Berlin 2018

SWISS 2018 IN BERLIN

FILMS

VISIT US AT BERLINALE: European Film Market Booth # 114 info@swissfilms.ch T +49 30 259 303 427

SWISS FILMS Neugasse 6, 8005 Zurich www.swissfilms.ch Published in February 2018 Image campaign by Douglas Mandry

SWISS FILMS AT BERLINALE 2018

13 BERLINALE TALENTS

� COMPETITION � DAUGHTER OF MINE 3 ELDORADO

14 14 15 15 16 16

4 PANORAMA 4 HOTEL JUGOSLAVIJA 5 SHOCK WAVES – DIARY OF MY MIND 6 SHOCK WAVES – FIRST NAME: MATHIEU 7 7 8 9

GENERATION 14PLUS FORTUNA DRESSED FOR PLEASURE FIRST LOVE

17 17 18 18 19 19

EFM GENESIS 2.0 BEFORE SUMMER ENDS CLOUD WHISPERS GOLIATH MR. MOLL & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY SARAH PLAYS A WEREWOLF THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT THE CONGO TRIBUNAL THE GUARDIANS THE LITTLE WITCH THE WITNESS

10 BERLINALE SHORTS 10 COYOTE 11 IMFURA

20 COMING SOON

12 SHOOTING STAR LUNA WEDLER

32 SUPPORT MEASURES

31 IN PRODUCTION

SWISS FILMS TEAM IN BERLIN

CATHERINE ANN BERGER Managing Director caberger@swissfilms.ch T +41 76 368 02 65

SELINA WILLEMSE Head of Festivals & Markets swillemse@swissfilms.ch T +41 79 286 51 88

STEPHANIE MAIWALD Support Scheme Manager smaiwald@swissfilms.ch T +41 77 520 52 20

ANDREAS BÜHLMANN Consultant Film & First Feature abuehlmann@swissfilms.ch T +41 79 303 58 69

COMPETITION

FIGLIA MIA

DAUGHTER OF MINE

by Laura Bispuri 2

A 10-year-old girl torn between two mothers, one who raised her with love and her birth mother, who instinctively claims her back. A story of imperfect motherhood and inextricable bonds, struggling with overwhelming feelings and dealing with wounds.

Fiction

WORLD SALES: The Match Factory, Cologne www.the-match-factory.com WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2018 INTERNATIONAL PRESS: Richard Lormand +49 174 850 5987 IntlPressIT@aol.com www.FilmPressPlus.com

ITALY / GERMANY / SWITZERLAND Fiction, 90 min., 2018 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Italian CAST: Alba Rohrwacher, Valeria Golino, Sara Casu, Udo Kier PRODUCTION: Vivo Film, Rome / Match Factory Productions, Cologne / Bord Cadre films, Geneva / RSI

LAURA BISPURI * 1977 in Rome, Italy. Italian citizenship. Laura Bispuri studied Cinema at La Sapienza, University of Rome. In 2010 she received the David Donatello Award, Best Short Film, for PASSING TIME, in 2011 the Nastro d’Argento, Emerging Talent of the Year. Her first feature SWORN VIRGIN (2015) premiered in competition at Berlinale and was honoured with numerous awards, among others with the Nora Ephron Prize at the Tribeca Film Festival.

OUT OF COMPETITION © Massimo Sestini

ELDORADO

by Markus Imhoof

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Documentary, 92 min., 2018 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, French, Italian, Kurdish, Swiss-German, Arabic, Amharic PRODUCTION: Thelma Film AG, Undervelier / SRF / zero one film GmbH, Berlin / BR

WORLD SALES: Films Boutique, Berlin www.filmsboutique.com WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2018 INTERNATIONAL PRESS: Claudia Tomassini T +49 30 4434 0606 office@claudiatomassini.com

Documentary

MARKUS IMHOOF * 1941 in Winterthur. Markus Imhoof is the director of the award-winning documentary MORE THAN HONEY (2012), which was screened and awarded at numerous film festivals worldwide. It was awarded as Best Documentary at the Swiss Film Award as well as at the German Film Award LOLA. Imhoof is also known for his fiction film THE BOAT IS FULL (1981), which was nominated for an Academy Award, Foreign Language Film.

