SWISS
FILMS
2019 DOCS SPRING
SWISS FILMS Neugasse 6, 8005 Zurich Switzerland www.swissfilms.ch
Published in March 2019 Image campaign by StĂŠphanie Gygax
SWISS FILMS DOCS SPRING 2019
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NEW DOCS FEATURES AFRICAN MIRROR BARACOA DIGITALKARMA FIANCÉES ISOLA LOULOU MADAME PASSION – BETWEEN REVOLT AND RESIGNATION 10 WHERE WE BELONG 11 11 12 13 14 15
NEW DOCS SHORTS ALBA INSIDE THE RUINS REGIMES SALAM GODZILLA SUMMERLOCH
16 FESTIVAL FAVOURITES FEATURES 16 BLUE NOTE RECORDS: BEYOND THE NOTES 16 CLOSING TIME 17 THE APOLLO OF GAZA 17 WALDEN 18 FESTIVAL FAVOURITES SHORTS 18 ALL INCLUSIVE 18 THOSE WHO DESIRE 19 COMING SOON 31 IN PRODUCTION 32 SUPPORT MEASURES
SWISS FILMS TEAM
SELINA WILLEMSE Head of Festivals & Markets swillemse@swissfilms.ch T +41 79 286 51 88
AIDA SULJICIC Head of Programmes & Consultant Documentaries asuljicic@swissfilms.ch T +41 77 431 87 79
ANDREAS BÜHLMANN Consultant Film & First Feature abuehlmann@swissfilms.ch T +41 79 303 58 69
SYLVAIN VAUCHER Consultant Short Films svaucher@swissfilms.ch T +41 79 542 83 80
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written & directed by Mischa Hedinger 2
For decades the Swiss travel author René Gardi (1909–2000) elucidated the African continent and its inhabitants for us. In books, television programmes and films, he rhapsodised about the beautiful naked peoples and the pre-modern times in which they lived. The allegedly ideal world became Gardi’s paradise and Africa the surface on which to project the longings of those back home. The film tells the story of our colonial image of Africa.
Documentary
WORLD RIGHTS: ton und bild GmbH, Biel www.tonundbild.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2019, Forum MORE INFORMATION: www.africanmirror.ch
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 84 min., 2019 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, French, Swiss-German PRODUCTION: ton und bild GmbH, Biel / SRF
MISCHA HEDINGER * 1984. Mischa Hedinger studied Film at the the Lucerne School of Art and Design (HSLU), Video Department, and at the École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne (ECAL). For his mid-length documentary ASSESSMENT (2013) he received the Carte Blanche Award for Newcomers at the Duisburger Filmwoche. Hedinger works as filmmaker, editor, lecturer and is currently developping his second documentary feature SECURITY which he will be codirecting, expected for 2021.
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BARACOA
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written & directed by Pablo Briones, The Moving Picture Boys
WORLD RIGHTS: C-Side Productions, Geneva www.c-sideprod.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2019, Generation K+
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PABLO BRIONES * 1983 in Tucumán. Argentinean citizenship. BA in Film Production from Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (2005), MA in Film Directing from ECAL / HEAD (2014). BARACOA is his first feature film.
SWITZERLAND / SPAIN / UNITED STATES Docufiction, 90 min., 2019 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Spanish SCREENPLAY: Pablo Briones PRODUCTION: C-Side Productions, Geneva / Playlab Films, Barcelona / THE MOVING The Moving Picture Boys, PICTURE BOYS Nashville The Moving Picture Boys, Jace Freeman and Sean Clark, are a directing and producing duo from Nashville, specializing in a narrative driven direct cinema documentary approach.
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During summer break, Leonel and Antuán intimately explore their universe far from adults in the Cuban countryside. With a considerable difference in age, their unique friendship is torn between games and fights, conversations about everyday life, existentialist questions, simple pleasures and boredom. As his older friend is drawn to the busy life of the city, Leonel will examine his life and place in the world. While Cuban society is going through a transitional period, the two friends also come to a crossroad.
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written & directed by Mark Olexa, Francesca Scalisi 4
A film about the four-year journey of a girl named Rupa. It is the story of her dream and her endeavor to escape from a predetermined destiny. The tea gardens lost in the misty hills of northeastern Bangladesh are the background to Rupa’s struggle. She fights against a life of hardships and against the perspective of an arranged marriage. Will she search independence or give in to the pressure of this ancient land?
