New Swiss Documentaries - Spring 2015

D O C S S P R I N G

Selina WillemseHead of Festivals & Markets

[email protected] +41 79 286 51 88

Aida SuljicicInternational Relations

and Programme [email protected]

T +41 77 431 87 79

T E A M TABLE OF CONTENTS

DOCS SPRING 2015

Swiss Docs Spring 2015

Completed – Feature Length 3

Completed – Medium Length 16

Completed – Shorts 17

Coming Soon 19

Festival Favourites 25

3

France / Switzerland / Germany 2015, 94 min.

Original languages: German/FrenchProduction:

Local Films, ParisAlina film Sarl, Geneva

Blinker Filmproduktion, CologneWorld Sales:

Films Boutique, BerlinT + 49 30 69 53 78 50

www.filmsboutique.com

Festivals (selection):Berlinale 2015

Cinéma du Réel Paris 2015BAFICI Buenos Aires 2015

Visions du Réel Nyon 2015DOK.fest Munich 2015

* 1974 in France. Works as a filmmaker with a personal approach on archival

editing. Between documentary, animation and experimental, most of his works

deal with violence and history. His films have been screened worldwide in

numerous festivals and were honoured with many prizes.

The documentary tells the history of the Red Army Faction as well as the images generated by this story. The film, entirely produced by editing visual and sound footage, aims to ques-tion viewers on the significance of this revoluti-onary movement during its time, as well as itsresonance for today’s society.

"An intriguing archival assembly that revisits German left-wing radicalism. ... This densely layered documen-tary reveals how members of a disillusioned post-war generation gradually transformed into left-wing militants ... Essential for anyone interested in cinema and politics." Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter, 12.02.2015

Jean-Gabriel Périot

C O M P L E T E D F E AT U R E L E N G T H

A German Youth

Une jeunesse allemande

http://www.swissfilms.ch/en/film_search/filmdetails/-/id_person/2146143707

http://www.swissfilms.ch/en/film_search/filmdetails/-/id_film/2146991395


4

Switzerland / Germany2015, 118 min.Original language: EnglishProduction:maximage GmbH, ZurichFlying Moon Filmproduktion, BerlinSRF Schweizer Radio und FernsehenZDF/3satWorld Rights:maximage GmbH, ZurichT +41 44 274 88 66www.maximage.ch

Festivals (selection)International Film Festival Rotterdam 2015 Max Ophüls Preis Saarbrücken 2015 BAFICI Buenos Aires 2015Visions du Réel Nyon 2015Toronto Hot Docs 2015

* 1984 in Sitten, Switzerland. 2005 – 06 attends the European Film College in Denmark. 2007 – 14 studies directing at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, Ludwigsburg. 2010 – 11 Fulbright Fellow at San Francisco Art Institute. 2014 Valais Canton’s Artist in Residence in Brooklyn, NYC. His short IT'S ME HELMUT was shown at over 240 festivals. His first documentary BATTLE OF THE QUEENS (2011) premiered at the Berlinale.

Far, far away and out of sight, that’s where April, Dave, Cindy, Rick and the Godfather are creat-ing life on their own terms. From the depths of the flood channels under Sin City, to a reclaimed military bunker in the middle of the dusty, heated Californian nowhere land, to beyond the stratosphere where Mars now lives on earth. Each individual has been flung into periling cir-cumstances on this rollercoaster ride called life. Through the hustle, pain, and laughter, we are whisked away to an unfamiliar world where we discover its inhabitants to be souls not unlike our very own. www.aboveandbelowfilm.com

"An intriguing and absorbing delve into almost alien parts of the United States." Mark Adams, Screen International (UK) 29.01.2015

Nicolas Steiner


Above and Below



5

Switzerland2015, 90 min.

Original languages: Swiss-German/GermanProduction:

DOCMINE Productions, ZurichSRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen

World Rights:DOCMINE Productions, Zurich

T +41 44 269 62 80 www.docmine.com

Festival:DOK.fest Munich 2015 (World premiere)

* 1980 in Zurich. Studied History and Geography in Bern, Communication Studies

and Journalism in Fribourg. 2006 Audio-visual studies at Schule für Gestaltung

Bern. Since 2012 teaches History and General Education. ANDERMATT – GLOBAL

VILLAGE, a long-term study, is Leonidas Bieri’s first feature length documentary.

Over the course of six years Bieri observed and captured the Swiss mountain

village in transition.

An Egyptian billionaire buys a valley in the heart of Switzerland. The villagers, affected by mi-gration, are hoping for investments and better times. Stubborn farmers are charmingly dis-placed, then the excavator arrives and stomps a luxury resort for the international jetset out of the ground. This is the story of Andermatt, a village in crisis, awakened from its slumber by a kiss from the multi-billion investor Samih Sawiris, who transforms home and hope into tradable goods.

