03/03/2020 - As a precaution to combat the coronavirus outbreak, the festival has opted to postpone this year's edition, which had been due to take place from 7-15 March

Following the authorities’ decision to suspend cultural activities as a precaution to combat COVID-19, the Bergamo Film Meeting has opted to postpone its 38th edition, which had been due to take place from 7-15 March. In the next few days, the festival will announce the new dates for the edition, which will probably be rescheduled for the last week of May.

In a press release, the team stated that “the developments of this past days leave us with no other choice but to postpone the 38th edition of Bergamo Film Meeting. We do so with a feeling of deep sadness but we are truly convinced of the importance of respecting the measures taken to face the current health emergency and to protect everyone.

The festival is a highly anticipated event and the support that our audience has shown us in these days of uncertainty - made worse by the indecisiveness of the authorities and an institutional confusion that we'd have rather not witnessed - has inspired us to hold on until the end, to keep the machine running so that we could begin on schedule.

In the next few days, we will announce the dates of Bergamo Film Meeting 2020 and the new date for the concert of Asian Dub Foundation, previously planned on 6 March at the Teatro Sociale as opening for our festival.

The consequences of the postponement of the event, which will probably be rescheduled for the last week of May, will certainly be felt, especially on an economic level; most of the expenses already made, for example, are not refundable, even for reasons of force majeure. In any case, we will try to match the planned program as best as we can, except for those changes that may be necessary, but we're also not ruling out some small but significant surprises.

In this difficult time, we hope our audience will continue to show us their support and we invite them to buy the weekly pass now: a small gesture of trust that will help us significantly”.

(Translated from Italian)