Documentary
PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: DOK MOBILE, Fribourg www.dokmobile.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Solothurner Filmtage 2019 MORE INFORMATION: www.digitalkarma-film.ch
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 80 min., 2019 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Bengali
MARK OLEXA * 1984. Joint Swiss and Czech citizenship. He attended Prague Film School and ZeLIG in Bolzano. FRANCESCA SCALISI * 1982 in Italy. She received her degree from ZeLIG in Bolzano. In 2012 Scalisi and Olexa founded DOK MOBILE. Together they have directed several award-winning documentaries such as MORIOM (2015), premiere at IDFA, and BLACK LINE (2017), screened at IFF Rotterdam.
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FIANCÉES
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written & directed by Julia Bünter
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 80 min., 2019 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Arabic
PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Intermezzo Films, Geneva www.intermezzofilms.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Visions du Réel Nyon 2019
Documentary
JULIA BÜNTER * 1990. Julia Bünter studied Film at the ECAL (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne) and received her BA in 2014. Her award-winning bachelor film DEADLINE (JOUR J) was selected for numerous international festivals and for the International Competition of the International Short Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand. FIANCÉES is her first feature- length documentary film.
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The portrait of three women in Egypt on the long and complicated path towards marriage. While capturing this turning point, the film draws a portrait of Cairo’s modern society, in which today’s generation must face the pressure of unshakable tradition and their own desire for greater freedom.
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written & directed by Aurelio Buchwalder 6
The actual inmates on Gorgona, the only remaining island prison in the Mediterranean Sea, are not the only prisoners. The guards are also regarded as prisoners. The inmates have to apply to be able to serve the last years of their sentence on the island. The positions of the guards, however, are determined by the Italian Ministry of Justice. How do the guards confront their own isolation? Are the inmates capable of self-responsibility?
Documentary
WORLD RIGHTS: maximage, Zurich www.maximage.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Visions du Réel Nyon 2019
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 70 min., 2019 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Italian PRODUCTION: maximage, Zurich / Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK / SRF / RSI
AURELIO BUCHWALDER * 1987. Aurelio Buchwalder studied Film at the Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK. He is especially known for his cinematography for THE GIRL DOWN LOCH ÄNZI or MASTER AND VASSAL. For THROUGH THE AGES – A GLACIER PERFORMANCE (2014) he received the Cinematography Award at the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur. His short documentary DRIFTAGE (2016) screened in competition at Visions du Réel in Nyon. ISOLA is his first feature- length documentary film.
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LOULOU written & directed by Nathan Hofstetter
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 70 min., 2019 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French PRODUCTION: Box Productions sàrl, Lausanne / NATAN, Lausanne
WORLD RIGHTS: Box Productions sàrl, Lausanne www.boxproductions.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Visions du Réel Nyon 2019
Documentary
NATHAN HOFSTETTER * 1989. Nathan Hofstetter studied Film at the École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne (ECAL) and graduated with a BA in 2012. He is espeically known for his short documentaries RADIO-ACTIVE (2012) awarded as Best Swiss Short at the Locarno Festival and HIM, HITLER AND ME (2013) which also screened at the Locarno Festival, within Pardi di domani. In both shorts the director deals with his mental illness, as well as in LOULOU, his first feature-length documentary.
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Nathan was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Now he’s better, before he was much worse. He films himself, his relatives at the hospital, his bipolar best friend, his father, his sister, his mother and his love between 2011 and 2018. For him, everyone is a “loulou”, in his own way. It is thanks to them that he finally begins to become a man instead of a madman.
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MADAME written & directed by Stéphane Riethauser 8
A family saga based on private archive footage. The film takes us on an intimate journey where a grandmother and her grandson explore the development and trans mission of gender identity in a patriarchal environment.
Documentary
WORLD RIGHTS: Lambda Prod, Geneva www.lambda-prod.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Visions du Réel Nyon 2019
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 93 min., 2019 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French PRODUCTION: Lambda Prod, Geneva / RTS / SRG SSR
STÉPHANE RIETHAUSER * 1972. Stéphane Riethauser studied Law at the University of Geneva and has been working as teacher, gay activist, photographer, editor, TV-journalist and translator before he launched his own production company Lambda Prod and started working as independent filmmaker in Berlin. His short film PRORA (2012) received numerous awards and became a huge festival hit.