Leonidas Bieri


Andermatt –

Global Village


http://www.swissfilms.ch/en/film_search/filmdetails/-/id_film/2146991465/search/7


6

Portugal / Switzerland / France2014, 85 min.Original language: PortugueseProduction:O Som e a Fúria, LisbonClose Up Films, GenevaLes films de l‘air, ParisRTP Radio e televisão de PortugalWorld Rights:O Som e a Fúria, LisbonT +351 21 358 25 18www.osomeafuria.com

Festivals (selection):Doclisboa 2014Porto Post Doc Film & Media Festival 2014Visions du Réel Nyon 2015

* 1979 in Lisbon, Portugal. He began directing and shooting music videos at 19, and later attended the School of Theatre and Film (Lisbon) and the Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen (Babelsberg). João Pedro Plácido has been working in features, shorts, documentaries and commercials all around the world since 2000, since 2009 as a cinematographer. His work has received national and international awards. (BE)LONGING is his first film as a director.

The story of an endangered community: farmers who practice subsistence farming in a moun-tainous village of northern Portugal, deserted because of emigration. Between the evocation of the past and their uncertain future, we follow the 49 inhabitants through four seasons. Among the inhabitants is António – a former emigrant who fulfilled his dream of returning home – who prepares the village festivities for the com-ing summer, and Daniel, a young shepherd who dreams of love at dusk.

João Pedro Plácido


(be)longing Volta à terra




7


Original language: FrenchProduction:

PS.Productions, Châtel-St-DenisRTS Radio Télévision Suisse

World Rights:PS.Productions, Châtel-St-Denis

T +41 21 922 03 72www.ps-productions.ch

Festival:Visions du Réel Nyon 2015 (World premiere)

* 1979 in Annecy, France. Joint Swiss and French citizenship. 1992 – 96 Studies Marke-

ting & Management at the HEC (Hautes Études Commerciales), Lausanne. 2001 – 06

lives in Paris and works as assistant cinematographer. Parel worked as night

security guard, fitness receptionist, cinema journalist, sex-shop salesperson,

film festival selector, script writer and photo-grapher. He is now preparing a photo exhi-

bition on amateur body building. BROTHER'S BODY is his first feature length documentary.

At 25 years of age, the director’s brother is about to become the champion of an unrecognised and often maligned sport: Bodybuilding. It was the director himself, who passed on this voca-tion to this brother Gary. And now he feels bad, because of the dangers this sport implicates. By accompanying Gary – as well as four other close competitors – David Nicolas Parel unveils the complexity of their relationship.

David Nicolas Parel

Brother's BodyBody (le corps du frère)





8

Switzerland2015, 84 min.Original languages: French/English/ Portuguese/SpanishProduction and World Rights:Rita Productions, GenevaT +41 22 775 15 50www.ritaproductions.com

Festival:FIFDH International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights Geneva 2015 (World premiere)

* 1959 in Geneva. The award winning documentary filmmaker is known for his trilogy on right-wing extremism SKINHEAD ATTITUDE (2003), SKIN OR DIE (2003) and WHITE TERROR (2005). Schweizer attended ESAV (École Supérieure d’Art Visuel) in Geneva and ESEC (École Supérieure d’Études Cinématographiques) in Paris. 1983 – 93 worked for Radio Télé vision Suisse (RTS), since 1993 as independent director and producer.

A fable about the gold industry, an excursion behind the scenes of this very prosperous sec-tor. On one end of the spectrum, there are the sparkling displays in jewellery shop windows and the luxury industry itself, on the other end there is the condition of those damned by dirty gold, from the Indians to the activists who fight against this obscure cartel. A film that trans-forms the viewer’s perspective about this busi-ness and makes a contribution to the necessary discussion in favour of more ethically responsi-ble gold.

Daniel Schweizer


Dirty Gold War



9


Original languages: Russian/ChechenProduction:

Soap Factory GmbH, BaselSRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen

World Rights:Soap Factory GmbH, Basel

T +41 61 632 00 50www.soapfactory.ch


* 1963 in Arezzo, Italy. Studies Philosophy, Literature and Film at the Università degli Studi in Florence. 1988 receives

diploma from the Istituto di scienze cine-mato grafiche in Florence. 1992 – 96 works

as filmmaker and cameraman in Italy. 1996 moves to Switzerland, where he works

as cameraman and sound engineer. Bellucci’s award winning feature film

IN THE GARDEN OF SOUNDS was screened at numerous festivals worldwide.

