SWISS
FILMS
NYON 2021 PREVIEWS
Hosted by SWISS FILMS in collaboration with
SWISS FILMS Neugasse 6, 8005 Zurich www.swissfilms.ch Published in April 2021
SWISS FILMS PREVIEWS AT VISIONS DU RÉEL 2021
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PREVIEWS WOMEN’S AFRICA MY OLD MAN CORONERI LUX LOVING HIGHSMITH
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SWISS FILMS TEAM
AIDA SULJICIC Head of Festivals & Markets asuljicic@swissfilms.ch T +41 77 431 87 79
ANDREAS BÜHLMANN Consultant Film & Industry abuehlmann@swissfilms.ch T +41 79 303 58 69
LAURA DANIEL Consultant Film, Talent & Awards ldaniel@swissfilms.ch T +41 76 343 61 16
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WOMEN’S AFRICA
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L’AFRIQUE DES FEMMES
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written & directed by Mohammed Soudani 2
A trip that to seven African countries to meet powerful women determined to do everything possible to offer a better future to the African people. These women explain how they think they are working to save the continent, which must resolutely embrace integration into the world economy because the years of totalitarian male rule of Africa have been catastrophic. A film that will make us understand that the future of Africa belongs to women.
Documentary
WORLD RIGHTS: Amka Films Productions SA, Savosa www.amka.ch
LOOKING FOR: World Sales Int. Distribution Festival Premiere CONTACT: Amel Soudani, COO Amka Films, Savosa amel@amka.ch
SWITZERLAND / COTE D’IVOIRE / FRANCE Documentary, 90 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, French, Portuguese PRODUCTION: Amka Films Productions SA, Savosa / RSI / SRG SSR / Nikady’s Production, Abidjan / TV5 monde / Pro-Human Equality, Corseaux SWISS PRODUCERS: Tiziana Soudani, Amel Soudani, Michela Pini
MOHAMMED SOUDANI * 1949 in Algeria. Mohammed Soudani is an acclaimed Swiss-Algerian filmmaker. He emigrated to the Ticino in southern Switzerland over thirty years ago. Very sensitive to the African situation and relations with Europe, he won the 1998 Swiss Film Award for the Best Fiction Film WAALO FENDO. He currently teaches audiovisual at University of Applied Sciences of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI) and at the International Academy of Audiovisual Sciences (CISA) in Lugano.
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STEVEN VIT * 1990. Steven Vit has joint Swiss and Canadian citizenship. After graduating with a Bachelor in Film from Lucerne School of Art and Design (HSLU) in 2014, he gained experience as a production assistant at Lomotion and in the editorial department for fictional film productions at SRF. In 2020 he completed his Master’s degree in Film at Stockholm University of the Arts.
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 90 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Swiss-German, English PRODUCTION: Lomotion AG, Bern / SRF PRODUCERS: David Fonjallaz, Louis Mataré
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Over the course of three years, filmmaker Steven Vit follows his father Rudy’s transition from working life to retirement: from his last business trip to the day Rudy begins to adjust to his new life. It is a journey that takes us to three continents and immerses us in unique worlds of contrasts, be it the bustling city of Tokyo, the skyline of Shanghai, the vast Canadian wilderness or the Swiss Alps.
WORLD RIGHTS: Lomotion AG, Bern www.lomotion.ch
LOOKING FOR: World Sales Int. Distribution Int. Festival Premiere CONTACT: David Fonjallaz Lomotion, Bern david@lomotion.ch
Documentary
written & directed by Steven Vit
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SUMMER 2021 I CORONERI
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directed by Daniel Kemény 4
The forced isolation of a couple in Rome during the outbreak of COVID19: when the city empties and appears as it had never been seen before – all the symbols of its greatness are left alone in their majesty – the couple also becomes naked. Life as it has always been conceived and lived is transformed from day to day into a dystopian dimension that is the new reality. The discovery of a possible betrayal, the difficulties of a dead-end relationship echo with the world outside, in the midst of a pandemic.
