) and the work of the Ticino Film Commission, having been a speaker in Parliament for the report in favour of the continuing financing of the TFC.

"Aware of the importance of the Foundation's role," says Claudio Franscella, "I am very much looking forward to tackling this adventure, convinced of the future development potential of the Canton's audiovisual sector. My commitment will therefore be, on the one hand, to continue along the path traced by those who preceded me - whom I sincerely thank - in order to encourage, stimulate, and increasingly network Ticino's filmmaking. On the other, that of working to constantly attract national and international audiovisual productions to Ticino in order to bring employment, economically induced activity and to further enhance the image of our canton as a whole by looking at the tourism aspect and being willing to seize all opportunities that arise to promote our beautiful region".

To make the activities of the Ticino Film Commission even more effective, Elena Tatti has been invited to join the Foundation Board. Born in Ticino, active in French-speaking Switzerland where she has been directing Box Productions in Lausanne since 2004, Elena Tatti has over forty films to her credit - including features and shorts - as producer or co-producer. These include to name but a couple, Ursula Meier's "Home", which was nominated for three César Awards in 2009, and Delphine Lehericey's "Last Dance", which won the Prix du Public UBS on the Piazza Grande at the Locarno Film Festival last year. At the Swiss Film Awards, Box Productions has received 22 nominations and 11 awards over the years.

"The Ticino Film Commission contributes with dynamism and inventiveness to positioning Ticino on the Swiss and European film and audiovisual scene. It is important to me,' says Elena Tatti, 'to consider this sector as an activity in which cultural and economic impact go hand in hand, an awareness that the TFC has always cultivated. Together with the Foundation Board and the operations team, I hope that I too, as a native of Ticino who has been active in production in Switzerland for many years, can contribute to strengthening the world of film and audiovisual in Ticino even further.

"To Nicola Pini," concluded the director of the Fondazione Niccolò Castelli, "go the deepest and most heartfelt thanks of the entire Ticino Film Commission and the entire Ticino audiovisual production world. His intense commitment over the years has made it possible for the Ticino Film Commission and with it Ticino's filmmaking to grow, thus making this an increasingly sound entity. A big thank you and a warm welcome go to the new president Claudio Franscella and to Elena Tatti, for having accepted to look together with the TFC towards a future that will increasingly bring cinema, employment, induced activities, visibility and culture to our canton".