It never happened before. And we do hope it will not happen again. One month before the opening of its 19th edition, ARCIPELAGO suddenly becomes shorter. It shrinks. It gets a bit thinner, becoming lighter and slim. It loses a few kilos. Or, actually, a few days. Two, to be precise. So, it will last five days instead of seven - just as it was many years ago. And it will - slightly - change dates: not June 17 to 23, but June 20 to 24.

Why? That's what we are wondering too, before making this difficult and painful decision. Why go this far? We are not sure we have an answer. But we just have a feeling. A bad one. When you perceive danger, when you don't know what to expect - you must take measures. And try to save and protect what you care for. This festival, in our case. An event which doesn't live only upon passion, engagement, ideas. In order to exist, we must also - obviously - know how much is in our pockets. That is, how much we can spend so that this small miracle can happen also this year. But we should be able to know this beforehand. Not during the Festival. Not after. Which is exactly what is happening, this year, regarding public funding.

Do you think this is normal?

So, two days less. But don't worry: a festival with fewer films (out of necessity!) can still be "rich". It's a promise. Anyway, you know us well: did we ever disappoint you? Yet we feel we should apologize.

But we are sure about one thing, at least: what does not kill you, makes you stronger. And even, sometimes, shorter.