Future of FIPRESCI

At the occasion of Berlinale, the board discussed structural questions, among them the organization of the general secretariat and the necessity to outsource certain workstreams and to convince more colleagues to take care of certain segments of our work. Here’s the letter Dana Linssen addresses to the national sections.

At the upcoming General Assembly of FIPRESCI in Bari one of the issues on the agenda is a brainstorm about the future of the organisation.

At the extended board meeting at the Berlinale it was decided that we would like to ask all national sections for input, not only the ones present at the General Assembly.

Therefor a kind request to ask your national sections for input and present that to us in written form (not longer than 1 A4) by March 20th.

As you all know Fipresci is a federation comprised of national sections. 

That means that you are FIPRESCI, we are FIPRESCI. FIPRESCI is not some far away entity, but an organisation that can only survive if it is a shared responsibility. But the last couple of years by force of habit and circumstance most of the practical work has been centralized on the desk of Klaus Eder, the General Secretary.

As Klaus has pronounced many times before, the work has become too heavy a burden for one person. He has promised to have an inventory of his tasks and workflow ready for the GA.

Of course the Directors of Department have already been assigned special tasks and as a Vice President Gyorgy Karpati is doing a marvellous job as webmaster, and many English speaking members already assist him as copy editors for the many festival reports coming in on a daily basis.

Still we need to consult you. As you are who we are.

Our request is twofold:

Please inquire in your national organisations who could help out and with what. Please be as specific as possible. Wizzkids, language wonders, financial geniuses? With about 1000 critics potentially subscribed to Fipresci we must have a fantastic human capital and network!

And please take a step back to reflect on more fundamental but also very practical questions like how, with use of digital media, can we modernize the organisation and make it more communicative and transparent? Would it be possible to reorganize our means of communication, the jury compositions, the flow and exchange of ideas? 

These are all matters that are interwtined. But it will be very refreshing to hear your ideas, as oftentimes a more far away perspective will be revealing and revitalising.

Of course the fear was raised in Berlin that no one would respond to this request. But somehow I cannot believe that. I am sure that 1000 journalists and critics from all over the world have an immense creative and problem solving potential. And critics not wanting to give an opinion? I doubt that…

So please prove these sombre voices wrong and share your enthusiasm, insights and visions about the future of FIPRESCI!