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Drawing inspiration from his personal encounter with the Italian refugee child Giovanna during World War II, Markus Imhoof tells how refugees and migrants are treated today: on the Mediterranean Sea, in Italy and in Switzerland.

PANORAMA E FIR UR

F RE IR

FEATU ST

HOTEL JUGOSLAVIJA

FEAT ST

by Nicolas Wagnières 4

Yugoslavia no longer exists, but Hotel Jugoslavija is still haunting the Belgrade scenery, like a mirror held out to a Serbia in search of new landmarks. Nicolas Wagnières explored the building at different eras and questioned its former residents. The result is a singular space-time continuum projecting a form of collective unconscious and a share of the director’s identity.

Documentary

WORLD SALES: Taskovski Films sales@taskovskifilms.com WORLD PREMIERE: Mostra Internacional de São Paulo 2017 INTERNATIONAL PRESS: rische & co pr mail@rische-pr.de T +49 30 67 92 82 69

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 78 min., 2017 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: French, Serbian PRODUCTION: C-Side Productions, Geneva

NICOLAS WAGNIÈRES * 1971 in Lausanne. Nicolas Wagnières trained as a building draughtsman and attended the ESBA (École Supérieure des Beaux Arts) from 2001–2005. HOTEL JUGOSLAVIJA is his first feature film and celebrated its world premiere at the São Paulo International Film Festival.

PANORAMA ONDES DE CHOC – JOURNAL DE MA TÊTE

SHOCK WAVES – DIARY OF MY MIND

by Ursula Meier

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 70 min., 2018 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French CAST: Fanny Ardant, Kacey Mottet Klein, Jean-Philippe Ecoffey, Stéphanie Blanchoud, Carlo Brandt, Jean-Quentin Châtelain PRODUCTION: Bande à part Films, Lausanne / RTS / SRG SSR / ARTE

WORLD RIGHTS: Bande à part Films, Lausanne www.bandeapartfilms.com NATIONAL PREMIERE: Solothurn Film Festival 2018 INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE: Berlinale 2018 INTERNATIONAL PRESS: Makna Presse Chloé Lorenzi chloe@makna-presse.com T +33 1 42 77 00 16

Fiction

URSULA MEIER Ursula Meier is one of Switzerland’s most acclaimed filmmakers. She is best known for her films HOME (2008), which premiered at Festival de Cannes – Semaine de la Critique and SISTER (2012), which was awarded with the Silver Bear-Special Award at the 62nd Berlinale.

Both films received three Swiss Film Awards including Best Fiction Film and were Switzerland’s entry for the Academy Awards as well as selected for numerous prestigious international film festivals.

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A few minutes before shooting his father and his mother in cold blood, Benjamin Feller, an 18-year-old man, apparently uneventful, sends his personal diary by mail to his literature teacher in which he confesses and explains his double murder. The choice to associate this woman with his act and to unwillingly take her in his fall, follows several months of an educational relationship that encouraged the students to write a personal diary.

PANORAMA

ONDES DE SHOCK WAVES – CHOC – PRÉNOM: FIRST NAME: MATHIEU MATHIEU

by Lionel Baier 6

Mathieu, 17, is the only survivor of an infamous serial killer making the headlines. Injured and traumatised, he tries to get on with his life within his family and his village.

But despite everyone’s support, Mathieu is unable to find peace in his everyday life. The teenager will gradually be able to create a composite sketch of his attacker, but for Mathieu that’s not the end of it.