NEW DOCS FEATURES PASSION – ZWISCHEN REVOLTE UND RESIGNATION
PASSION – BETWEEN REVOLT AND RESIGNATION written & directed by Christian Labhart
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 80 min., 2019 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German PRODUCTION: Kosmos Film GmbH, Wetzikon ZH / SRF / SRG SSR
WORLD RIGHTS: Kosmos Film GmbH, Wetzikon WORLD PREMIERE: Visions du Réel Nyon 2019 MORE INFORMATION: www.passion-film.ch
Documentary
CHRISTIAN LABHART * 1953. Christian Labhart works as independent filmmaker since 2000. He is known for his films GIOVANNI SEGANTINI – MAGIC OF LIGHT (2015), which became a box-office-success in Swiss cinemas, APPASSIONATA (2012) for which he received the Audience Award at the Zurich Film Festival as well as at the Escales Documentaires Festival in La Rochelle and for THE BRIDGE OF MITROVICA (2003), which premiered at IDFA.
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A film about how I deal with the painful fact that the world today is not how I imagined it would be 50 years ago. Images of today’s world collide with fragmentary recollections, with poetic texts and with J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. An essay film about the fragility of my existence in unbridled capitalism.
NEW DOCS FEATURES
WHERE WE BELONG written & directed by Jacqueline Zünd 10
Parents split up, a family falls apart. Two separate worlds emerge from what once was considered a unity. In constant transition, children now live between two homes. The film approaches their reality and focuses on how fragile, but also how brave, smart and funny children perceive their situation.
Documentary
WORLD RIGHTS: Autlook Filmsales GmbH, Vienna www.autlookfilms.com WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2019, Generation K+
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 78 min., 2019 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, French PRODUCTION: real Film GmbH, Zurich / SRG SSR
JACQUELINE ZÜND * 1971. Jacqueline Zünd studied at LIFS (London International Film School). Her documentary GOODNIGHT NOBODY (2010) won numerous awards such as the prize for Best Newcomer film at Visions du Réel Nyon and a special mention at DOK Leipzig, her last film ALMOST THERE (2016) premiered at IDFA and was awarded for Best Editing at the Swiss Film Award 2018.
NEW DOCS SHORTS
ALBA written & directed by Hugo Radi & Lucia Martinez Garcia
LUCIA MARTINEZ GARCIA * 1994. Lucia Martinez Garcia graduated in 2016 with a BA in Fine Arts from HEAD – Genève and in 2018 with a MA in Cinema from the ECAL / HEAD – Genève. Her short MIRADOR (2016) screened at doclisboa and Entrevues.
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 26 min., 2019 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French
PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Hugo Radi, Geneva hugoradi@gmail.com Lucia Martinez Garcia, Geneva lucia.mg15@gmail.com WORLD PREMIERE: Visions du Réel Nyon 2019
Documentary
HUGO RADI * 1992. Hugo Radi graduated in 2016 with a BA in Film from ECAL (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne). His shorts FEDOR (2016) and SWIZZAIR (2015) both screened at the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur.
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In the early morning, three friends find a car that will allow them to take off. One of them, repenting of an act committed the day before, hears about a cross at the top of a mountain. It seems that this cross gives you a chance to connect with yourself. He decides to go in search of the cross with the help of his two companions.
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written & directed by Selina Weber After the death of her father, the filmmaker travels to Pompeii, the rediscovered city of ghosts, destroyed by nearby Vesuvius. Searching for what is left, her stay becomes more and more an inner journey. Longing for the world of memories, it is the present that catches up with her. Bracing encounters with the living ones of the city remind her that life goes on. Inside the ruins is a collage of fragments and stories, trembling, sensitive, direct.
Documentary
PRODUCTION AND SWITZERLAND WORLD RIGHTS: Documentary, 48 min., 2019 Master ECAL / HEAD ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: (École Cantonale d’Art de Swiss-German, Italian, English Lausanne and Geneva School of Art and Design) jean_guillaume.sonnier@ecal.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Visions du Réel Nyon 2019
SELINA WEBER * 1990. Selina Weber studied History of Art, Literature and Film Studies in Zurich and Paris. In 2019 she received her MA in Cinema from the ECAL / HEAD (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne and Geneva School of Art and Design). INSIDE THE RUINS is her diploma film.
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REGIMES written & directed by Maja Tschumi
SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Documentary, 20 min., 2019 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Russian
PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Filmgerberei GmbH, Zurich www.filmgerberei.ch Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln, Cologne www.khm.de WORLD PREMIERE: Filmfestival Max Ophüls 2019
Documentary
MAJA TSCHUMI * 1983. Maja Tschumi studied Philosophy and German Philology at the University of Zurich. She wrote two theatre plays and worked as Assistant Dramatic Advisor at Theater Basel. Tschumi works as independent screenwriter and filmmaker in Zurich and Cologne and is currently completing her Master studies in documentary at KHM (Kunsthochschule für Medien) in Cologne and is working on her first feature-length documentary ROTZLOCH, expected for 2020.