The story of four women friends who fight for human rights in Chechnya under the most dif-ficult conditions. The film reveales their fears and dreams, their stories of love and forced marriages and shows the effects of the govern-ment’s repression felt on a day-to-day basis. By coupling the personal and intimate with the political, the filmmaker illustrates the daily lives of independent and involved women in an Islamic society.

Nicola Bellucci

Grozny Blues




10

Switzerland2015, 70 min.Original language: SpanishProduction and World Rights:Intermezzo Films SA, GenevaT +41 22 741 47 47www.intermezzofilms.ch


* 1976 in Zurich. 2001 receives post- graduate degree in History of Cinema. Since 2005 works as freelance journal ist, photographer and filmmaker. Her short films ROOTS (2008) and THE MOURNING OR THE MERRY CROW (2009) were scree ned at numerous festivals and received several awards. HE WAS A GIANT WITH BROWN EYES (2012), her first creative documentary, premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Run-down rehearsal rooms along the infamous halls of the Grand Theatre of Havana, Amanda and Viengsay dedicate themselves whole-heartedly to the demanding routine their disci-pline requires of them: that of classical ballet. Their every step and aspiration echo the great achievements of their predecessor, Alicia Alon-so, the prima ballerina assoluta, still invincible even at the grand age of 90.www.horizontes-film.ch

Eileen Hofer


Horizontes



11

Switzerland / Germany2015, 86 min.

Original language: EnglishProduction:

maximage GmbH, ZurichFlying Moon Filmproduktion, Berlin

SRF Schweizer Radio und FernsehenWDR / ARTE

World Rights:maximage GmbH, Zurich

T +41 44 274 88 66 www.maximage.ch

Festival: Visions du Réel Nyon 2015

(World premiere)

Imagine waking up tomorrow morning and all music has disappeared. Just like that. What will remain when it is all gone: CDs, iPods, instru-ments? When we don’t know anymore what it was: music? He shows it to us: Bill Drummond, the man who with The KLF once conquered the world of pop. An anarchic spirit, an eternal punk who now leads the largest choir of the world: The17, an ever changing ensemble of amateurs with no sheets of music and no rehearsals. The film accompanies Drummond as he finds new voices for his choir: in the open fields or in a fac-tory, in a class room or in a pub. It is a journey to point zero of music. So we can innocently invent it again. Together, in this moment.

Stefan Schwietert

* 1961 in Esslingen, Germany. Grew upin Switzerland. Works as producer

and director in Switzerland and Berlin.His award-winning documentaries such as BALKAN MELODIE (2012),

ECHOES OF HOME (2007), ACCORDION TRIBE (2004) and THE DEVIL’S

ACCORDION (2000) mostly focus on musical topics and are being

screened at prestigious international film festivals.

Imagine Waking Up Tomorrow And All Music

Has Disappeared






12

Switzerland2015, 63 min. Original language: SpanishProduction:Haute École Spécialisée de Suisse occidentale (HES-SO ECAL/HEAD), RenensWorld Rights:École Cantonale d‘Art de LausanneT +41 21 316 99 [email protected]

Festivals (selection):Visions du Réel Nyon 2015Riviera Maya Film Festival 2015DOK.fest Munich 2015

* 1981 in Mexico. Received BA in Visual Communication. She continued studying in Cuba in the Documentary Department of the International Cinema and TV School of San Antonio de los Baños (EICTV). 2012 – 2014 MA in Cinema Studies in Switzerland at ECAL (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne) and HEAD (Haute École d’Art et Design, Genève). Fanjul worked for Al Jazeera English and for Radiotelevisione Svizzera (RSI).

The death of her grandmother brought the film-maker Juliana Fanjul back to Mexico City, where her eyes were opened as to how unfair their relationship with the maids had been. Looking back she asks herself to what extent she was also responsible for the invisibility of these women, who had always lived around her.

Juliana Fanjul


Muchachas



13


Original language: FrenchProduction and World Rights:

Association Façonneurs de Mémoire, Grand Saconnex

T +41 78 827 87 [email protected]


Six Swiss high school students meet an elderly couple of Cambodians, who has survived the hellish nightmare of the Khmer Rouge regime and film their testimony. Closely accompanied by the filmmakers, the students get to know Ong Thong Hoeung and his wife Bounnie and understand how friendship and trust can be-come tools of the understanding of history. Taking the audience on a journey from Brussels to Paris and then Phnom Penh, this documen-tary tells a touching and poignant story on how to preserve memory.

