SWISS FILMS Locarno e-Booklet 2021 by SWISS FILMS

SWISS

FILMS

2021 IN LOCARNO

VISIT US AT: Palazzo Sopracenerina at the Piazza Grande August 4 – 9 WATCH SWISS SHORTS ONLINE www.swissfilms.ch/shortfilmlibrary

SWISS FILMS Neugasse 6, 8005 Zurich www.swissfilms.ch Published in July 2021 Image campaign by Solène Gün

SWISS FILMS AT THE LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL 2021

� PIAZZA GRANDE

11 PARDI DI DOMANI: CONCORSO NAZIONALE

3 CONCORSO INTERNAZIONALE 16 PANORAMA SUISSE 4 CONCORSO CINEASTI DEL PRESENTE

22 FIRST LOOK ON SWISS CINEMA

6 SEMAINE DE LA CRITIQUE

28 COMING SOON

8 PRE-FESTIVAL PIAZZA GRANDE

41 IN PRODUCTION

10 PARDI DI DOMANI: CORTI D’AUTORE

43 SUPPORT MEASURES

NICOLA RUFFO Director nruffo@swissfilms.ch T +41 76 575 03 80

ANDREAS BÜHLMANN Head of Festivals & Markets (ad interim) abuehlmann@swissfilms.ch T +41 79 303 58 69

LAURA DANIEL Consultant Film, Talent & Awards ldaniel@swissfilms.ch T +41 76 343 61 16

MARCEL MÜLLER Consulting Film, Programmes & VOD mmueller@swissfilms.ch T +41 79 787 93 88

SYLVAIN VAUCHER Consultant Short Films svaucher@swissfilms.ch T +41 79 542 83 80

DANIELA STRIKA Support Scheme Manager support@swissfilms.ch T +41 43 211 40 63

PIAZZA GRANDE

MONTE VERITÀ directed by Stefan Jäger 2

1906. Hanna wants nothing more than to free herself from her bourgeois corset. When she flees to the notorious Monte Verità, leaving her daughters behind, she is initially reluctant to accept the free lifestyle of those seeking meaning. But when she begins to photograph the guests, she grows beyond herself. In her devotion to art, she has to ask herself: can she return to her family without giving up herself?

Fiction

WORLD SALES: The Playmaker, Munich www.playmaker.de WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021 INTERNATIONAL PRESS: NOISE Film PR Mirjam Wiekenkamp mirjam@noisefilmpr.com T +49 176 28 77 18 39

SWITZERLAND / AUSTRIA / GERMANY Fiction, 115 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German SCREENPLAY: Kornelija Naraks CAST: Maresi Riegner, Max Hubacher, Julia Jentsch, Hannah Herzsprung, Joel Basman, Philipp Hauß PRODUCTION: tellfilm GmbH, Zurich / KGP Filmproduktion, Vienna / COIN FILM, Cologne / RSI / ORF / MMC Movies, Cologne / blue SWISS PRODUCER: Katrin Renz

STEFAN JÄGER * 1970. Stefan Jäger is a director, screenwriter and lecturer. He graduated from the Film Academy BadenWürttemberg in 1997 and has since worked as a director. His films screened at inter national festivals and have received numerous awards. Since 1998 he is owner of tellfilm GmbH in Zurich. He works as a lecturer in Ludwigsburg and since 2018 as head of the script department at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK).

CONCORSO INTERNAZIONALE 2N

FEATU

RE D

FEATUR

SOUL OF A BEAST

written & directed by Lorenz Merz

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 110 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Swiss-German, French CAST: Pablo Caprez, Ella Rumpf, Art Bllaca, Luna Wedler, Tonatiuh Radzi, Lolita Chammah, Angelique La Douce PRODUCTION: Hesse Film GmbH, Zurich / 8horses GmbH, Zurich / Milan Film AG, Basel / SRG SSR / SRF / blue PRODUCERS: Simon Hesse, Lorenz Merz, Cyrill Gerber, Julien Wagner, Anke Beining-Wellhausen, Patrick Gantner, Urs Fitze

WORLD RIGHTS: Hesse Film GmbH, Zurich www.hessefilm.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021 INTERNATIONAL PRESS: Communication & PR Amel Soudani amel@amka.ch T +41 79 314 34 21

Fiction

LORENZ MERZ * 1981. Formation in painting, music and photography. He studied Film at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and Universidad del Cine Buenos Aires. With films such as UN DIA Y NADA (Locarno / Tel Aviv IFF 2008), CHERRY PIE (Rotterdam / Camerimage IFF 2014) and for his cinema tography for SUMMER GAMES (Venice / TIFF 2011) and WAR (San Sebastian/Karlovy Vary IFF 2014) he won international awards and three times the Swiss Film Award. He is currently developing a new feature project WHO / MAN.

In a delirious summer rush, teenage father Gabriel falls in love with enigmatic Corey, the girlfriend of his best friend Joel. Deeply hurt about their deceitful intentions, Joel reveals the truth about Gabriel’s entangled past, there is not only a child. Overwhelmed with the decision of his life, Gabriel is catapulted into the unforgiving wilderness of his heart, where imagination is more real than reality.

CONCORSO CINEASTI DEL PRESENTE

FEATU

WET SAND

FEATUR

directed by Elene Naveriani 4

A village at the Georgian Black Sea with friendly people believing to know each other. One day, Eliko is found hanged and his granddaughter Moe is called to organise the funeral. She is confronted with a web of lies and the tragic consequences of Eliko’s hidden love life with Amnon over the last twenty-two years. The truth however frees Moe’s capability to love and provokes the villagers to take a stand.

Fiction

WORLD RIGHTS: maximage, Zurich www.maximage.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021 INTERNATIONAL PRESS: maximage Cornelia Seitler info@maximage.ch T +41 78 712 03 11

SWITZERLAND / GEORGIA Fiction, 115 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Georgian SCREENPLAY: Elene Naveriani, Sandro Naveriani CAST: Bebe Sesitashvili, Megi Kobaladze, Gia Agumava, Giorgi Tsereteli, Kakha Kobaladze, Eka Chavleishvili, Zaal Goguadze PRODUCTION: maximage, Zurich / Takes Film, Tbilisi / SRF SWISS PRODUCERS: Cornelia Seitler, Brigitte Hofer

ELENE NAVERIANI * 1985 in Georgia. Elene Naveriani studied Painting at State Academy of Art in Tbilisi. In 2011 they received their Master in Critical Curatorial Cybermedia, in 2014 their Bachelor in Film from Geneva School of Art and Design (HEAD – Genève). Their first feature I AM TRULY A DROP OF SUN ON EARTH (2017) premiered at IFFR and won awards at Entrevues Belfort and Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid. Their short RED ANTS BITE (2019) premiered at IFFR.