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In the life of the successful ballet dancer Laura, passion and excess only take place while dancing. Nevertheless, she is perhaps the greatest performer in everyday life and the urban scenery of St. Petersburg is her actual stage. In atmospheric and calm images, the film approaches the life of an extraordinary young woman whose daily routine combines the classical authoritarian body-regime of Russian ballet with today’s promising regime of self-optimization.
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SALAM GODZILLA written & directed by Gilles Aubry 14
Shot inside the cinema Salam and in the surroundings of Agadir, the film revisits the 1960 Agadir earthquake through archives, seismic data, and a local poem interpreted by singer Ali Faiq. Geological anxieties surface in the contemplation of dinosaur footprints on a nearby beach, echoing the Godzilla which was screened inside the cinema on the very night of the earthquake.
Documentary
PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Gilles Aubry, Lausanne info@earpolitics.net WORLD PREMIERE: Visions du Réel Nyon 2019
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 41 min., 2019 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Berber, French, English
GILLES AUBRY * 1973. Gilles Aubry is a sound artist, musician and researcher living in Berlin. His practice is based on a performative approach to field recording, documents and historical sources, often in collaboration with other disciplines. Using formats such as installation, live performance, film, publication and radio, he creates works that playfully reconfigure materials and discourses into speculative spaces for shared experience and reflection.
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SUMMERLOCH written & directed by Moris Freiburghaus
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 26 min., 2019 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Italian, Swiss-German
PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Moris Freiburghaus, Zurich moris.freiburghaus@gmail.com Kevin Rodriguez, Zurich kevin@planisphere.eu WORLD PREMIERE: Visions du Réel Nyon 2019
Documentary
MORIS FREIBURGHAUS * 1989. Moris Freiburghaus studied Film at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and graduated with a BA in 2016. He lives and works in Zurich as freelance director, script consultant and editor. His short film PARADOX (2013) was selected for the International Student Film Competition of the San Sebastian Inter national Film Festival and was part of the Upcoming Talents programme of the Solothurn Film Festival.
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Denis and I visit his parents in Tuscany. These are the last warm summer days, but Denis finds it hard to enjoy them.
written & directed by Sophie Huber SWITZERLAND / US Documentary, 85 min., 2018 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: English PRODUCTION: Mira Film GmbH, Zurich / SRF / RTS / Teleclub / Isotope Films, New York WORLD SALES: Eagle Rock Entertainment, London www.eagle-rock.com FESTIVALS (SELECTION): Tribeca Film Festival 2018 FID Marseille 2018 doclisboa 2018 Festival dei Popoli Firenze 2018 IDFA 2018 Palm Springs 2019 CPH:DOX 2019
A revelatory, thrilling and emotional journey behind the scenes of Blue Note Records. Since 1939, Blue Note has been inspiring generations of musicians in search of individual expression. Through current recording sessions, rare archive material and in talks with Blue Note stars such as Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Ambrose Akinmusire, the film tells of the dawn of jazz to Hip-Hop.
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FESTIVAL FAVOURITES FEATURES
BLUE NOTE RECORDS: BEYOND THE NOTES
CLOSING TIME
Documentary
written & directed by Nicole Vögele
SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Documentary, 116 min., 2018 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Taiwanese PRODUCTION: Beauvoir Films, Geneva / Filmakademie BadenWürttemberg, Ludwigsburg WORLD SALES: Taskovski Films Ltd, London www.taskovskifilms.com MORE INFORMATION: www.closing-time.ch FESTIVALS (SELECTION): Locarno Festival 2018 RIDM Montreal 2018 IDFA 2018 Porto Post Doc 2018 Göteborg Film Festival 2019
Kuo and his wife cook for the city’s sleepless. They work all night and sleep during the day, like many others in buzzing Taipei. The film is an attempt at capturing time, a cinematographic meditation on in-between moments and a search for the inexplicable when a human being is simply human.
L’APOLLON DE GAZA directed by Nicolas Wadimoff
SWITZERLAND / CANADA Documentary, 78 min., 2018 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Arabic SCREENPLAY: Nicolas Wadimoff, Béatrice Guelpa PRODUCTION: Akka Films, Geneva / National Film Board of Canada, Saint-Laurent / RTS WORLD SALES: National Film Board of Canada, Saint-Laurent www.nfb.ca FESTIVALS (SELECTION): Locarno Festival 2018 DOK Leipzig 2018 RIDM Montreal 2018 CPH:DOX 2019
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In 2013, a statue of Apollo, God of Arts, Beauty and Divinations, is found off Gaza before disappearing under strange circumstances. Soon, rumour spreads around this treasure coveted by all. Both an investigative film and a reflection on history, the film immerses us in the little-known reality of a territory wounded by wars and a merciless blockade, but where life remains dignified and insubordinate.