Elena Hazanov / Claudio Recupero

Elena Hazanov: * 1977 in Moscow, Russia. Since 1989 lives in Switzerland. Works as

author and director in Geneva. Her second feature THE TRANSLATOR (2006), a Swiss-

Russian coproduction, premiered at the Festival del Film Locarno and competed at

the Festivals in Munich and Edingburgh.

Claudio Recupero: * 1965 in Geneva. Studied History at the University

of Geneva. Works as history teacher at College Sismondi, Geneva.

Return To An IllusionRetour sur une illusion






14

* 1975 in Monthey. Works as a journal-ist and director in New York, specializing in documentaries and radio reportages about Central America. In his previous feature film BY MY SIDE (2012) he followed Dominga, Fabiola and Maryuri, three young women struggling to survive in the Chu-reca, the largest landfill in Central America located in Nicaragua.

Karin Gramajo’s life changed brutally when her teenage cousin was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in Guatemala. She decided to become a lawyer. Astrid was kidnapped and raped at the age of 14. She fled to the U.S. where she overcame her fear to speak out about her past. THE PAWN is a documentary about two women fighting to end impunity in Guatemala, where a child is kidnapped every day.www.laprenda-thefilm.com

Jean-Cosme Delaloye


Switzerland2015, 78 min.Original languages: Spanish/EnglishProduction:Tipi‘mages Productions sàrl, GenevaRTS Radio Télévision SuisseWorld Sales:CAT&Docs, ParisT + 33 1 44 59 63 53www.catndocs.com

Festivals (selection): Festival Internacional de Cine de Guadalajara 2015 Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2015Hot Docs Toronto 2015

The Pawn La prenda




15


Original languages: German/French/Russian/Arabic

Production:RECK Filmproduktion GmbH, ZurichSRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen

SRG SSRARTE

RTS Radio Télévision SuisseWorld Rights:

RECK Filmproduktion GmbHT +41 44 241 37 63

www.reckfilm.ch


* 1961 in Zurich. Attended DFFB (DeutscheFilm- und Fernsehakademie, Berlin).

Since 1990 she works as an independentfilmmaker and video artist; Schmid also

teaches film and animation. Her latest film AGAINST ALL ODDS (2011), a long-term

documentation of three teenage mothers, was screened at the Berlinale. Schmid

is also known for her films ISA HESSE-RABINOVITCH – THE MOVIE GAME (2009)

and YELLOW – ELECTROPOP MADE IN SWITZERLAND (2005).

Female animal tamers from various continentsshine in the spotlight and struggle for their existence behind the scenes. Between toiling and smiling, the circus artists disclose their pas-sion for their "wild" animals and extraordinary profession: a daily life full of dedication and dis-cipline in the midst of mortal danger.

Anka Schmid

Wild Women – Gentle Beasts





16

C O M P L E T E D M E D I U M L E N G T H

Gangbé!

Arnaud Robert

Switzerland | 2015 | 58 min. Original languages: French/English/Fon/Yoruba

Production and World Rights:Intermezzo Films SA, GenevaT +41 22 741 47 47, www.intermezzofilms.chFestival:Visions du Réel Nyon 2015 (World premiere)

Gangbé! tells of the clash between two Africas. In this long jour-ney to the metropolis, the adventures of a continent are revealed; the new cultural poles of the South and the gaps that still sep-arate these neighboring countries. In encounters with Femi Kuti and the contemporary ideals of Pan-Africanism, the Gangbé Brass Band find themselves immersed in a world of new ideas.Gangbé! tells the story of a different Africa, one that no longer solely aspires to the European dream. In a poetic and funky fash-ion, it opens up new horizons.

www.gangbe-film.ch

C O M P L E T E D M E D I U M L E N G T H

Ella Maillart – Double Journey

Mariann Lewinsky / Antonio Bigini

Switzerland / Italy | 2015 | 40 min. Original language: French

Production and World Rights:Mariann Lewinsky, [email protected] Bigini, [email protected]:Visions du Réel Nyon 2015 (World premiere)

Summer 1939: Ella Maillart and Annemarie Schwarzenbach leave Europe for Asia. Ella hopes to make a film, and help Annemarie get off drugs. In Kabul she realizes she’s lost all certainties. Alone she travels in British India while war ravages Europe. Her texts, film footage and photographs tell the story of a journey, a film, a year, a woman.






17

C O M P L E T E D S H O R T S

Black Cloud Nuvem negraBasil Da Cunha

Switzerland, 2014, 19 min.Original languages: Portuguese/Creole

Production and World Rights:Andrea Bellini, GenevaT +41 22 329 18 42Festival: Int’l Short Film Festival Oberhausen 2015 (World premiere)

The world of the favela Reboleira is coming to an end. A motorway project is threat-ening this little village in the heart of Lis-bon. Alternating documentary segments on the local history with narratives by various inhabitants, the film captures a vulnerable way of life, in danger of immi-nent disappearance.