FEATUR

ZAHORÍ

CONCORSO CINEASTI DEL PRESENTE

T FEA UR

MARÍ ALESSANDRINI * 1979 in Argentina. Marí Alessandrini worked as a photographer, director and acrobat in a circus company. In 2007 she moved to Geneva and studied directing and visual arts at the Geneva University of Art & Design (HEAD – Genève). She directed several short films and par ticipated at the Cinéfondation residence of the Cannes Film Festival to develop her first feature-length fiction film ZAHORÍ. In Locarno she received the Pardo 2020 – The Films After Tomorrow award.

WORLD RIGHTS: SWITZERLAND / ARGENTINA / Le Laboratoire Central, CHILE / FRANCE Lausanne Fiction, 105 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: www.lelaboratoirecentral.com English, Italian, WORLD PREMIERE: Mapuzungun, Spanish Locarno Film Festival 2021 CAST: INTERNATIONAL PRESS: Lara Viaena Tortosa, Le Laboratoire Central Pierre-François Sauter Sabine Timoteo, Cirilo Wesley, Carol Jones, Francisca Castillo, info@lelaboratoirecentral.com Santos Curapil, Michael Silva T +41 79 823 52 79 PRODUCTION: Le Laboratoire Central, Lausanne / El Calefón, Cordoba / Cinestacion, Santiago / Norte Productions, Paris SWISS PRODUCER: Nadejda Magnenat

Fiction

The Patagonian steppe is swept by a grey wind… Mora, thirteen years old, wants to be a “gaucho”. She rebels against school and affirms herself to her parents, Swiss Italian ecologists, whose dream of autonomy turns into a nightmare. Mora will go deep into the meanders of the steppe to help her only friend Nazareno, an old Mapuche who has lost his horse, Zahorí.

written & directed by Marí Alessandrini

SEMAINE DE LA CRITIQUE

FEATU

A THOUSAND FIRES

MILLE FEUX

FEATUR

written & directed by Saeed Taji Farouky 6

A tale of family, oil, and life cycles in Myanmar’s handdrilled oil fields. Htwe Tin and Thein Shwe work hard to give their children a better future, their lives governed by a web of karma and astrology. All their hopes are pinned on their youngest son, Zin Ko Aung. When he leaves home to make his own life, his parents must learn to let their children go.

Documentary

WORLD SALES: Square Eyes, Nijmegen www.squareeyesfilm.com WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021 INTERNATIONAL PRESS: NOISE Film PR Mirjam Wiekenkamp mirjam@noisefilmpr.com T +49 176 28 77 18 39

FRANCE / SWITZERLAND / NETHERLANDS / PALESTINE Documentary, 90 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Burmese PRODUCTION: Point du Jour – Les films du Balibari, Nantes / Akka Films, Geneva / BIND, Amsterdam / RTS / Odeh Films, Ramallah SWISS PRODUCER: Palmyre Badinier

SAEED TAJI FAROUKY * 1978. in Great Britain. Saeed Taji Farouky is a PalestinianBritish filmmaker and radical film educator whose work deals with themes of conflict, human rights, and colonialism. His documentary TELL SPRING NOT TO COME THIS YEAR (2015) premiered at the Berlinale where it won two awards.

SEMAINE DE LA CRITIQUE

STAND UP MY BEAUTY written & directed by Heidi Specogna

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Documentary, 110 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Amharic PRODUCTION: FAMA FILM AG, Zurich / Ma.ja.de. Filmproduktions GmbH, Berlin / SRF / ZDF / 3sat SWISS PRODUCER: Rolf Schmid

WORLD SALES: Deckert Distribution, Leipzig www.deckert-distribution.com WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021 INTERNATIONAL PRESS: Esther Bühlmann mail@estherbuehlmann.ch T +41 79 422 29 73

Documentary

HEIDI SPECOGNA * 1959. Heidi Specogna graduated from the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB) in 1988. She is known for her award-winning documentaries TANIA LA GUERRILLERA (1991), TUPAMAROS (1997), THE SHORT LIFE OF JOSÉ ANTONIO GUTIERREZ (2006) and CARTE BLANCHE (2011). Her last film CAHIER AFRICAN (2016) won Best Documentary at the Swiss Film Awards 2017 as well as at the German Film Awards. In 2019 she was honoured with the Konrad-Wolf-Prize of the Academy of Arts in Berlin.

Nardos, an Azmari singer from Addis Ababa, dreams of telling stories about the lives of ordinary people through her music. In her search of stories for her songs, she meets Gennet, a poet who lives on the streets with her children. As Nardos puts the lives of Ethiopian women, their visions and power at the centre of her creation, we dive deeper and deeper into a rapidly changing country.

PRE-FESTIVAL PIAZZA GRANDE

T FEA UR

LYNX

FEATUR

written & directed by Laurent Geslin 8

In the heart of the Jura, a call echoes through the forest. The silhouette of a boreal lynx creeps through the beech and fir trees. A male is looking for his female. Suddenly a response comes from the valley floor. Thus begins the story of a family of lynxes that we will follow throughout the seasons. If it is rare to come across this discreet feline, it is exceptional to discover its daily life in the wild.

Documentary

WORLD SALES: France TV distribution, Issy Les Moulineaux www.francetvdistribution.com WORLD PREMIERE: Pre-festival Piazza Grande Locarno 2021 MORE INFORMATION: www.lynxlefilm.ch

SWITZERLAND / FRANCE Documentary, 82 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French PRODUCTION: JMH & FILO Films, Neuchâtel / MC4, Paris / La Salamandre, Neuchâtel /RTS / SRG SSR / blue SWISS PRODUCER: Florence Adam

LAURENT GESLIN * 1972. Laurent Geslin dis covered photography while studying art history. His initial passion for wildlife led him to the work of photographers such as Stephen Dalton and “Nick” Nichols. After working as a nature guide in France, South Africa and Namibia, he became a professional photographer in London and began his project to photograph urban wildlife. He regularly collaborates with the most important magazines specialising in environmental protection. LYNX (2021) is his first film.

Les films d’Henry Brandt à Locarno

Quand nous étions petits enfants (1961) 05.08 – 11h30 – Kursaal Les Nomades du soleil (1955) et La Suisse s’interroge (1964) 05.08 – 21h30 – Palacinema 1 Exposition au Musée d’art et d’histoire de Neuchâtel dès le 14.11 Rétrospective à la Cinémathèque suisse dès le 17.11

CRIATURA written & directed by María Silvia Esteve

ARGENTINA / SWITZERLAND Fiction, 16 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Spanish CAST: Ayelén Escalzo, Laila Desmery, Francesca Pantanetti PRODUCTION: Rita Cine, Buenos Aires / Association Ecran Mobile, Geneva SWISS PRODUCER: Laura Gabay WORLD RIGHTS: Rita Cine, Buenos Aires www.ritacine.com.ar WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021

In the depths of her mind, pain takes the form of a creature. A love relationship unleashes the obscurity within, to evoke in the real world, a world of shadows. The film is a sensorial experience, a journey towards what hurts. It is a glimpse into the demons for so many years silenced, that today, are pushing themselves to the surface.