Fiction

WORLD RIGHTS: Bande à part Films, Lausanne www.bandeapartfilms.com NATIONAL PREMIERE: Solothurn Film Festival 2018 INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE: Berlinale 2018 INTERNATIONAL PRESS: Makna Presse Chloé Lorenzi chloe@makna-presse.com T +33 1 42 77 00 16

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 60 min., 2018 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French CAST: Maxime Gorbatchevsky, Michel Vuillermoz, Ursina Lardi, Pierre-Isaïe Duc, Mickael Ammann, Adrien Barazzone PRODUCTION: Bande à part Films, Lausanne / ARTE / RTS / SRG SSR

LIONEL BAIER * 1975 in Lausanne. Lionel Baier is the Head of the Cinema department at the ECAL (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne) since 2002 and cofounded Bande à part Films together with Ursula Meier, Jean-Stéphane Bron and Frédéric Mermoud in 2009. Baier is best known for the award-winning LONGWAVE (2013), which became a festival hit and was honoured with the Trophée Francophone for Best Director.

His last film VANITY (2015) was selected for ACID in Cannes.

GENERATION 14PLUS

FORTUNA

by Germinal Roaux

SWITZERLAND / BELGIUM Fiction, 106 min., 2018 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: French, Amharic CAST: Kidist Siyum Beza, Bruno Ganz, Patrick D’Assumçao, Yoann Blanc, Assefa Zerihun Gudeta, Ina Tosca, Pierre Banderet, Simon André, Philippe Grand’Henry PRODUCTION: VEGA Production, Lausanne / Need Productions, Brussels / RTS / SRG SSR / Proximus, Evere

WORLD SALES: Loco Films, Paris www.loco-films.com WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2018 INTERNATIONAL PRESS: Laurent Daniélou laurent.danielou@loco-films.com T +33 6 64 20 91 60

Fiction

GERMINAL ROAUX * 1975 in Lausanne. Germinal Roaux is a photographer and filmmaker. He works exclusively in black & white.

His debut feature film LEFT FOOT RIGHT FOOT (2013) won a Special Mention at Palm Springs International Film Festival, the Bayard d’or in Namur and a Swiss Film Award for Best Cinematography and Best Performance in a Supporting Role. FORTUNA is Roaux’s second feature.

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Fortuna, a young Ethiopian teenage girl, has had no news of her parents since arriving in Lampedusa, Italy.

Together with other refugees, she is given shelter for the winter in a Swiss catholic hospice at an altitude of over 2000 meters. While they wait for their fate to be decided by the Swiss authorities, Fortuna meets Kabir, a 26-year-old African refugee, and falls desperately in love. Their relationship develops in secret, till the day Kabir disappears.

GENERATION 14PLUS

DRESSED FOR PLEASURE

JE FAIS OÙ TU ME DIS

by Marie de Maricourt 8

Sarah, a disabled girl aged about twenty, lives with her parents. She is increasingly subject to many fantasies and sees her sexuality taking up more and more of her attention. The arrival of the new cleaner Victoria, a transsexual woman, will upset the family balance.

Fiction

WORLD RIGHTS: GoldenEggProduction, Geneva www.goldeneggproduction.ch Geneva School of Art and Design (HEAD-Genève) cinema.head@hesge.ch www.head.hesge.ch/cinema WORLD PREMIERE: Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur 2017 INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE: Berlinale 2018

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 17 min., 2017 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French CAST: Angélique Bridoux, Nathalie Cuenet, Naelle Dariya, Vincent Chaumont, Raphaël Tschudi PRODUCTION: GoldenEggProduction, Geneva / Geneva School of Art and Design (HEAD-Genève) / RTS

MARIE DE MARICOURT * 1987 in Paris. French citizenship. Marie de Maricourt received her BA in Film from the Geneva School of Art and Design (HEAD-Genève) in 2013.

DRESSED FOR PLEASURE as well as her short film LICK US, MEOW, MEOW! (2015) were selected for the Berlinale (Generation 14plus).

GENERATION 14PLUS PREMIER AMOUR

FIRST LOVE

by Jules Carrin

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 20 min., 2017 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French CAST: Nicolas Michot, Camille Gillot

PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Geneva School of Art and Design (HEAD-Genève) cinema.head@hesge.ch www.head.hesge.ch/cinema WORLD PREMIERE: Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur 2017 INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE: Berlinale 2018

Fiction

JULES CARRIN * 1988 in Cahors, France.