Kacey Mottet Klein, Birth of an ActorKacey Mottet Klein, naissance d’un acteurUrsula Meier

Switzerland, 2015, 14 min.Original language: French

Production: Milos-Films SA, NeuchâtelLa Lanterne Magique, NeuchâtelRTS Radio Télévision SuisseWorld Rights:Milos-Films SA, NeuchâtelT +41 76 365 98 [email protected] (selection):Berlinale 2015, Int’l Documentary Human Rights Film Kiev 2015, Indie Lisboa 2015

8 years. 12 years. 15 years old. A body is grow - ing and developing in front of the camera. A body that through the years abandons itself to the character, transforming what could be seen as simple (children's) play-acting into the true work of an actor.Watch online: www.swissfilms.ch/shortfilmlibrary

Pedro M, 1981

Andreas Fontana

Switzerland / Spain, 2015, 27 min.Original language: Spanish

Production:Terrain Vague, LausanneLaissez-faire, MadridWorld Rights:Terrain Vague, LausanneT +41 78 815 78 87www.terrainvague.chFestival:Visions du Réel Nyon 2015 (World premiere)

Madrid. A woman is tracking down the fa t her she never knew. Pedro Martin, a Spanish cameraman, filmed the attempted coup d’état, in the parliament on February 23, 1981. In search of her father, the ca-meraman’s daughter meets people who are haunted by images of the past. Some-times, historical archives can hide an inti-mate tragedy.









18

C O M P L E T E D S H O R T S

Through The Ages – A Glacier PerformanceWandelzeit – Eine GletscherperformanceJan-Eric Mack

Switzerland, 2014, 19 min.Original language: Swiss-German

Production and World Rights:Jan-Eric Mack, WinterthurT +41 76 379 50 70, [email protected]:Kurzfilmtage Winterthur 2014 (World premiere)

On a Swiss glacier at more than 2700 me - ters above sea level stands a gigantic snow and ice sculpture. 1500 square meters were covered with a special protective fabric. Within only six weeks the unpro-tected surface of the glacier melted over two meters. Left was a smooth, geometric form in the middle of the wild structures in the Alps.

Watch online: www.swissfilms.ch/shortfilmlibrary

The Breath De SchnuufFabian Kaiser

Switzerland, 2014. 11 min. Original language: without dialogue

Production and World Rights:Zürcher Hochschule der Künste ZHdK, ZurichT +41 43 446 31 12, [email protected] www.zhdk.chFestivals (selection):Shnit Bern 2014, Kurzfilmtage Winterthur 2014, IDFA Amsterdam 2014, Clermont-Ferrand Int’l Short Film Festival 2015, DOK.fest Munich 2015

Surveillance cameras track the descent of the action force. There’s a burning sensa-tion in one’s head. Cramped quarters puts pressure on the chest. In the vacuum of depth, delusion pulsates. Is the gear leak-proof? What colour is fear?Watch online: www.swissfilms.ch/shortfilmlibrary

The Disappearance of the AïtusLa disparition des AïtusPauline Julier


Production and World Rights:Le Poulpe, GenevaT +41 76 615 76 79 [email protected] Festivals:BIM Geneva 2015Int’l Short Film Festival Oberhausen 2015

A poetic essay about Tuvalu, a micro-state in the South Pacific that is threatened by rising sea levels. An analogy between the vanishing of the country itself and of its in-habitants’ imaginaries. A metaphoric fable about the electrical modernization of the country. And scientific information about waves and stories.

Watch online: www.swissfilms.ch/shortfilmlibrary










Switzerland, 90 min.Original languages: French/German

Production:Climage, Lausanne

RTS Radio Télévision SuisseWorld Rights:

Climage, LausanneT +41 21 648 35 61

www.climage.ch * 1965 in Lausanne. Studied and worked in New York City between 1987 and 1993.

Directed several artistic and experimental videos before moving on to full-fledged

documentaries. In 1985 he joined the procducer's association Climage, to

which also Fernand Melgar belongs. He works as an independent producer

and filmmaker in Lausanne.

If Switzerland is sometimes perceived as heav-en on earth, the question that follows is: do its inhabitants believe in heaven? Believers, ag-nostics and atheists all feel the need for a nar-rative when confronting death. So, what is left of paradise, which once promised eternal hap-piness? Encountering people in the twilight of their years, this film offers a moving, offbeat and personal quest within the depictions of this place common to all of humanity, faced with hope and shared doubt.