Documentary
PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Cinédokké Sagl, Savosa www.cinedokke.ch
LOOKING FOR: World Sales Int. Distribution Int. Festival Premiere CONTACT: Laura Donato, Cinédokké laura.donato@cinedokke.ch Michela Pini, Cinédokké michela@cinedokke.ch
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 50 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Italian SCREENPLAY: Daniel Kemény, Laura Marzi PRODUCERS: Michela Pini, Amel Soudani
DANIEL KEMÉNY * 1981 in Italy. Daniel Kemény studied Art and Sculpture in Berlin, Athens and Bologna. He exhibits since over ten years in cultural and art institutions in Europe and around the world, creating spatial installations and videos. Since 2010 he works cinematographically, where he combines expressive skills with his narrative needs, combining different points of view and languages. His first documentary “sòne:” premiered at Visions du Réel Nyon 2020. He is currently completing CORONERI.
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RAPHAËL DUBACH * 1992. Raphaël Dubach is a director, cinematographer, camera assistant and colorist. He has a Bachelor in Cinema from ECAL. MATEO YBARRA * 1992. Mateo Ybarra works as a director and producer. He studied at the University of the Arts in London and graduated from Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD – Genève). LUX is their first feature film, winner of the SRG SSR award in Locarno 2020 (The Films After Tomorrow section).
SWITZERLAND Documentary, 72 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French PRODUCERS: Raphaël Dubach, Mateo Ybarra
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In early fall 2019, Geneva faces an unprecedented security crisis: the imminent attack by an anti-capitalist terrorist group known as the Global Liberation Front. The Swiss army is immediately called upon to assist the police force in containing the threat. Such is the extraordinary log line of LUX, the huge Swiss army simulation exercise. Ten days where 1,500 soldiers took part in a life-size game to tackle a fictitious threat.
PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Jeunes Sauvages, Geneva jeunessauvages@protonmail. com
LOOKING FOR: World Sales Int. Distribution Festival Premiere Television Distribution CONTACT: Raphaël Dubach Jeunes Sauvages, Geneva jeunessauvages@protonmail. com
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written & directed by Raphaël Dubach, Mateo Ybarra
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written & directed by Eva Vitija
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Based on Patricia Highsmith’s personal writings and accounts of her family and lovers, the film casts new light on the famous thriller writer’s life and oeuvre, permeated by themes of love and its defining influence on identity.
WORLD RIGHTS: Ensemble Film GmbH, Zurich www.ensemblefilm.ch
Documentary
LOVING HIGHSMITH
LOOKING FOR: World Sales Presales Int. Distribution Int. Festival Premiere CONTACT: Franziska Sonder Ensemble Film, Zurich sonder@ensemblefilm.ch
SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Documentary, 95 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, French, German PRODUCTION: Ensemble Film GmbH, Zurich / Lichtblick Film- und Fernsehproduktion, Cologne / ZDF / ARTE / RSI / SRF SWISS PRODUCERS: Franziska Sonder, Maurizius Staerkle Drux
EVA VITIJA * 1973. Eva Vitija studied screenwriting at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). She has written for cinema and television, including the screenplays of MEIER, MARILYN, MADLY IN LOVE and LITTLE PARADISE. Her first feature-length documentary MY LIFE AS A FILM (2015) was nominated for the Swiss Film Award and a prize of the International Documentary Association in Los Angeles. The film garnered various awards, among them the Prix de Soleure.
Supporting the theatrical release and distribution via online platforms of Swiss films worldwide. Its aim is to strengthen the visibility and the distribution of Swiss films abroad. The subsidies are granted according to the “Guidelines Funding for the distribution of Swiss films and coproductions in foreign countries”.
For more information please consult our website www.swissfilms.ch A support measure by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC), administrated by SWISS FILMS. www.bak.admin.ch
WHAT’S NEW IN 2021 – Funding for releases worldwide – Funding for cinema and / or VOD releases – Increase of maximum support per film release – Applications for individual as well as slate funding – No fixed submission deadlines Applications must be submitted by the distributor via the Swiss producer.
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Contact: support@swissfilms.ch
SUPPORT MEASURES
DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT
FILM SALES SUPPORT
A scheme by the European Film Promotion (EFP) for the promotion of European films outside of Europe. FSS OPEN CALL: Available to European and Swiss sales companies selling Swiss films at selected festivals and markets through digital promotion campaigns. READY-TO-USE DIGITAL PROMOTION CAMPAIGNS: This scheme encourages the creation of innovative universal digital promotion strategies (B2B / B2C) by European sales companies. Applications must be submitted online by the European sales company.
A support measure by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC), Media Desk Suisse and SWISS FILMS. Guidelines and application: www.efp-online.com/en/project_market/fss.php
Please consult our website for up-to-date information on our festival attendance. www.swissfilms.ch
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