Jules Carrin received his BA in Film from Geneva School of Art and Design (HEADGenève). His diploma film FIRST LOVE premiered at the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur, where it was awarded with the Cinematography Award, and it was selected for the Berlinale (Generation 14plus).

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In the French countryside, two young people love each other, hidden from their families who are torn by hatred. The girl’s father is forced to sell his possessions.

The girl tries to escape her everyday life in the arms of her lover, but he doesn’t seem very concerned.

BERLINALE SHORTS

COYOTE

by Lorenz Wunderle 10

A coyote loses its mate and pups in an attack by wolves.

Plagued by human emotions, the coyote attempts to process what it has experienced. Alongside grief and delusions, however, savagery gradually escalates.

Animation

WORLD RIGHTS: YK Animation Studio GmbH, Bern yk-animation.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2018

SWITZERLAND Animation, 9 min., 2018 ANIMATION TECHNIQUE: Drawn animation ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Without dialogue PRODUCTION: YK Animation Studio GmbH, Bern / SRF

LORENZ WUNDERLE * 1983 in Lucerne. Lorenz Wunderle studied animation at the Lucerne School of Art and Design (HSLU) where he received his MA in Animation 2D in 2015.

Following his student film HOPE (2013), COYOTE is his second animated short film.

BERLINALE SHORTS

IMFURA

by Samuel Ishimwe

SWITZERLAND / RWANDA Fiction, 36 min., 2017 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Kinyarwanda CAST: Moses Mwizerwa, Hadija Nyirababikira, Yves Kijyana PRODUCTION: Geneva School of Art and Design (HEAD-Genève) / Imitana Productions, Kigali

WORLD RIGHTS: Geneva School of Art and Design (HEAD-Genève) cinema.head@hesge.ch www.head.hesge.ch/cinema WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2018

Fiction

SAMUEL ISHIMWE * 1991 in Kigali, Rwanda.

Samuel Ishimwe worked as journalist and photographer and since 2011 as a producer and director of short films. He received his BA in Film from Geneva School of Art and Design (HEAD-Genève) in 2017.

IMFURA is his diploma film.

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Gisa goes to the village of Nkora, native to his mother who disappeared during the genocide. He finds himself in the midst of a family conflict over the fate of the ruins of a house his mother had built. Caught between the contradictions of a changing society, Gisa, who is almost the same age as the new Rwanda, seeks to rediscover his share of the collective memory of a past that belongs to him, but is also so far away.

ACTRESS Luna Wedler is Switzerland’s Shooting Star, presented by the European Film Promotion. She is currently studying at the European Film Actor School in Zurich. At the age of 14, she was cast for the coming-of-age drama AMATEUR TEENS. In 2017 she played her first leading role in BLUE MY MIND

by Lisa Brühlmann. Luna Wedler will be performing in various roles in upcoming German and Swiss films with release in 2018 and 2019.

© Mathias Bothor

FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION) 2019 BEAST by Lorenz Merz 2018 DAS SCHÖNSTE MÄDCHEN DER WELT

by Aron Lehmann 2018 MIDNIGHT RUNNER by Hannes Baumgartner 2017 BLUE MY MIND by Lisa Brühlmann 2015 AMATEUR TEENS by Niklaus Hilber

ELLA RUMPF ACTRESS Studied at the Giles Foreman Centre for Acting in London and is one of Switzerland’s most promising young actresses.

The “10 Europeans to Watch” will be presented

by Variety at a reception hosted by Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg.

FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION) 2019 BEAST by Lorenz Merz 2018 GORILLAS by Detlev Buck 2017 THE DIVINE ORDER by Petra Volpe 2017 TIGER GIRL by Jakob Lass 2016 RAW by Julia Ducournau 2014 CHRIEG by Simon Jaquemet

© Markus Nass

VARIETY: 10 EUROPEANS TO WATCH IN 2018

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EFP EUROPEAN SHOOTING STAR

LUNA WEDLER

GINA KELLER

PRODUCER

SOUND DESIGNER

Founder of Beauvoir Films in Geneva.