Stéphane Goël

C O M I N G S O O N

EXPECTEDFALL 2015

19

About HeavenFragments du paradis




20

Switzerland, 87 min.Original languages: English/French/RussianProduction:p.s. 72 productions GmbH, ZurichSRG SSR/SRF3satWorld Sales:Autlook Filmsales, ViennaTel +43 720 34 69 34 www.autlookfilms.com

* 1957 in Paris. Lives in Switzerland since1961, where he first studied acting atthe Theatre Academy of Zurich. In 1991 Bergkraut started making documentary films. After COCA, THE DOVE FROM CHECHNYA (2005), awarded with the Inter-national Human Rights Film Award Berlin 2006, and LETTER TO ANNA (2008), a per-sonal investigation on Anna Politkovskaja’s death, honoured with the Vaclav Havel Award 2008, CITIZEN KHODORKOVSKY is Bergkraut’s third film on Russia.

A businessman is sent to prison by President Putin. While ten years in the Russian penal colony have marked Mikhail Khodorkovsky, his spirit has not been broken. He leaves prison as a man with stronger inner freedom than ever be-fore – and he is prepared to realize his vision, anopen Russia.

Eric Bergkraut

CO M I N G S O O N

Citizen Khodorkovsky

EXPECTED2015



Switzerland, 90 min.Original languages: Swiss-German / German

Production and World Rights:Das Kollektiv für audiovisuelle

Werke GmbH, ZurichT +41 43 811 50 50

www.daskollektiv.ch

* 1959 in Zurich. 1980 – 87 studies History at University of Zurich and University of Pisa.

Since 1990 freelance TV journalist and docu-mentary filmmaker. Since 2002 Gisiger

has been teaching as lecturer on documen-tary films at the ZHdK (Zurich Univer -

sity of the Arts) and at the Lucerne School of Art & Design. Gisiger's latest film

YALOM'S CURE (2014) was an international box office success. It will be theatrically

released in more than 15 countries.

An intimate portrayal and cinematic memorial to the man, writer and painter Friedrich Dürren-matt. The film shows how he interwove his life’s motifs and his diagnoses of mankind through his world-famous plays and novels which are more than ever topical today. For Dürrenmatt humor was the only way to gain distance from a world he found hardly bearable and often hard to endure. He himself claimed that he never fell into desperation as he was always inspired by the good, the evil and the lunacy of the world. But his sister and children know him from a different side. For the first time they speak out about what fuelled the passionate thinker at heart.

Sabine Gisiger

Dürrenmatt

C O M I N G S O O N

EXPECTEDFALL 2015

21



22

Switzerland, 95 min.Original languages: Mandarin/English/ Swiss-GermanProduction:Container TV, AG für Film- und Fernsehproduktion, BernSRF Schweizer Radio und FernsehenWorld Rights:Container TV, AG für Film- und Fernsehproduktion, BernT +41 31 371 10 42www.container-tv.com

* 1953 in Signau, Switzerland. 1978 Found-ing member of Container TV, a production company for film and television in Bern. Since 1984 works as an independent filmmaker. 1999 – 2008 Founder and Head of the MediaLab at Bern University of the Arts. Lecturer of film and audiovisual design. Since 2009 Visiting Professor at the Tongji University in Shanghai. Lives in Bern and Shanghai.

Happy Buying Electronics, Xiaohui Zhou’s com-pany, seeks construction plans on the Internet and high-end components in rubbish dumps to build audio systems "better than the original". The deals made between the Swiss Bühler ma-chine manufacturing company and its Chinese imitator Baolong are based on the philosophy of collaboration instead of suing for breach of copy right. A start-up team of drone designers become globally connected and throw them-selves into new adventures. The film portrays day-to-day stories following the Chinese recipe of non-stop progress: use what has already been invented, develop it further, let your competi-tors copy it and then integrate their innovations into your own product. www.thechineserecipe-movie.com

Jürg Neuenschwander

CO M I N G S O O N

The Chinese Recipe Copy and CreateDas chinesische Rezept: Kopieren und Kreieren

EXPECTEDSUMMER

2015





Switzerland, 105 min.Original languages:

German/French/Russian/EnglishProduction:

Distant Lights GmbH, ZurichSRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen

World Rights:Distant Lights GmbH, Zurich

T +41 44 363 82 03www.distantlights.ch

* 1952 in Interlaken. Studied Music atthe Conservatory in Basel and Zurich as

well as German and Philosophy at theUniversity of Zurich. Since 1990 workes as

an independent author, director and producer. He is known for his own

stirring documentaries such as CLOSED COUNTRY (1999), BLUE END (2000) and

DOWNTOWN SWITZERLAND (2004) and for the renowned documentary film NO MORE SMOKE SIGNALS (2008),

as producer, editor and dramatic adviser.

