PART I - ABOUT THE FESTIVAL Tiziana Finzi, a native of Trieste, Italy with 20 years of experience in the film festival circuit, 9 years of which she spent in Locarno Film Festival, is now the director of the acclaimed Miami International Film Festival. The perfect new edition to the Festival, Finzi is more energetic, curious, and innovative than ever. As soon as we begin our conversation, her first words indicate how excited she is to be in Miami and how there is so much to do. She says, she is now “inside the American mentality,” but is sure to bring her internationality to the scene. F.A. Can you talk a bit about your job at the MIFF and how it is different from your previous positions at other festivals? T.F. I was very excited to accept this position at the Miami International Film Festival. After 20 years of work in the film festival scene and spending 9 years at the International Film Festival of Locarno as the Head of Programming as well as 3 years as the Deputy Director, I am now the director of a very important festival with 25 years of history. In the past, I also worked as a consultant for smaller film festivals and had many experiences in different parts of the world. But, Miami is different. In Miami, I feel that we work for the future and offer many possibilities to filmmakers who are making their first, maybe second films. What makes this festival different is that it is a part of the Miami Dade College, which is the biggest college in the United States. My office is in one of the college buildings, where I am surrounded by students and art classes, such as music, painting, performance arts, and much more. This is very exciting and different from my experience in Europe where schools are kept separate from film festivals. F.A. Are you planning to make any changes in the Festival’s program? Any additions, subtractions, or surprises? T.F. Discovering Miami has been my first challenge so far. I came to realize that there are a lot of collectors, art and music festivals. Art Basel Miami Beach is not only the most important art fair in Miami, but also in the United States. In the future, a collaboration between Miami Film Festival and its art fair as well as the music festival will lead to great opportunities. This year, we are going to have other art forms presented at the festival. And one of these is a play called “Beginning of Love” by Pascal Lambert. The play consists of a dialog between Pascal and his girlfriend and explores the moment when two people meet for the first time and fall in love. F.A. We want to know a bit more about what kind of an environment MIFF is for filmmakers in both professional and social terms. Any suggestions for young filmmakers who are trying to get their films into the festival? T.F. Thanks to my selection of films, there are more young people in the competition section this year than there were in previous years. For example, Matteo Garrone, the director of Gomorrah (www.filmannex.com/MatteoGarrone) is only 34 years old, and he has already made four films. But I believe the important thing is to be young inside. I am a person who never stops learning, seeing, and being curious. And I like being close to people and audiences who look at life the same way. This kind of outlook brings endless energy to the table and makes cultural events like film festivals possible. Interview by Eren Gulfidan: www.filmannex.com/erengulfidan