Producer on the Move, Cannes 2015.

B.A. in Music from Zurich University of the Arts. Works as sound engineer specialized in film.

FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION) 2017 BLUE MY MIND by Lisa Brühlmann 2017 WELCOME TO SWITZERLAND by S. Gisiger 2016 RAVING IRAN by Susanne Regina Meures

GABRIEL GONZALEZ

ANNE HAUG

EDITOR

ACTRESS

Studied film at HEAD Geneva and editing at INSAS in Brussels.

Studied acting at the University of the Arts in Berlin. Lives in Berlin.

FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION) 2017 I AM TRULY A DROP OF SUN ON EARTH

by Elene Naveriani 2017 DRESSED FOR PLEASURE by M. de Maricourt 2016 KAWASAKI KEIRIN by Sayaka Mizuno

FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION) 2018 LUX – KRIEGER DES LICHTS by Daniel Wild 2017 RAKETE PERELMAN by Oliver Alaluukas 2016 BLANK by Sarah Blasskiewitz

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FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION) 2019 THE GIRL AND THE SPIDER by R. & S. Zürcher 2016 ALMOST THERE by Jacqueline Zünd 2015 SONITA by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami 2015 HORIZONTES by Eileen Hofer

BERLINALE TALENTS

ALINE SCHMID

MATTHIAS HUSER Attended Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK. Trained as a visual artist and film director at the University of New South Wales, Sydney.

His first feature THEY CHASED ME THROUGH ARIZONA premiered at Locarno Festival. He is partici­pating at Script Station 2018 with his drama DER DSCHUNGEL. FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION) 2014 THEY CHASED ME THROUGH ARIZONA 2005 HUNDE

SCRIPT STATION 2018

DIRECTOR, SCREENWRITER

EFM

GENESIS 2.0

by Christian Frei, Maxim Arbugaev 14

The hunt for white gold at the remotest edge of Siberia reveals a scenario of the future that will turn our world upside down.

GENESIS 2.0 has been awarded with the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival 2018.

Documentary

WORLD SALES: Rise And Shine World Sales UG, Berlin www.riseandshine-berlin.com WORLD PREMIERE: Sundance 2018 MORE INFORMATION: genesis-two-point-zero.com

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 113 min., 2018 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Russian, English, Korean PRODUCTION: Christian Frei Filmproduktion GmbH, Zurich / SRF / ZDF / ARTE

CHRISTIAN FREI * 1959. Christian Frei is one of Switzerland’s most acclaimed directors known for his films SPACE TOURISTS (2009), THE GIANT BUDDHAS (2005) and WAR PHOTOGRAPHER (2001), nominated for Documentary Feature at the 74th Academy Awards.

MAXIM ARBUGAEV * 1991 in Tiksi, Russia.

Maxim Arbugaev worked as a professional ice hockey player from 1997–2009. He studies documentary filmmaking at Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow.

EFM

BEFORE SUMMER ENDS

After five years of studying in Paris, Arash has not adjusted to life there and has decided to return to Iran to live. Hoping to change his mind, his two friends Hossein and Ashkan convince him to take a last trip through France.

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SWITZERLAND / FRANCE Documentary, 80 min., 2017 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: French, Persian PRODUCTION: Intermezzo Films, Geneva / 4A4 Productions, Paris / RTS WORLD SALES: Upside Distribution, Puteaux www.upsidedistribution.com WORLD PREMIERE: ACID Cannes 2017 MORE INFORMATION: www.avantlafindelete.ch

Documentary

AVANT LA FIN DE L’ÉTÉ

by Maryam Goormaghtigh

CLOUD WHISPERS

GERMANY / SWITZERLAND Fiction, 90 min., 2018 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German CAST: Corinna Harfouch, Meret Becker, Sabine Timoteo PRODUCTION: Augenschein Filmproduktion GmbH, Cologne / CognitoFilms, Zurich / SRF / SR / ARTE WORLD SALES: The Yellow Affair, Helsinki www.yellowaffair.com

Fiction

E FIR UR

F RE IR

The story of 60-year-old Charlotte, who leaves her husband Paul behind at a pull-in station, and says goodbye to her old life. This decision triggers an astonishing chain of events that send Charlotte, Paul, their daughter Alex, and their granddaughter Jo on a journey, where they will come to meet one another, and experience love and life anew.