Two couples, two contradictory stories: first love and last love. One based on internet and tak-ing place in the Ukraine, the other based on a common dream in Portland, Oregon. However, the perceptive Eva Illouz and the hopeless roman tic Sven Hillenkamp are deciphering the utopian character of love, which the two cou-ples are fighting with everything they’ve got …

Kaspar Kasics

C O M I N G S O O N

EXPECTEDSUMMER

2015

23

The Best Or Nothing A Film About Love (working title)

The Best Or Nothing Ein Film über die Liebe (Arbeitstitel)






24

Switzerland / Finland, 90 min.Original languages: German/French/Japanese/EnglishProduction:ican films gmbh, ZurichSRF Schweizer Radio und FernsehenYLE Finnish Broadcasting CompanyWorld Rights:ican films gmbh, ZurichT +41 44 252 33 59www.ican-films.com

* 1972 in Japan. Joint Swiss and Japanesecitizenship. Studied Ethnology, FilmStudies and Japanese at Universities inZurich and Tokyo. Later attends the Filmand Video Department of the ZurichUniversity of the Arts (ZHdK). Works asan editor, author and director. THE DAY THE SUN FELL is her first feature length documentary film.

While tracing the story of her grandfather, who worked as a young doctor in a Red Cross hospital in Hiroshima after the dropping of the atomic bomb, the director meets a former doctor and a nurse who went through something similar. Throughout his life, her grandfather never spoke about what he had experienced, but her prota-gonists bring her closer to him. When a new nuclear disaster occurs in Fukushima on March 11, 2011, her quest takes a new turn.

Aya Domenig

CO M I N G S O O N

EXPECTEDSUMMER

2015

The Day The Sun Fell Als die Sonne vom Himmel fiel




25

F E S T I V A L F A V O U R I T E S

Broken LandStéphanie Barbey / Luc PeterArtistic collaboration: Peter Mettler

Switzerland, 2014, 75 min.Original language: English

Production: Intermezzo Films SA, GenevaRTS Radio Télévision SuisseSRG SSR, ARTEWorld Rights: Intermezzo Films SA, GenevaT +41 22 741 47 47www.intermezzofilms.chFestivals (selection):Festival del film Locarno 2014 International Film Festival Rotterdam 2015, BAFICI Buenos Aires 2015

Seven Americans unfold how the nearby US-Mexican border transforms their lives. Out in the desert they observe the haunting traces left by the crossing migrants, people they never come face to face with. They con fide their fear, defiance and at times even their compassion. www.brokenland.ch

Children Of The Arctic Nick Brandestini

Switzerland, 2014, 94 min.Original language: English

Production: Envi Films AG, ZurichSRF Schweizer Radio und FernsehenWorld Rights: Envi Films AG, ZurichT +41 44 252 00 77www.envifilms.comFestivals (selection):Zurich Film Festival 2014 Santa Barbara Int. Film Festival 2015, Cinequest San Jose 2015

At the Arctic edge of America, five Na-tive Alaskan teenagers strive to be both modern American kids and the inheritors of an endangered whaling culture.www.childrenofthearctic.com

Dark Star – HR Giger’s WorldDark Star – HR Gigers WeltBelinda Sallin

Switzerland, 2014, 95 min., Original lan-guages: Swiss-German/German/English

Production: T&C Film AG, ZurichSRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen,SRG SSR, Lucky Film, ZurichWorld Sales:T&C Edition AG, ZurichT +41 44 208 99 55 | www.tcfilm.chFestivals (selection):Zurich Film Festival 2014, Istanbul Inde-pendent Film Festival 2015, Hong Kong International Film Festival 2015DOK.fest Munich 2015

Who is the artist HR Giger? What kind of person is behind such terrifying and dis-turbing yet aesthetic forms and beings? A film with and about the acclaimed and controversial painter, sculptor, architect, designer, Oscar winner and Alien creator.www.darkstar-movie.com










26


Electroboy

Marcel Gisler

Switzerland, 2014, 113 min.Original languages: Swiss-German/English

Production:Langfilm/Bernard Lang AG, FreiensteinSRF Schweizer Radio und FernsehenWorld Sales:Picture Tree International GmbH, BerlinT +49 30 42 08 24 80 www.picturetree-international.comFestivals (selection):Festival del film Locarno 2014 DOK.fest Munich 2015

Trials and tribulations in the life and fa-mily history of Florian Burkhardt, who abandoned the constraints of his back-ground to set out into the world in search of fame and recognition. His quest is a mercurial search for identity that ends in fear and disillusionment but also in a return to his true self. www.electroboy.de