Fiction

PARDI DI DOMANI

CREATURE

GOTTA FABRICATE YOUR OWN GIFTS

Fiction

IL FAUT FABRIQUER SES CADEAUX written & directed by Cyril Schäublin

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 11 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Swiss-German, French, Mandarin CAST: Clara Gostynski, Cyril Oberli, Miriam Leonardi, Valentin Merz, Yun Long Song, Lan Qin PRODUCER: Linda Vogel PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Seeland Filmproduktion, Zurich www.seelandfilm.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021

As snow falls over a city, people share secret tricks with each other. Like how to kiss somebody and make them disappear, or having thoughts which are unrecognizable to machines.

written & directed by Naomi Pacifique

UNITED KINGDOM / SWITZERLAND / NETHERLANDS Fiction, 22 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, French, Spanish CAST: Naomi Pacifique, Hugo Koolschijn, Rafael Manuel PRODUCTION: The London Film School, London / Aziyadé Mutal, Geneva / Idle Eye, Amsterdam SWISS PRODUCER: Naomi Pacifique WORLD RIGHTS: Naomi Pacifique www.naomipacifique.com WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021

Nights are long inside Naomi and Ram’s room. Tonight, they’ve invited Marina over and their messy space is under scrutiny. Exploring intimacy as personal playground, skin as intimate map, Naomi’s docile body is coming loose amidst the tension inside a room she continues knowing and unknowing. The small expressive child inside her is itching to ring its giggle through the night, before day breaks.

Fiction

PARDI DI DOMANI

AFTER A ROOM

DIHYA

Dihya reveals her world, her secrets, her stories. She reigns in this dehumanized world, like a queen, a warrior.

SWITZERLAND Expanded Cinema, 10 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French CAST: Mia Martinez Garcia, Mati Calo PRODUCER: Lucia Martinez Garcia PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Lucia Martinez Garcia, Geneva lucia.mg15@gmail.com WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021

Expanded Cinema

written & directed by Lucia Martinez Garcia

CAVALES written & directed by Juliette Riccaboni

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 20 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French CAST: Victor Bonnel, Léonie Stassen PRODUCERS: Emilie Moor, José-Michel Buhler PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Adok Films, Geneva www.adokfilms.net WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021

Oscar, 18 years old, is passionate about horse racing. At night, he dreams of winning horses and bets on them every day with success at the popular bar in his neighbourhood. When one evening he sees a former lover of his mother’s, everything falls apart. The return of this man in his life causes Oscar a real emotional shock that brings back dark memories and tragically affects his premonitions.

Fiction

PARDI DI DOMANI

DREAM RACING

FOUR PILLS AT NIGHT

Fiction

written & directed by Leart Rama

SWITZERLAND / KOSOVO Fiction, 25 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Albanian CAST: Redon Kika, Florist Bajgora PRODUCTION: Katarzë Films, Pristina / Degjenerata, Pristina / Dokufest Prizren / Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur SWISS PRODUCERS: John Canciani, Stefan Dobler WORLD SALES: Radiator IP Sales, Brussels www.radiatorsales.eu WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021

With a film to shoot in the near future, a director develops more than a professional bond with his actor. When they go together on a rave, things take an unexpected turn. Delusion or truth, the two end up without answers.

ES MUSS written & directed by Jumana Issa & Flavio Luca Marano

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 18 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Swiss-German CAST: Ruth Schwegler, Lotti Happle PRODUCER: Filippo Bonacci PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK moritz.schneider@zhdk.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021

During the course of the same humiliating day, Silvia is fired from her job even though she is just a couple of years away from retirement, the police fine her in the course of a traffic check, and the director of her church choir takes away her solo part. During the rehearsal of the Ave Maria, Silvia decides to just let go in an act of silent resistance.

Fiction

PARDI DI DOMANI

IT MUST

MR. PETE & THE IRON HORSE

The diligent soldier Mr. Pete does everything to meet the high standards of his baroness. To satisfy her insatiable lust for speed, he shovels madly on her new iron horse’s voyage.

SWITZERLAND Animation, 8 min., 2021 ANIMATION TECHNIQUE: Drawn animation ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Without dialogue PRODUCTION: YK Animation Studio, Bern / SRF PRODUCER: Fela Bellotto WORLD SALES: Premium Films, Paris www.premium-films.com WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021

Animation

written & directed by Kilian Vilim

written & directed by Luka Popadić

SWITZERLAND / SERBIA Fiction, 17 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, Serbian CAST: Ryan Whittle, Jane Slavin PRODUCTION: Catpics AG, Zurich / Prababa Production, New Belgrade / Stanković & Sinovi, Belgrade SWISS PRODUCERS: Rajko Jazbec, Dario Schoch, Luka Popadić WORLD SALES: Interfilm Berlin Sales & Distribution, Berlin www.interfilm.de WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021

Nato bombing of Serbia in 1999. James, a young journalist on his first deployment abroad, is faced with the absurd reality of news production and is forced to choose between his career and his moral code.

Fiction

PARDI DI DOMANI

REAL NEWS

STRANGERS

Fiction

CHUTE written & directed by Nora Longatti

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 20 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Swiss-German, Russian CAST: Fhunyue Gao, Barbara Kurth, Agathe Lecomte PRODUCTION: GoldenEggProduction, Geneva / ECAL École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne PRODUCERS: Yan Decoppet, Gabriela Bussmann WORLD SALES: H264 Distribution, Montreal www.h264distribution.com WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021

In an anonymous city, a person collapses, appearing to have lost consciousness. Some strangers pass by, others embrace her. In a solitary quest for intimacy, blinded by a world of indifference, her gaze, her body are staggering. A graciously choreographed act.

directed by Loïc Hobi

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 20 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French SCREENPLAY: Youri Najdovski, Loïc Hobi CAST: Lucas Faulong, Arcadi Radeff PRODUCTION: Tell me the Story SA, Geneva / Imaginastudio Sàrl, Lausanne / Skopéô Films, Chaumont / RTS PRODUCER: Hélène Faget WORLD RIGHTS: Tell me the Story SA, Geneva www.tellmethestory.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021

Noah, a young man in search of his identity, is invited by his best friend, Ethan, to take part in the expeditions he organises with his gang in the depths of the metro. In this in-between world, where they compete to find their place, Ethan will challenge the teenagers to jump over the rails before the train arrives. For Noah, risking his life seems to be the only way to be accepted and above all to exist in Ethan’s eyes.