FEATU ST

FEAT ST

WER HAT EIGENTLICH DIE LIEBE ERFUNDEN?

by Kerstin Polte

by Dominik Locher

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 85 min., 2017 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, Swiss-German CAST: Sven Schelker, Jasna Fritzi Bauer, José Barros, Michael Neuenschwander PRODUCTION: CognitoFilms, Zurich / Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK / SRF / SRG SSR WORLD SALES: WIDE, Paris www.widemanagement.com WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Festival 2017

After he and his pregnant girlfriend Jessy are attacked on a train, David’s fears of inadequacy as a man take hold. He resorts to steroids and begins excessive strength training, which causes him to develop an erratic behaviour.

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Fiction

EFM

GOLIATH

MR. MOLL & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

Fiction

PAPA MOLL

by Manuel Flurin Hendry

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Fiction, 90 min., 2017 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Swiss-German CAST: Stefan Kurt, Isabella Schmid, Martin Rapold, Maxwell Mare, Luna Paiano, Yven Hess, Erich Vock PRODUCTION: Zodiac Pictures Ltd, Zurich / MMC Zodiac GmbH, Cologne / SRF / Impuls Home Entertainment AG, Cham / MMC Movies Köln GmbH, Cologne / Teleclub WORLD SALES: Arri Media Worldsales, Munich www.arriworldsales.de

Papa Moll is home alone with his kids over the weekend, and mayhem ensues. While Moll is working overtime at the chocolate factory the kids get into a feud with the nasty boys next door – a fight about cotton candy, homework and the most famous circus dog in the world.

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SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Fiction, 86 min., 2017 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: French, Swiss-German CAST: Loane Balthasar, Michel Voïta, Manuela Biedermann, Annina Walt, Sabine Timoteo PRODUCTION: Intermezzo Films, Geneva / DFFB / Mnemosyn Films, Geneva WORLD SALES: Patra Spanou Film Marketing & Consulting, Dusseldorf www.patraspanou.com WORLD PREMIERE: Venice 2017 Critics’ Week

Fiction

E FIR UR

F RE IR

On stage 17-year-old-Sarah gives it her all. When she performs, she transforms completely into her character. But what lies behind her radical stage presence? A secret she is trying to unveil; her longing for someone she can trust. But the more vehemently Sarah expresses her desire, the more she ends up alienating the people willing to get close to her. The downfall of an outsider and her incessant struggle to escape her solitude.

FEATU ST

FEAT ST

SARAH JOUE UN LOUP GAROU

by Katharina Wyss

EFM

SARAH PLAYS A WEREWOLF

THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT

David is a happy young father. He has a wife he loves, two adorable young children, and a tight-knit tribe of friends he and his family always go away on holiday with.

However, on returning from their last trip away in the Vosges, David is taken in for questioning by the police as part of a murder investigation. Before long the investigation reveals that all is not what it seems behind the happy and respectable facade of David’s life.

BELGIUM / SWITZERLAND / FRANCE Fiction, 90 min., 2017 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French CAST: Yoann Blanc, Natacha Régnier PRODUCTION : Eklektik Productions, Brussels PointProd SA, Geneva / Urban Factory, Montreuil / Serendipity Films, Sint Antelinks WORLD SALES: Be For Films, Brussels www.beforfilms.com WORLD PREMIERE: Festival international du film francophone Namur 2017