FESTIVAL FAVOURITES FEATURES
THE APOLLO OF GAZA
WALDEN
In the monastery forest of Admont a fir tree is felled and processed into wooden slates. The wood is piled into stacks and transported by train, boat and truck into the Brazilian rainforest. With powerful 360°-sequence shots, the film portrays slowly and relentlessly a paradoxical journey along the globalized trade routes to its mysterious final destination.
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 106 min., 2018 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Without dialogue PRODUCTION: Beauvoir Films, Geneva / SRF WORLD RIGHTS: Beauvoir Films, Geneva www.beauvoirfilms.ch MORE INFORMATION: www.walden-film.com FESTIVALS (SELECTION): Karlovy Vary IFF 2018 Zurich Film Festival 2018 Viennale 2018 Festival dei Popoli Firenze 2018 Rotterdam IFFR 2019 Sundance FIlm Festival 2019 Cinéma du Réel Paris 2019
Documentary
written & directed by Daniel Zimmermann
written & directed by Corina Schwingruber Ilić
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 10 min., 2018 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Without dialogue PRODUCTION: freihändler Filmproduktion GmbH, Basel WORLD SALES: Ouat Media, Toronto www.ouatmedia.com FESTIVAL DISTRIBUTION: Some Shorts, Nijmegen www.someshorts.com FESTIVALS (SELECTION): Venice 2018, Orizzonti TIFF 2018 DOK Leipzig 2018 IDFA 2018 Clermont-Ferrand 2019 Sundance Film Festival 2019
A workout on the sun deck, a conga line in the dining hall, a photo shoot with the captain, or a beauty contest for all ages: fun aroundthe-clock is guaranteed on a cruise, while you float along with your hotel room. The sea-faring holiday fortresses have come into vogue and business is booming. In the towering ship’s wake, we are left behind with a hoard of digital memories and a cloud of exhaust fumes on the horizon.
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FESTIVAL FAVOURITES SHORTS
ALL INCLUSIVE
THOSE WHO DESIRE
Documentary
LOS QUE DESEAN written & directed by Elena López Riera
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 24 min., 2018 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Spanish PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Alina film Sàrl, Geneva www.alinafilm.com MORE INFORMATION: www.alinafilm.com/ losquedesean FESTIVALS (SELECTION): Locarno Festival 2018 TIFF 2018 San Sebastian IFF 2018 ZINEBI 2018 FIDOCS Santiago de Chile 2018 Interfilm Berlin 2018 Cinéma du Réel Paris 2019
In the south of Spain, a race of colourfully painted pigeons, will reward not the one who flies the fastest, but the one who will have known how to seduce a female pigeon, and to fly the longest time at its sides.
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written & directed by Peter Guyer, Thomas Burkhalter 20
Two friends collect money for America in the streets of Accra. Fun, political provocation or prophecy? What do global developments and shifts in values look like from the ground up in Ghana? How can one face and contradict them? Can visions for the future become global realities? The filmmakers explore these questions together with artists from Ghana. Tomorrow’s ideas and trends are emerging more decentralized than ever in a globalized world.
Documentary
PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Recycled TV AG, Bern www.rectv.ch
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 90 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: English
PETER GUYER * 1957. Peter Guyer studied Medicine, German Languages, Journalism and Anthropology. He founded Recycled TV in 1994 and directed, produced and shot numerous docs, art videos and commissioned films. THOMAS BURKHALTER * 1973. Thomas Burkhalter is an ethnomusicologist, journalist and creative artist. He is the founder and director of the Norient Platform and curator of the Norient Music Film Festival. He researches music in global settings.
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JONAS SCHAFFTER * 1988. Jonas Schaffter studied Visual Communication at the Academy of Art and Design in Basel (HGK) as well as Photography at Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul. From 2013–2016 he produced several documentaries and art projects for the production company point de vue in Basel. Since 2016 Schaffter is enrolled in the Master Film Programme at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). FONDÜ TÜRKIYE is his diploma film.
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 100 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Turkish, Swiss-German
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The story of three men of Turkish descent who grew up in Switzerland but never got a Swiss passport. After run-ins with the law they are deported to the country where their parents originally came from, a place they hardly know. Not only do the men find themselves in a country where they feel like complete strangers, they also have to cope with life in a society that is moving quickly toward a dictatorship. The film explores different concepts of cultural and national identity. PRODUCTION: soap factory GmbH, Basel / Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK / SRF / SRG SSR WORLD RIGHTS: soap factory GmbH, Basel www.soapfactory.ch Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK www.zhdk.ch
Documentary
(working title) written & directed by Jonas Schaffter
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written & directed by Johanna Faust
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The artist Johanna Faust is about to leave her children to finally devote herself to her art again. A vague memory comes to her mind: Didn’t her grandmother do the same thing, with terrible consequences? The intimate road movie tells of lost mothers and abandoned children, of the temptations and the price of self-fulfilment, of the abysses of motherhood and of the deep longing for another life.
PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: soap factory GmbH, Basel www.soapfactory.ch
Documentary
I’LL BE YOUR MIRROR
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 91 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, Swiss-German
JOHANNA FAUST * 1973. Johanna Faust studied Fine Arts at the Visual Art School in Basel and Colour Design at Höhere Fachschule für Farbgestaltung in Zurich. I’LL BE YOUR MIRROR is her first film.
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written & directed by Karim Sayad
SWITZERLAND / FRANCE Documentary, 85 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, Arabic PRODUCTION: Close Up Films, Geneva / Norte Productions, Paris / RTS
WORLD RIGHTS: Close Up Films, Geneva www.closeupfilms.ch
Documentary
KARIM SAYAD * 1984. Karim Sayad has both Swiss and Algerian citizenship. After earning a Master’s degree in International Relations from Geneva’s Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), he directed his first short documentary film, BABOR CASANOVA (2015). It was awarded at doclisboa, Festival dei Popoli and at Clermont-Ferrand ISFF among others. His first featurelength film OF SHEEP AND MEN (2017) premiered within TIFF DOCS won the Prix de Soleure 2018.
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2001, Fahed reaches the UK his head filled with dreams. 2018, in the thrall of a mid-life crisis, he must now make a decision. Will he keep his head low and continue working 50-hours weeks between the kebab shop and the factory, or will he return to Algeria, a country he fled in the hope of making a better life for himself?
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RADIO SILENCE
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written & directed by Juliana Fanjul 24
Mexico, March 2015. Carmen Aristegui, incorruptible journalist, has been fired from the radio station where she has worked for years. Supported by more than 18 million listeners, Carmen continues her fight. Her goal: raising awareness and fighting against misinformation. The film tells the story of this quest: difficult and dangerous, but essential to the health of democracy. A story in which resistance becomes a form of survival.
Documentary
WORLD RIGHTS: Akka Films, Geneva www.akkafilms.ch
SWITZERLAND / MEXICO Documentary, 90 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Spanish PRODUCTION: Akka Films, Geneva / Cactus Films, Mexico City / RTS / SRG SSR
JULIANA FANJUL * 1981 in Mexico. Juliana Fanjul studied Film at the Documentary Department of the International Cinema and TV School of San Antonio de los Baños (EICTV) in Cuba, Cinema Studies at École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne (ECAL) and Geneva School of Art and Design (HEAD – Genève). Her first documentary feature MUCHACHAS (2015) premiered at Visions du Réel and was selected for numerous international festivals. At the FIFDH in Paris it was awarded with the Grand Prix.
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JULIA FURER * 1990. Julia Furer received her BA in Film from the Lucerne School of Art and Design (HSLU), Video Department, in 2015 and is currently studing Directing at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). With her short documentary JULIAN (2015) she participated at the EFP talent programme FUTURE FRAMES – Ten New Filmmakers To Follow at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 80 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Arabic, French, English PRODUCTION: freihändler Filmproduktion GmbH, Basel / SRF / Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK
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Samir and Bahija struggle with love and perspectives in a country with limited possibilities. They fight for a brighter future, but the clash of cultures troubles their whole family’s life.
WORLD RIGHTS: freihändler Filmproduktion GmbH, Basel www.freihaendler.ch
Documentary
written & directed by Julia Furer
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THE DRAMA OF THE GIFTED SON
DAS DRAMA DES BEGABTEN SOHNES
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written & directed by Daniel Howald 26
Martin was rejected and treated with coldness by his mother, and beaten and humiliated by his father: a childhood without love. The story sounds like a case study from the book “The Drama of the Gifted Child” by the world-famous Swiss child psychologist Alice Miller. But Martin is her son. After her death, he sets out to discover the drama behind everything: the Shoa, the annihilation of the Jewish people, from which his mother in Poland had barely escaped.