Fiction

PARDI DI DOMANI

THE LIFE UNDERGROUND

THING

The ways of love are strange indeed. Sometimes they lead to the neighbours’ rooftop terrace or to the music stand of a grand piano in the university basement. Valentina and Sonnili both live in an intimate relationship with an object. Even if the hurdles of social acceptance might be incomparable, the big topics remain the same: intimacy, comfort and that the world is a nicer place, if you share it.

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 22 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German PRODUCER Filippo Bonacci PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK moritz.schneider@zhdk.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021

Documentary

DING written & directed by Pascale Egli & Aurelio Ghirardelli

FEATU

Allegra is a lively young woman with a passion for high mountain climbing. She decides to travel to Morocco to reach the top of the Atlas, but her trip ends abruptly when a man explodes a bomb in a coffee shop. Unable to over-come the trauma months later she returns to her city, where an encounter with Arad, a young refugee from the Middle East forces her to confront her fears and heal her profound interior wounds.

FEATUR

SWITZERLAND / BELGIUM / ITALY Fiction, 88 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Italian SCREENPLAY: Niccolò Castelli, Stefano Pasetto CAST: Matilda De Angelis, Helmi Dridi, Nicola Perot, Irene Casagrande PRODUCTION: Imagofilm Lugano / Climax Films, Brussels / tempesta srl, Bologna / RSI / SRG SSR WORLD SALES: Vision Distribution, Rome www.visiondistribution.it WORLD PREMIERE: Solothurner Filmtage 2021

directed by Niccolò Castelli

Fiction

PANORAMA SUISSE

ATLAS

MARE

Fiction

written & directed by Andrea Štaka

SWITZERLAND / CROATIA Fiction, 84 min., 2020 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Croatian, English CAST: Marija Škaričić, Goran Navojec, Mateusz Kościukiewicz, Mirjana Karanović PRODUCTION: Okofilm Productions, Zurich / Dinaridi Film, Zagreb / SRF / SRG SSR / ZDF / ARTE SWISS PRODUCERS: Thomas Imbach, Andrea Štaka WORLD SALES: Be For Films, Brussels www.beforfilms.com WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2020

Mare has never flown, although she lives right next to the airport with her husband and their three teenage kids. She loves her family, cares for them, but sometimes almost feels like a stranger in her own home. Who are these people she lives with? Mare finds herself gazing at the planes overhead, longing for change and the unknown. When one day a younger man moves into the house next door, she puts her life to the test.

SCHWESTERLEIN written & directed by Stéphanie Chuat, Véronique Reymond SWITZERLAND Fiction, 99 min., 2020 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German CAST: Nina Hoss, Lars Eidinger, Marthe Keller, Jens Albinus PRODUCTION: Vega Film, Zurich / RTS / SRG SSR / ARTE PRODUCER: Ruth Waldburger WORLD SALES Beta Cinema, Munich www.betacinema.com WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2020

Berlin-born twins Lisa and Sven have a lifelong shared passion for theatre. He’s a famous actor, while she has abandoned her writing to live with her husband and children in Switzerland. When Sven falls gravely ill, Lisa begins to dramatically re-evaluate her life.

Fiction

PANORAMA SUISSE

MY LITTLE SISTER

NEIGHBOURS

A small village on the Syrian-Turkish border in the early 1980s: The sixyear-old Kurdish boy Sero experiences his first school year in an Arab school and has to watch his small world being radically changed in the course of an absurd nationalism. Humorous yet serious, the film tells of a childhood that also finds its light moments between dictatorship and dark drama.

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 124 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Kurdish, Arabic, Hebrew CAST: Jay Abdo, Serhed Khalil, Jalal Altawil, Tuna Dwek PRODUCTION: Frame Film GmbH, Bern / SRF / SRG SSR / ARTE PRODUCER: Mano Khalil WORLD RIGHTS: Frame Film GmbH, Bern www.framefilm.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Solothurner Filmtage 2021 INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE: Shanghai Int. Film Festival 2021

Fiction

NACHBARN written & directed by Mano Khalil

written & directed by Thomas Imbach

The film explores the destruction of a unique train station in Zurich and the construction of the new prison and police centre in its place. From the perspective of the filmmaker’s window, and with testimony from prisoners awaiting deportation, the film probes how we deal with the extinction of history and its replacement with total security.

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 131 min., 2020 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, English PRODUCTION: Okofilm Productions, Zurich / Bachim Film, Zurich PRODUCERS: Thomas Imbach, Andrea Staka WORLD RIGHTS: Okofilm Productions, Zurich www.okofilm.ch NATIONAL PREMIERE: Visions du Réel Nyon 2020 INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE: IDFA 2020

Documentary

PANORAMA SUISSE

NEMESIS

FEATUR

Documentary

FEATU

SWITZERLAND / PARAGUAY Documentary, 75 min., 2020 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Spanish, Ayoreo PRODUCTION: Cineworx Filmproduktion GmbH, Zurich / Arami Ullón Cine, Asunción SWISS PRODUCERS: Pascal Trächslin, Arami Ullón WORLD SALES: Film Republic, London filmrepublic.biz MORE INFORMATION: www.apenaselsol.com WORLD PREMIERE: IDFA 2020

APENAS EL SOL written & directed by Arami Ullón

NOTHING BUT THE SUN

In an attempt to preserve fragments of their disappearing culture, Mateo traverses the arid and desolate Paraguayan Chaco. He records on cassettes the experiences of other Ayoreo who, like him, were born in the forest, free and nomadic, without any contact with white civilization, until religious missionaries forced them to abandon their ancestral territory, their means of subsistence, their beliefs, and their home.

OSTROV – DIE VERLORENE INSEL written & directed by Svetlana Rodina, Laurent Stoop A portrait of the island of Ostrov in the Caspian Sea, whose inhabitants, left alone by the Russian state after the collapse of the Soviet Union, survive through poaching. Ivan regularly goes out to sea risking his life and freedom. He believes that one day Putin will see their misery and help.