Fiction

UNE PART D’OMBRE

by Samuel Tilman

EFM / LOLA AT BERLINALE

DAS KONGO TRIBUNAL

by Milo Rau

GERMANY / SWITZERLAND Documentary, 100 min., 2017 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, French, English, Swahili, Congolese PRODUCTION: Fruitmarket Arts und Medien GmbH, Cologne / Langfilm – Bernard Lang AG, Freienstein / Int’l Institute of Political Murder IIPM, Berlin/ Zurich / SRF / SRG SSR / ZDF in collaboration with ARTE WORLD SALES: Magnetfilm GmbH, Berlin frauke.knappke@ magnetfilm.de

In the form of a tribunal with an international cast and filmed on-location in Eastern Congo and in Berlin, the film examines the causes and backgrounds for the war now ongoing for almost 20 years in the Great Lakes region.

The result is a humanly harrowing, profound analytic tableau of the neo-colonial world order.

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Documentary

THE CONGO TRIBUNAL

Fiction

EFM

THE GUARDIANS LES GARDIENNES

by Xavier Beauvois

FRANCE / SWITZERLAND / MONACO / BELGIUM Fiction, 138 min., 2017 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French CAST: Nathalie Baye, Iris Bry, Laura Smet, Cyril Descours PRODUCTION: Les Films du Worso, Paris / Rita Productions, Geneva / KNM, Monaco / Versus Production, Brussels / Pathé-Orange Studio / France 3 Cinéma / RTS WORLD SALES: Pathé International, Paris www.patheinternational.fr WORLD PREMIERE: TIFF 2017

1915. The Paridier farm. A mother and her daughter take over when their men leave for the front.

They work tirelessly, their lives marked by hard work and their men’s rare visits on leave. Hortense, the oldest, hires a young ward of the state to help: Francine, who believes that she has finally found a family.

GERMANY / SWITZERLAND Fiction, 103 min., 2018 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German CAST: Karoline Herfurth, Suzanne von Borsody, Momo Beier, Luis Vorbach, Therese Affolter, Barbara Melzl PRODUCTION: Claussen+Putz Filmproduktion GmbH, Munich / Zodiac Pictures Ltd, Zurich / Studiocanal GmbH / SRF / Teleclub WORLD RIGHTS: StudioCanal / International Sales, Issy-les-Moulineaux www.studiocanal.com

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The little witch is only 127 years old – too young for the annual assembly of witches. If she is not yet old enough to be a real witch she wants to become a real good one. This decision causes trouble within her magic world.

EFM / LOLA AT BERLINALE

DIE KLEINE HEXE

by Michael Schaerer

Fiction

THE LITTLE WITCH

by Mitko Panov

An ambitious Junior Legal Officer at The Hague takes upon a journey to a fictitious, Ex-Yugoslav country in order to obtain a pretrial statement from an insider witness enshrined in mystery Nikola Radin, alias the General.

SWITZERLAND / MACEDONIA / IRELAND / CROATIA Fiction, 113 min., 2018 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, Serbian, Croatian CAST: Bruno Ganz, Padraic Delaney, Gary Whelan, Marthe Keller, Natasha Petrovic PRODUCTION: Tipi’mages Productions, Geneva / Pirej Film dooel, Skopje / Samson Films, Dublin / MP Filmska Produkcija, Zagreb / RTS / Teleclub WORLD RIGHTS: Tipi’mages Productions, Geneva www.tipimages.ch

Fiction

EFM

THE WITNESS

COMING SOON

COMING SOON

BAGHDAD IN MY SHADOW

ECTE XP

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SWITZERLAND / GERMANY / UNITED KINGDOM Fiction, 105 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, Arabic CAST: Haytham Abdulrazaq, Zahraa Ghandour, Shervin Alenabi, Andrew Buchan, Kerry Fox, Kae Bahar PRODUCTION: Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion AG, Zurich / Coin Film, Cologne / Ipso Facto Productions, London / SRF WORLD SALES: Global Screen GmbH, Munich www.globalscreen.de

Fiction

D

SUMMER 2018

E

Taufiq, an old failed writer, Amal, a wife in hiding, and Muhanad, a clandestine gay IT-specialist all meet at Abu Nawas, a cosy café and popular hangout for Iraqi exiles in London. Instigated by the preacher of a Salafist mosque, the writer’s nephew Nasseer, a fanatic religious youth, attacks his uncle and turns everyone’s life upside down.

