Nicolas Ruffo appointed Director of SWISS FILMS
07.04.2021
The SWISS FILMS Board of trustees has elected Nicola Ruffo as the new Director of SWISS FILMS. The internationally well connected media expert is an acknowledged interdisciplinary networker in the field of film, digital media and innovation. Ruffo most recently worked as Head of Public Programs at Swissnex in San Francisco. The 41-year-old Swiss national will take up his new position as Director of SWISS FILMS on 1st July, 2021.
As "Head of Public Programs" at Swissnex, Ruffo organized workshops, exhibitions and conferences with interdisciplinary teams aiming at strengthening the exchange of ideas between Swiss artists, researchers, start-ups and companies with initiatives on both the West Coast of the US and Silicon Valley. Ruffo coordinated the Swiss presence and the promotion of Swiss XR projects at the renowned Sundance Film Festival and the South by Southwest SXSW. In collaboration with Pro Helvetia, he created the Swiss Design Accelerator, a new instrument for Swiss design in the US, and was responsible for the Swissnex presence at the GDC, the world's largest game conference.
Before that, Nicola Ruffo worked for 15 years at the Swiss public broadcaster SRF as a journalist and innovation expert. From 2016 to 2018, he helped set up a lab for the development of new news formats at SRF News and led pilot projects as part of the company's digital transformation. At the strategic level, he represented SRF in discussions with the German-, French- and Italian-speaking innovation projects within the federal media company SRG SSR and at the innovation roundtables of the European Broadcasting Union.
Nicola Ruffo studied Media and Film Studies as well as International Relations at the University of Zurich and the Free University of Berlin. From 2002 to 2010, Ruffo was a board member of Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, where he curated several short film programmes in addition to the International Competition. In 2011, he obtained a "MAS in Curating" at the Zurich University of the Arts. In the following years, he initiated various international exhibition projects and publications in the field of contemporary art and architecture.
Nicola Ruffo: "The cinematic landscape is in transition. In times of change, I am very happy to give, together with my team, Swiss films and filmmakers a strong visibility locally and globally. I am fascinated by the diversity and potential of the Swiss film scene. I am happy to use my interdisciplinary experience to help shape the future of Swiss filmmaking with the international network of SWISS FILMS".
Catherine Mühlemann, President of the SWISS FILMS Board of Trustees: "We are delighted to have gained Nicola Ruffo, an innovative, interdisciplinary and internationally networked personality with a high level of digital competence, who will further develop SWISS FILMS in a dynamic way."
SWISS FILMS is the promotion agency for Swiss filmmaking. On behalf of the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, SWISS FILMS reinforces the international visibility of Swiss films through consulting, support measures and promotional services. The foundation, which is organised under private law, maintains an office in both Zurich and Geneva.
SWISS FILMS, 7th April 2021