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 90 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Russian PRODUCTION: DokLab GmbH, Bern PRODUCERS: Corinna Dästner, Sonja Kilbertus, Urs Schnell WORLD SALES: Taskovski Films Ltd, London www.taskovskifilms.com WORLD PREMIERE: Visions du Réel Nyon 2021 INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE: HotDocs Toronto 2021

Best Int. Feature Documentary Award HotDocs Toronto 2021

Documentary

PANORAMA SUISSE

OSTROV – LOST ISLAND

TAMING THE GARDEN FEATU

SWITZERLAND / GEORGIA / GERMANY Documentary, 90 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Georgian, Mingrelian PRODUCTION: Mira Film, Basel / Sakdoc Film, Tbilisi / Corso Film, Cologne / SRF / ARTE / Radio Bremen SWISS PRODUCER: Vadim Jendreyko WORLD SALES: Syndicado Film Sales, Toronto www.syndicadofs.com WORLD PREMIERE: Sundance Film Festival 2021 MORE INFORMATION: www.tamingthegarden-film.com

Documentary

FEATUR

A powerful man, the former Prime Minister of Georgia, buys some 100-year-old trees. His men uproot them, and bring them to his private garden: through villages, over hills and across the Black Sea. Other trees must be cut, electric cables moved and new roads paved through mandarin plantations. The film takes the concept of “uprooting” from its metaphorical meaning to an oppressive, tangible and yet surreal reality.

written & directed by Salomé Jashi

DAS SPIEL written & directed by Roman Hodel

A whistle. It gets loud in the spectator stands. The players protest angrily. The commentators follow the action on the field. In the middle of it, the referee. The whole stadium watches him. Now he has to decide. With the referee Fedayi San we experience the highs and lows of a football game, what it means to earn respect on the field and to direct the energy of an entire stadium.

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 17 min., 2020 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German, English, Turkish PRODUCTION: Ensemble Film GmbH, Zurich / SRF PRODUCER: Franziska Sonder WORLD SALES: Ouat Media, Toronto www.ouatmedia.com FESTIVAL DISTRIBUTION: Square Eyes, Nijmegen www.squareeyesfilm.com WORLD PREMIERE: Venice 2020

Documentary

PANORAMA SUISSE

THE GAME

FEATUR

Fiction

FEATU

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 98 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German CAST: Henriette Confurius, Liliane Amuat, Ursina Lardi, Flurin Giger, Ivan Georgiev PRODUCTION: Beauvoir Films, Geneva / SRF PRODUCERS: Aline Schmid, Adrian Blaser WORLD SALES: Cercamon, Dubai www.cercamon.biz WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2021 MORE INFORMATION: www.the-girl-and-the-spider.com

THE GIRL AND THE SPIDER DAS MÄDCHEN UND DIE SPINNE written & directed by Ramon & Silvan Zürcher Lisa is moving out. Mara is left behind. As boxes are shifted, walls painted and cupboards built, abysses begin to open up, yearnings fill the room and an emotional rollercoaster is set in motion. A tragicomic catastrophe film. A poetic ballad about change and transience. FIPRESCI Prize and Encounters Best Director Award at Berlinale 2021

DAS NEUE EVANGELIUM written & directed by Milo Rau

GERMANY / SWITZERLAND Docufiction, 107 min., 2020 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, French, Italian PRODUCTION: Fruitmarket Arts und Medien GmbH, Cologne / Langfilm – Bernard Lang AG, Freienstein / IIPM International Institute of Political Murder, Cologne / SRF / ZDF / ARTE SWISS PRODUCER: Olivier Zobrist WORLD SALES: CAT & Docs, Paris www.catndocs.com WORLD PREMIERE: Venice 2020

What would Jesus preach in the 21�� century? Who would his apostles be? The filmmaker and his team return to the origins of the gospel and stage it as a passion play for an entire population. Together with Yvan Sagnet, a former farm worker and activist from Cameroon, Milo Rau creates a new gospel for the 21�� century: A manifesto of solidarity.

Docufiction

PANORAMA SUISSE

THE NEW GOSPEL

YOUR STREET

A street in the industrial area of Bonn, faceless, unobtrusive, unfinished. Warehouses, construction sites and washing lines dominate. But little by little the grey present of the street is being charged with its past, which is linked to one of the most painful episodes in the history of reunified Germany. Are public memorials collective remembrance or collective repression?

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 7 min., 2020 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German PRODUCER: Güzin Kar PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Güzin Kar, Zurich www.guzin.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur 2021 INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE: Winterthur 2021

Documentary

DEINE STRASSE written & directed by Güzin Kar

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written & directed by Valentin Merz

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A crew is making a libertine costume film when Valentin, the director, suddenly disappears. While the local police investigate, the shooting continues but becomes strange. Robin, the cameraman and director’s lover, follows a promise made to Valentin and reaches the Mexican Pacific. A new kind of romance begins.

PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Andrea Film, Zurich www.andreafilm.com

Fiction

DE NOCHE LOS GATOS SON PARDOS

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 120 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, English, French, Swiss-German, Spanish CAST: Robin Mognetti, Valentin Merz, Dogartzi Magunagoicoechea, Jean-Charles de Quillacq, Maxi Schmitz, Natalia Portnoy, Mara Thurnheer PRODUCERS: Marie Lanne-Chesnot, Valentin Merz

VALENTIN MERZ * 1985. Valentin Merz moved to Mexico City in 2007 where he worked as a typographer. From 2009–14 he worked in Berlin in cinema and theatre before studying film at Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD – Genève). His short films have been screened at international festivals. In 2018, he cofounded the production company Andrea Film. A VULGAR ADVENTURE and DE NOCHE LOS GATOS SON PARDOS are his latest films.

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JACKIE BRUTSCHE * 1977. Jackie Brutsche studied directing and scriptwriting at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). She directed and wrote several short films THE MAGIC CUT (2006), MENSCHINE (2005) and theatre plays (THE REBEL SPERM) and is known as a multi discipline artist working as filmmaker, musician, performer and visual artist. She toured all over Europe and America with her Garagebands and produced several albums and music videos.

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 90 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Spanish, Swiss-German PRODUCTION: Recycled TV AG, Bern / RECK Filmproduktion, Zurich / SRF PRODUCERS: Madeleine Corbat, Franziska Reck

A research about a family secret, how silence affects next generations and how to break it. Artist, musician, filmmaker and performer Jackie Brutsche does it all with this film.

WORLD RIGHTS: Recycled TV AG, Bern www.rectv.ch

Documentary

written & directed by Jackie Brutsche

LAS TORERAS

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MY OLD MAN written & directed by Steven Vit

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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

Documentary

SPRING 2022

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 90 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Swiss-German, English PRODUCTION: Lomotion AG, Bern / SRF PRODUCERS: David Fonjallaz, Louis Mataré

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.

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LEON SCHWITTER * 1994. Leon Schwitter studied film at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and completed his Bachelor’s degree with a focus on screenwriting. In 2019, he founded the production company EXIT Filmkollektiv with four other filmmakers, where he works as a producer and director. RÉDUIT is his feature film debut and the first feature film project of his own production company.

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 118 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Swiss-German SCREENPLAY: Leon Schwitter, Michael Karrer CAST: Peter Hottinger, Dorian Heiniger PRODUCTION: EXIT Filmkollektiv GmbH, Zurich / Sabotage Filmkollektiv GmbH, Zurich PRODUCERS: Caroline Hepting, Michael Karrer, Rea Televantos, Leon Schwitter, Florian Hinder

Benny joins his distant father Michael on a vacation trip to the mountains. While the two get to know each other properly for the first time, Benny realises that his father no longer wants to return to civilisation. In the shelter of the rocky landscape, Michael imagines himself and his son safe from the outside world, which is collapsing from environmental destruction and economic crises.