Documentary
WORLD RIGHTS: SwissDok GmbH, Basel www.swissdok.ch
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 100 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, English, French, Swiss-German, Polish PRODUCTION: SwissDok GmbH, Basel / SRF / SRG SSR
DANIEL HOWALD * 1966. Daniel Howald studied Philosophy, Literature and Ethnology. He works as director, producer and screenwriter and is known for ANNA IN SWITZERLAND (2014) and MY MOTHER’S DEATH OR FIVE ATTEMPTS TO MAKE A FILM (2008) which he both codirected with Chantal Millès. With his production company SwissDok he recently produced the awardwinning first feature by Eva Vitija MY LIFE AS A FILM – HOW MY FATHER TRIED TO CAPTURE HAPPINESS (2015).
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THE NAKED KING – 18 FRAGMENTS ON REVOLUTION
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DER NACKTE KÖNIG – 18 FRAGMENTE ÜBER REVOLUTION
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SUMMER 2019
written & directed by Andreas Hoessli
SWITZERLAND / GERMANY / POLAND Documentary, 108 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, English, Polish, Persian PRODUCTION: Mira Film GmbH, Zurich / TM Film GmbH, Freiburg / Centrala, Lodz / ARTE / TVP
WORLD RIGHTS: Mira Film GmbH, Zurich www.mirafilm.ch
Documentary
ANDREAS HOESSLI Worked as Eastern European correspondent for Swiss newspapers as well as a reporter for Swiss television. Andreas Hoessli is especially known for his documentary film DEVILS DON’T DREAM (1995) which premiered at the Locarno Festival and was presented within the Berlinale Forum, where it was awarded with the Peace Award. His documentary EPOCA (2002) celebrated its world premiere at the Berlinale and was selected for the IDFA among other international festivals.
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A young war journalist witnesses the 1980 Polish uprising. Almost 40 years later, now an award-winning film director, he returns to Poland to investigate how people experience decisive moments in history. Following the footsteps of Ryszard Kapuscinski, Polish daredevil war correspondent, he continues his journey to Iran, the country of a great revolution. This meditative search between Poland and Iran leads to the emotional legacy of revolutions.
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SUMMER 2019
THE PERIMETER OF KAMCÉ
LE PÉRIMÈTRE DE KAMCÉ
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written & directed by Olivier Zuchuat 28
On the edge of the Sahara, in Burkina Faso, the village of Kamcé is being destroyed by the effects of creeping desertification. To ensure the village’s survival, the villagers decided to embark on the planning of a perimeter. Armed with shovels and pickaxes, they will build dikes, plant hedges and trees to protect the soil from wind, gully erosion and herds of animals that grass on what little pasture manages to grow.
Documentary
WORLD RIGHTS: Prince Film SA, Undervelier www.princefilm.ch
SWITZERLAND / FRANCE Documentary, 90 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Mooré PRODUCTION: Prince Film SA, Undervelier / Andolfi, Paris / RTS / Canal + International
OLIVIER ZUCHUAT * 1969. Olivier Zuchuat studied Physics and Literature at University of Lausanne and Trinity College in Dublin. He works as playwright for theater and for various film schools. Since 2018 he is, ad interim, the Head of Cinema Department of HEAD-Genève (Geneva School of Art and Design). Zuchuat is known for his award-winning documentaries FAR FROM THE VILLAGE (2008) and LIKE LIONS OF STONE AT THE GATEWAY OF NIGHT (2012).
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THAÏS ODERMATT * 1980. Thaïs Odermatt studied Film at the video department of the Lucerne School of Art and Design (HSLU) and currently attends a Master programme at Film University Babelsberg, Konrad Wolf. She is known for her award- winning short documentaries KURT AND THE CHAIRLIFT (2012), honoured with the Audience Award at the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur and LEFT BEHIND (2009), both portraying people living in the Swiss Alps.
SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Documentary, 90 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, English PRODUCTION: maximage, Zurich / Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, PotsdamBabelsberg / SRF
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Urban Amazons are fierce heroines and fighters who also have the power to conquer hearts. They fight for their beliefs. No justification, no compromise, always pressing on. A fight for victory in a martial arts cage, a fight for love and respect, a fight for fellow sufferers and humanity. This is a call for Amazons to stand together.
WORLD RIGHTS: maximage, Zurich www.maximage.ch Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf, Potsdam-Babelsberg sophie.ahrens@ filmuniversitaet.de
Documentary
written & directed by Thaïs Odermatt
FALL 2019
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URBAN AMAZONS
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SUMMER 2019
VOLUNTEER
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written & directed by Anna Thommen, Lorenz Nufer 30
Touched by the massive refugee wave, volunteers travel to Greece to help the people arriving in the boats. What they experience at the beaches and in the camps, changes their lives for ever. Back in Switzerland they are torn between their former steady life and the rising urge to stand up for political change. The film shows the birth of a citizens’ movement in the middle of Europe that defends our humanitarian tradition.
