Gianluca Farinelli, who is head of Italy’s venerable Il Cinema Ritrovato festival dedicated to cinematic treasures of the past, has been appointed artistic director of the David di Donatello award, which is Italy’s equivalent of the Oscars.

Farinelli, who is also founder and chief of the Bologna Film Archives and its film restoration lab – and is a very well-connected and respected film personality on the international industry and festival circuit – will be partly replacing film journalist Piera Detassis who in 2018 became the first woman to head the awards. Detassis has stepped down after her mandate formally expired.

The difference is that Detassis, who was also a former Rome Film Festival artistic director, held a dual role of president of the David di Donatello Academy of Italian cinema as well as the event’s artistic director. Those roles have now been split. With Farinelli in charge of the awards and Silvia Calandrelli, who is a high-ranking executive at Italy’s state broadcaster RAI, in the more ceremonial role as the Italian academy’s president to which she was appointed last week.

“I’d like to thank president Silvia Calandrelli and the entire board of directors of the Fondazione Accademia del Cinema Italiano,” said Farinelli in a statement.

“Their trust makes me particularly proud. I take on this role with a sense of responsibility but also with enthusiasm. Italian cinema has a unique history and, at the same time, a current output that deserves to be celebrated. We will do so by giving voice to all the different professions, sensibilities, and souls, striving to bring out the best of the entire industry.”