WORLD RIGHTS: EXIT Filmkollektiv GmbH, Zurich www.exit.ist

Fiction

directed by Leon Schwitter

RÉDUIT

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SEMRET written & directed by Caterina Mona

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Semret is an Eritrean single mom who works at a local Zurich hospital and wants to become a midwife. She does everything to ensure a better life for her teenage daughter Joe. When Joe starts pushing to find out more about her origins, Semret at first refuses to face her past. When she is wrongfully accused at the hospital she realises that she will have to stand up for her rights, if she does not want to lose everything she loves.

WORLD RIGHTS: Cinédokké, Savosa www.cinedokke.ch

Fiction

WINTER 2021/22

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 85 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Tigrinya, Swiss-German CAST: Lula Mebrahtu, Tedros Teclebrhan, Hermela Tekleab, Fanuel Mengstab, Manuela Biedermann, Mehmet Ateşçi, Mona Petri PRODUCTION: Cinédokké, Savosa / Cineworx Filmproduktion Basel GmbH, Basel / RSI PRODUCERS: Michela Pini, Pascal Trächslin

CATERINA MONA * 1973. Caterina Mona studied English literature before studying film at the Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle (INSAS) in Brussels. She graduated as an editor in 2001. Besides editing several feature and documentary films she worked for the film festivals in Locarno and Berlin. Her short film LOST (2015) premiered at the Locarno Film Festival.

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THE MIES VAN DER ROHES

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written & directed by Sabine Gisiger

SWITZERLAND Docufiction, 90 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, English CAST: Katharina Thalbach, Anna Thalbach, Rebekka Burckhardt, Ingo Ospelt PRODUCTION: Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion AG, Zurich / SRF PRODUCER: Karin Koch

WORLD RIGHTS: Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion AG, Zurich www.dvfilm.ch

Docufiction

SABINE GISIGER * 1959. Sabine Gisiger studied history in Zurich and Pisa. She worked as a reporter for Swiss Television and has been making documentaries as a freelance filmmaker since 1988. DO IT (2000) received the Swiss Film Prize for Best Documentary, followed by GAMBIT (2005) and YALOM'S CURE (2014) and a nomination for WELCOME TO SWITZERLAND (2017). She is a professor for documentaries at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK).

An epic family saga in times of modernism, told by the women around the iconic architect Mies van der Rohe. His wife Ada, his daughters Georgia, Manna and Traudel and his lover Lilly Reich seize the opportunities of the new age but also experience the constraints of old patterns. The Golden 20s, the increasingly barbaric 30s and ultimately war. A troubling family story which uses unpublished films, images and documents to create a moral portrait of modernity – from a female perspective

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99 MOONS

WINTER 2021/22

written & directed by Jan Gassmann

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 110 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Swiss-German CAST: Valentina Di Pace, Dominik Fellmann PRODUCTION: Zodiac Pictures Ltd, Zurich / SRF / SRG SSR PRODUCERS: Reto Schaerli, Lukas Hobi

WORLD RIGHTS: Zodiac Pictures Ltd, Zurich www.zodiacpictures.com

Fiction

JAN GASSMANN * 1983. Jan Gassmann studied film at HFF Munich. His first documentary CHRIGU premiered at the Berlinale in 2007, followed by his award-winning features OFF BEAT (2011, Berlinale Panorama), KARMA SHADUB (2013, Grand Prix de Nyon), HEIMATLAND (2015, Locarno Competition) and EUROPE, SHE LOVES (2016, Berlinale Panorama, nominated for the European Film Award).

Everything is under control, she thinks. Everything is lost, he thinks. And then they meet. And fall.

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A FLEETING ENCOUNTER

UNE HISTOIRE PROVISOIRE

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directed by Romed Wyder 30

Grappling with a mid-life crisis, Sacha leaves his girlfriend and escapes to his grandparents’ Airbnb. He is surprised by the presence of Marjan, an Iranian woman who is facing her own marital crisis. They are both annoyed at having to share the apartment and rather than finding a place of retreat, tension builds. When Mina, a vibrant American, arrives, their mutual prejudices give way to curiosity and complicity. What began as an involuntary encounter becomes a moment of new possibilities.

Fiction

WORLD RIGHTS: Paradigma Films SA, Geneva www.paradigmafilms.ch

SWITZERLAND / LUXEMBOURG Fiction, 85 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, French, Persian SCREENPLAY: Nasim Ahmadpour, Romed Wyder CAST: Felipe Castro, Pooneh Hajimohammadi, Elisabet Johannesdottir PRODUCTION: Paradigma Films SA, Geneva / Milan Film AG, Basel / Amour Fou Luxembourg sàrl, Ettelbruck / RTS SWISS PRODUCERS: Cyrill Gerber, Romed Wyder

ROMED WYDER * 1967. Romed Wyder graduated with a degree from the cinema department of HEAD – Geneva (Haute école d’art et de design) in 1995. He is an active in several Swiss professional associations and works as producer, director and screenwriter for fiction and documentary. His features NO COFFEE, NO TV, NO SEX (1999) and ABSOLUT (2004) premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and DAWN (2014) won several international awards.

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written & directed by Michael Koch

WINTER 2021/22

A PIECE OF SKY

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EIN STÜCK HIMMEL

In a remote mountain village the still young love of Anna and Marco is put to a severe test. As a result of a brain tumour, Marco increasingly loses his impulse control. In the tense relationship between the village community and the effects of Marco’s illness, Anna tries to preserve a love that in the end outshines even death. TFL participant at the ScriptLab 2018.

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Fiction, 90 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Swiss-German CAST: Michèle Brand, Simon Wisler PRODUCTION: hugofilm features GmbH, Zurich / Pandora Film Produktion, Cologne / SRF / SRG SSR / ARTE SWISS PRODUCER: Christof Neracher

WORLD SALES: New Europe Film Sales, Warsaw www.neweuropefilmsales.com

Fiction

MICHAEL KOCH * 1982. Michael Koch worked as an actor for theatre and film prior to studying filmmaking at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne (KHM). In 2008 he graduated with a degree from KHM. He received the German Short Film Award in 2009 and a special mention at the Berlinale for POLAR (2008). His first feature-length film, MARIJA (2016), premiered in Competition at Locarno Film Festival.