Documentary
WORLD RIGHTS: Sulaco Film GmbH, Basel www.sulacofilm.ch
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 90 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, English, Italian, Arabic PRODUCTION: Sulaco Film GmbH, Basel / SRF
ANNA THOMMEN * 1980. Anna Thommen is known for her first feature-length documentary UNKNOWN TERRITORY (2013), which was selected for and awarded at numerous international festivals and for her award-winning short doc SECOND ME (2008). LORENZ NUFER * 1976. Lorenz Nufer trained as actor at the University of Performing Arts Ernst Busch in Berlin as well as at Film akademie Baden-Württemberg in Ludwigsburg. He now works as director and author for film and theatre.
FALL 2019
A HOUSE IS BUILT
AMAZONIAN COSMOS
by Thomas Imbach director of DAY IS DONE and GHETTO
by Daniel Schweizer director of DIRTY PARADISE and SKINHEAD ATTITUDE SWITZERLAND Documentary PRODUCTION: Amka Films Productions SA, Savosa / Horizon2Films, Sion WORLD RIGHTS: Amka Films Productions SA, Savosa
WINTER 2019 / 20
WINTER 2019 / 20
IL GRAN’ DIABATÉ
SEARCH FOR TRACKS
(working title) by Nina Stefanka
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 90 min PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Cinédokké Sagl, Savosa
AUF SPURENSUCHE by Alice Schmid director of THE GIRL DOWN LOCH ÄNZI SWITZERLAND Documentary PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Ciné A.S. GmbH, Zurich
SPRING 2020
WINTER 2019/20
SWISS CITIZEN SOLDIERS
THE POWER OF SILENCE
ECHTE SCHWEIZER by Luka Popadic director of BAITS AND HOOKS and RED SNOW
DIE MACHT DER STILLE by Maurizius Staerkle Drux director of CONCRETE LOVE
SWITZERLAND Documentary PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Beauvoir Films, Geneva
SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Documentary PRODUCTION: Beauvoir Films, Geneva / Lichtblick Film- und Fernsehproduktion, Cologne WORLD RIGHTS: Beauvoir Films, Geneva
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SWITZERLAND Documentary PRODUCTION: Okofilm Productions, Zurich / Bachim Film, Zurich WORLD RIGHTS: Okofilm Productions, Zurich
IN PRODUCTION
WINTER 2019 / 20
SUPPORT MEASURES
DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT NON-EUROPEAN COUNTRIES Supporting the theatrical release of Swiss feature films in ten selected non-European countries. Its aim is to increase the visibility and the distribution of Swiss films outside of Europe. The subsidies are granted according to the “Guidelines for Distribution Support of Swiss films in non-European countries”. Applications must be submitted by the foreign distributor.
Film Sales Support FSS is a scheme by the European Film Promotion (EFP) for the promotion of European films outside of Europe. With support by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, Media Desk Suisse and SWISS FILMS, FSS is also available to European and Swiss sales companies selling Swiss films at selected festivals and markets: Hong Kong Int’l Film & TV Market, Tribeca FF, Hot Docs Toronto, TIFF, Asian Film Market, American Film Market, Sundance FF. Applications must be submitted online by the world sales company. Guidelines and application: www.efp-online.com/en/project_market/guidlines.php
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A support measure by SWISS FILMS in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC). www.swissfilms.ch/distribution Contact: support@swissfilms.ch
FILM SALES SUPPORT
VOD SUPPORT
Supporting the distribution of Swiss films on selected international VOD platforms.
DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT EUROPEAN COUNTRIES Supporting the theatrical release of Swiss feature films in Europe.
Its aim is to increase the visibility and the online distribution of Swiss films. The subsidies are granted according to the “Guidelines VOD Support”. Applications must be submitted by the Swiss rights holder.
Its aim is to increase the visibility and the distribution of Swiss films in Europe. The subsidies are granted according to the “Guidelines Funding for the distribution of Swiss films and coproductions in foreign countries”. Applications must be submitted by the European distributor via the Swiss producer.
A support measure by SWISS FILMS in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC). www.swissfilms.ch/en/vod Contact: support@swissfilms.ch
A support measure by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC), administrated by SWISS FILMS. www.bak.admin.ch Contact: support@swissfilms.ch
VISIT US ALSO AT OUR STANDS AT : Cannes Village International Annecy Mifa Locarno Festival Toronto International Film Festival Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Market Berlinale European Film Market
SWISS FILMS is supported by
“ Look behind the obvious.” René Gardi in AFRICAN MIRROR by Mischa Hedinger, produced by ton und bild