Freefalling – A Love Story Freifall – Eine LiebesgeschichteMirjam von Arx

Switzerland / Germany, 2014, 83 min.Original languages: Swiss-German/English

Production:ican films gmbh, ZurichSRF Schweizer Radio und FernsehenSRG SSR, BR Bayerischer Rundfunk, ARTEWorld Rights:ican films gmbh, ZurichT +41 44 252 33 59 | www.ican-films.comFestivals (selection):Zurich Film Festival 2014 DOK.fest Munich 2015

Two days before Herbert and Mirjam, the dir ector of the film, became a couple, she is diagnosed with cancer. Three months later, Herbert is dead. He was a base jum-per. Why does he gamble his life away, while she fights for hers? A personal emo-tional film, in which the director searches for answers in the Swiss Death Valley. www.freefalling-film.com

Iraqi Odyssey

Samir

Switzerland / Germany / UAE / Iraq 2014, 162 min., 3D, Original languages: German/English/French/Arabic

Production:Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion AG, Zurich Coin Film, Cologne, SRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen, WDR Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Sanad Fund, Abu Dhabi, Furat al Jamil, BaghdadWorld Sales:Autlook Filmsales GmbH, ViennaT +43 720 34 69 34 I www.autlookfilms.comFestivals (selection):Toronto International Film Festival 2014 Abu Dhabi Film Festival 2014, Berlinale 2015

Tracing the emigrations of his family over more than half a century, this epic from ac-claimed expatriate Iraqi filmmaker Samir pays homage to the frustrated democratic dreams of a people successively plagued by dictatorship, war and occupation. www.iraqiodyssey.com








27


Spartans Spartiates Nicolas Wadimoff

Switzerland / France, 2014, 80 min.Original language: French

Production: Akka Films, GenevaAlegria Productions, ParisSRG SSRWorld Sales: Doc & Film International, ParisT +33 1 42 77 56 87www.docandfilm.comFestivals (selection):RIDM Montreal 2014, BAFICI Buenos Aires 2015, Visions du Réel Nyon 2015

Yvan Sorel runs a Mixed Martial Arts club in Marseille’s "Quartier nord", a district known in the media for its drug trafficking and gang shootings. Day after day with no support from the state, he fights to keep the children and teenagers on the "right" path. A powerful film about violence, edu-cation, moral values, faith and dignity.

The ShelterL‘abriFernand Melgar


Production: Fernand Melgar, LausanneRTS Radio Télévision SuisseSRG SSRWorld Sales: CAT&Docs, ParisT +33 1 44 59 63 53www.catndocs.comFestivals (selection):Festival del film Locarno 2014, DOK Leipzig 2014, Festival de Cine Europeo de Sevilla 2014, DOK.fest Munich 2015

It is winter at an emergency shelter for the homeless in Lausanne. Every night at the door of this little-known basement facility the same entry ritual takes place. Those on duty at the shelter have the difficult task of "triaging the poor". Only 50 "cho -sen ones" are admitted inside. www.abri-lefilm.com

Master And Vassal Padrone e sotto Michele Cirigliano

Switzerland, 2014, 72 min.Original language: Italian

Production:Mira Film GmbH, ZurichSRF Schweizer Radio und FernsehenRSI Radiotelevisione svizzeraZHdK Zürcher Hochschule der KünsteWorld Rights:Mira Film GmbH, ZurichT +41 43 960 36 84 | www.mirafilm.chFestivals (selection):Zurich Film Festival 2014, DOK Leipzig 2014Duisburger Filmwoche 2014, Crossing Euro-pe Linz 2015, DOK.fest Munich 2015

In a small, shabby bar in the south of Italy a group of older men plays their beloved drinking game called “Padrone e sotto”. While the beer flows and the emotions run high, the director tries to remember what used to confuse him about this game when he was as a child: Where exactly is the line between game and reality?










SWISS FILMSNeugasse 6 | Postfach | CH-8031 Zurich T +41 43 211 40 50info @ swissfilms.chwww.swissfilms.ch

+++ Visit us at our stands at the Cannes Village International, Festival del film Locarno, Toronto International Film Festival and at the EFM during Berlinale +++

http://www.swissfilms.ch

http://www.cinando.com/

https://www.facebook.com/swissfilms

https://www.festivalscope.com/label/swiss-films

http://issuu.com/swissfilms

http://www.bak.admin.ch

https://twitter.com/SWISS_FILMS

New Swiss Documentaries - Spring 2015

Documents

Transcript of New Swiss Documentaries - Spring 2015