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EIN VULGÄRES ABENTEUER

directed by Valentin Merz

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An angry punk in Berlin or a pilgrim in Lourdes, a woman with a disability in the 19th century or a film director wallowing in his self-pity, the film embraces different identities, jumping through centuries and landscapes. Until the adventure takes a new turn and unfolds as a mysterious crime thriller with Youtubers, confined to a castle in France.

PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Andrea Film, Zurich www.andreafilm.com

Fiction

A VULGAR ADVENTURE

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 72 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German SCREENPLAY: Valentin Merz, Maxi Schmitz CAST: Nele Jahnke, Maxi Schmitz, Mara Thurnheer, Jeanne Werner PRODUCERS: Marie Lanne-Chesnot, Valentin Merz

VALENTIN MERZ * 1985. Valentin Merz moved to Mexico City in 2007 where he worked as a typographer. From 2009 – 14 he worked in Berlin in cinema and theatre before studying film at Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD – Genève). His short films have been screened at international festivals. In 2018, he cofounded the production company Andrea Film. A VULGAR ADVENTURE and DE NOCHE LOS GATOS SON PARDOS are his latest films.

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AND TOMORROW WE WILL BE DEAD

UND MORGEN SEID IHR TOT

FALL 2021

MICHAEL STEINER * 1969. Michael Steiner studied Ethnology, Art History and Film at the University of Zurich. He worked as a journalist and director for various films and commercials. For MEIN NAME IST EUGEN (2005) he was awarded the Swiss Film Prize for Best Fiction Film. He is known for Swiss box office hits like GROUNDING (2006) and SENNENTUNTSCHI (2010). His last comedy, THE AWAKENING OF MOTTI WOLKENBRUCH (2018) was Switzerland’s official submission for the Academy Awards in 2019.

WORLD SALES SWITZERLAND / GERMANY The Playmaker, Munich Fiction, 115 min. www.playmaker.de ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Swiss-German, English SCREENPLAY: Urs Bühler CAST: Morgane Ferru, Sven Schelker, Ingo Ospelt, Karin Pfammatter PRODUCTION: Zodiac Pictures Ltd, Zurich / MMC Zodiac GmbH, Cologne / SRF / blue / SRG SSR SWISS PRODUCERS: Reto Schaerli, Lukas Hobi

Fiction

In 2011 the young Swiss couple Daniela Widmer and David Och is kidnapped on their journey along the old Silk Road in Pakistan. They’re taken 500 kilometres to warlike Waziristan and handed over to the local Taliban. The two of them live under the most precarious conditions for eight months in hostage, until they finally succeed in escaping from the Taliban, as the only civilians so far.

directed by Michael Steiner

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HUGO IN ARGENTINA

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written & directed by Stefano Knuchel 34

A promising Italian cartoonist lands in Buenos Aires in 1950, with the dream of reaching the United States, to discover that, for him, America will be Argentina. The country immediately overpowers him with its massive economic boom and a cultural scene among the most vibrant in the world. We are at the dawn of Argentina’s most raving decade and the young immigrant feels that all the promises of this country are for him to grasp. His name will indeed make itself known: Hugo Pratt.

Documentary

WORLD RIGHTS: Fiumi Film, Promontogno www.fiumifilm.ch

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 95 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: French, Spanish PRODUCTION: Fiumi Film, Promontogno / RSI PRODUCER: Vittoria Fiumi

STEFANO KNUCHEL * 1966. Stefanio Knuchel is a primarily self-taught director. In 1988 he started working for the Italian Swiss radio and later for the Italian Swiss Broadcasting Service (RSI). He received a diploma from The Film & Photographic Workshop, Rockport in Maine in 2001. He is the founder of Venus and beyond production company. Among his documentaries are HUGO PRATT IN AFRICA (2009), selected at the Orizzonti competition of the 66th Venice Film Festival and QUANDO ERO CLOCLO (2017).

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STEVEN MICHAEL HAYES * 1973. Steven Michael Hayes studied Film at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and received his Bachelor in 2003. For his diploma film MEYERS (2003) he received the Premio Action Light Award for Best Swiss Newcomer. He has directed numerous commercials and is a lecturer in film at the ZHdK. JILL is his first feature-length film.

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Fiction, 100 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: English CAST: Tom Pelphrey, Juliet Rylance PRODUCTION: hugofilm features, Zurich / K5 Film, Munich / SRF SWISS PRODUCER: Christof Neracher

Jill’s father once tried to protect his family from something that didn’t exist. His distrust in the collective society divided the family to a point where there was nothing left but fear and Jill, on her journey back to her childhood, needs to learn about who there is left to trust.

WORLD RIGHTS: hugofilm features, Zurich www.hugofilm.ch

Fiction

written & directed by Steven Michael Hayes

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2021

LOVING HIGHSMITH 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. Selected for IDFA Forum 2020

Documentary

WORLD SALES: Autlook Filmsales, Vienna www.autlookfilms.com

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Documentary, 83 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.

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RED JUNGLE

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directed by Juan José Lozano, Zoltán Horváth

ZOLTÁN HORVÁTH * 1966. Zoltán Horváth has worked as producer, director, graphic designer and writer. In 2001 he founded Nadasdy Film. His shorts have screened at numerous international film festivals.

SWITZERLAND / FRANCE Animation, 85 min. ANIMATION TECHNIQUE: 2D / 3D Computer animation, mixed technique ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Spanish SCREENPLAY: Juan José Lozano, Antoine Germa PRODUCTION: Intermezzo Films, Geneva / Dolce Vita Films, Paris / RTS / Nadasdy Film Sarl, Geneva / Tchack, Lille SWISS PRODUCERS: Anne Deluz, Luc Peter, Nicolas Burlet

WORLD SALES: Urban Distribution International, Paris www.urbangroup.biz

Animation

JUAN JOSÉ LOZANO * 1971 in Colombia. Juan José Lozano worked as director and television producer in Colombia. Since 1998 he works as independent filmmaker in Geneva and is an associate at Intermezzo Films.

In 2008, FARC second-in-command Raul Reyes, was killed in a raid orchestrated by the CIA and the Colombian army. His computers were found: ten years of emails written by the man in charge of negotiating the release of 100 hostages – including Ingrid Betancourt. The film delves into the secrets of the oldest communist guerrilla, as the revolutionary utopia was slowly turning into a nightmare.

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THE BLACK SPIDER

DIE SCHWARZE SPINNE

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directed by Markus Fischer 38

The courageous young midwife Christine makes a pact with the devil to save her village from the brutal terror of the Teutonic Knights. Punished by a spider plague, Christine goes from saviour to hunted, and the violence escalates. Christine faces the decisive battle against the diabolical power that wants to take away the highest good she is willing to die for: humanity. Based on the famous novella by Jeremias Gotthelf.

Fiction

WORLD SALES: The Playmaker, Munich www.playmaker.de

SWITZERLAND / HUNGARY Fiction, 100 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German SCREENPLAY: Plinio Bachmann, Barbara Sommer CAST: Lilith Stangenberg, Nurit Hirschfeld, Anatole Taubman, Marcus Signer, Ronald Zehrfeld, Marin Blülle, Andreas Matti, Ueli Jäggi PRODUCTION: Snakefilm GmbH, Zurich / Laokoon Film, Budapest SWISS PRODUCER: Judith Lichtneckert

MARKUS FISCHER * 1953. Markus Fischer has been working as a director, screenwriter and producer since 1980. In 2005 he founded Snakefilm GmbH in Zurich. As a producer he was responsible for the successful series THE UNDERTAKER for SRF. Films such as FINSTERNIS (1979), ZIMMER 36 (1988), BRANDNACHT (1991), MARMORERA (2007) and the dance films PASSENGERS (2000) and ONE BULLET LEFT (2003) have won international awards.

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WORLD SALES: WTFilms, Paris www.wtfilms.fr

Fiction

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 90 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French CAST: Lilith Grasmug, Lou Iff, Diana Gervalla, Benjamin Python, Noah Watzlawick, Mermoz Melchior, Sabine Timoteo, François Revaclier, Léa Gigon, Marco Calamandrei PRODUCTION: Close Up Films, Geneva / RTS PRODUCERS: Flavia Zanon, Joëlle Bertossa

Summer 1900, in a valley in southern Switzerland. Seventeen-year-old Elisabeth is about to take her vows when the sudden death of her older sister forces her to return to her family and the life of hard work she had left five years earlier to enter a convent. Elizabeth is no longer a child and the mysteries surrounding her sister’s death will drive her to fight for her right to experience.

CARMEN JAQUIER * 1985. Carmen Jaquier is a director and screenwriter. She studied film and screenwriting at École cantonale d'art de Lausanne and Geneva University of Art and Design (ECAL / HEAD – Genève). Her diploma film THE GIRLS’ GRAVE (2012) won the Silver Pardino at the Locarno Film Festival. THUNDER is her first feature-length film.

written & directed by Carmen Jaquier

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THUNDER

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directed by Dennis Stormer

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Wanja is a perpetual underdog, until an algorithm calculates her dreamjob, which promises a dazzling career. In her new position she should now be happy, fulfill herself and above all: finally grow up to an adult. However, the more successful Wanja becomes, the more she misses her crazy teenage friends and begins to understand that they have something that adults have lost: community.

WORLD RIGHTS: tellfilm GmbH, Zurich www.tellfilm.ch

Fiction

YOUTH TOPIA

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Fiction, 85 min. ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German SCREENPLAY: Marisa Meier, Dennis Stormer CAST: Lia von Blarer, Saladin Dellers, Elsa Langnäse, Jürg Plüss, Lou Haltinner, Nicolas Rosat, Regula Imboden PRODUCTION: tellfilm GmbH, Zurich / Intuition Club, Schönkirchen / Sehstern Filmproduktion, Frankfurt am Main SWISS PRODUCERS: Marisa Meier, Katrin Renz, Stefan Jäger

DENNIS STORMER * 1990 in Germany. In his youth Dennis Stormer cofounded an improvisational theatre group and created installations and performances. He moved to Berlin to work as a film critic for Negativ, while he shot his first short films. Finally he studied film directing at the Columbia University New York and the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, from which he graduated in 2019.

SPRING 2022

FALLING

LAST DANCE

by Samuel Perriard, director of BLACK PANTHER – THE STORY OF EMILIE AND JACOB

by Delphine Lehericey, director of PUPPYLOVE and BEYOND THE HORIZON

SWITZERLAND / BELGIUM Fiction PRODUCTION: Box Productions, Lausanne / Need Productions, Brussels CAST: François Berléand, Kacey Mottet Klein, La Ribot, Jean-Benoît Ugeux, Astrid Whettnall, Luc Bruchez, Lisa Harder WORLD SALES: Be For Films, Brussels www.beforfilms.com

SWITZERLAND / ITALY Fiction PRODUCTION: Catpics AG, Zurich / Helios Sustainable Films SRL, Bolzano / SRF / SRG SSR CAST: Julia Jentsch, Florian Lukas, Sami Loris, Sarah Hostettler WORLD RIGHTS: Catpics AG, Zurich www.catpics.ch

IN PRODUCTION

SPRING 2022

THE LINE

THE WATER

by Ursula Meier, director of SISTER and HOME

by Elena López Riera, director of THOSE WHO DESIRE

SWITZERLAND / FRANCE / BELGIUM Fiction PRODUCTION: Bandita Films, Geneva / Les films de Pierre, Paris / Les Films du Fleuve, Liège CAST: Stéphanie Blanchoud, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi WORLD SALES: Memento Films International, Paris www.memento-films.com

SWITZERLAND / SPAIN / FRANCE Fiction PRODUCTION: Alina film, Geneva / SUICA Films, València / RTS / Les Films du Worso, Paris CAST: Luna Pamiés, Bárbara Lennie, Alberto Olmo WORLD RIGHTS: Alina film, Geneva www.alinafilm.com

NOTES

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.

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

FINANCIAL AID AND SUPPORT MEASURES DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS Contact: support@swissfilms.ch

DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT for applicants (distributors and rights holders) with European and non-European distribution support

IF THE THEATRICAL RELEASE IS POSTPONED: – International distributors who have received a funding agreement from the Federal Office of Culture and who had confirmed the theatrical release may request the first instalment against proof of the distribution costs planned or already incurred within the scope of their application. IF THE THEATRICAL RELEASE IS CANCELLED: – International distributors for whom the theatrical release had to be completed or terminated prematurely can request the second instalment upon receipt of an interim invoice for services already rendered.

SWISS FILMS SUPPORT DURING CORONA

METHOD OF PAYMENT FOR

VOD SUPPORT for applicants (rights holders)

FILM SALES SUPPORT (FSS) for applicants (sales)

– Applications for VOD Support for the distribution of Swiss films on international VOD platforms can be submitted at any time.

IF THE MARKET IS POSTPONED OR CANCELLED: – Costs incurred will be paid out against receipt and within the scope of the funding agreed upon. FOR DIGITAL MARKETS: – Applications for support can be submitted within the scope of FSS. The share of costs is based on the regular FSS conditions. – Additional applications for digital online campaigning may be submitted. SWISS FILMS follows the recommendations and guidelines of the European Film Promotion EFP. SWISS FILMS would like to point out that VOD Support is an alternative distribution tool for promoting Swiss films on VOD platforms.

Please consult our website for up-to-date information on our festival attendance. www.swissfilms.ch

SWISS FILMS is supported by

“ There, freedom is not a utopia. It is real.” Otto in MONTE VERITÀ by Stefan Jäger, tellfilm, Piazza Grande