ECTE XP

D

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by Samir

BECOMING ANIMAL

SWITZERLAND / UNITED KINDDOM Documentary, 78 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: English PRODUCTION: maximage GmbH, Zurich / Scottish Documentary Institute, Edinburgh / SRF WORLD RIGHTS: maximage GmbH, Zurich www.maximage.ch Scottish Documentary Institute, Edinburgh www.scottishdocinstitute.com

Documentary

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SPRING 2018

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ECTE XP

Shot in Grand Teton National Park, this immersive essay film draws together the distinct sensibilities of filmmakers Emma Davie and Peter Mettler and philosopher David Abram to encounter the spaces where humans and animals meet.

We pique our senses to witness the so-called natural world – which in turn witnesses us.

ECTE XP

D

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by Emma Davie, Peter Mettler

COMING SOON

BLACK KITE

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SUMMER 2018

ECTE XP

Antonin, a mysterious young man, is an intern at the Center for Ornithological Readaptation in Geneva. At the center both wounded birds and lost souls are healed. Through the documentary, we explore the intimate relationships that can be built between men and animals.

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SPRING 2018

ECTE XP

Documentary

ECTE XP

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SWITZERLAND / UNITED STATES / GREAT BRITAIN Documentary, 85 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: English PRODUCTION: Mira Film GmbH, Zurich / SRF / RTS / Isotope Films, New York / Eagle Rock Entertainment, London / Teleclub WORLD SALES: Eagle Rock Entertainment, London www.eagle-rock.com

BLUE NOTE RECORDS: BEYOND THE NOTES

D

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Documentary

E

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 90 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Close Up Films, Geneva flavia@closeupfilms.ch www.closeupfilms.ch

ECTE XP

D

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MILAN NOIR

by Sergio Da Costa, Maya Kosa

by Sophie Huber The film explores the vision behind the iconic American jazz record label. Since 1939, Blue Note artists have been encouraged to push creative boundaries in search of uncompromising expressions. Through current recording sessions, rare archive and conversations with iconic Blue Note artists, the film reveals an intimate perspective of a legacy that continues to be vital in today’s political climate.

COMING SOON

CLOSING TIME

D

SUMMER 2018

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Documentary, 100 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Taiwanese PRODUCTION: Beauvoir Films, Geneva / Filmakademie BadenWürttemberg, Ludwigsburg WORLD RIGHTS: Beauvoir Films, Geneva www.beauvoirfilms.ch

ECTE XP

23

Documentary

E

Kuo and his wife cook for the city’s sleepless. They work all night and sleep during the day, like many others in buzzing Taipei. The film is an attempt at capturing time, a cinematographic meditation on in-between moments and a search for the inexplicable when a human being is simply human.

ECTE XP

D

E

(working title)

by Nicole Vögele

FREE MEN

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 90 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, French PRODUCTION: Intermezzo Films, Geneva / Globe Cartoon, Geneva / RTS WORLD RIGHTS: Intermezzo Films, Geneva www.intermezzofilms.ch

Documentary

D

SPRING 2018

E

ECTE XP

Told through the charismatic voice of inmate Kenneth Reams, the film is about human resilience.

In solitary confinement for the last 25 years, Kenneth has pushed back the walls of his cell to become a painter, a poet, the founder of a non-profit, and an art event organizer – while fighting at the same time for justice.

At age 18, Kenneth was convicted for capital murder without firing a bullet.

ECTE XP

D

E

by Anne-Frédérique Widmann

D

FALL 2018

Simon has a love-hate relationship with his father, a polyamorous Jewish psychiatrist. When his parents go on holiday, Simon initiates a seductive game of cat-andmouse with his father’s mistress and gets disastrously tangled up in the sticky family network.

24

ECTE XP

Fiction

ECTE XP

E

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 90 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, Swiss-German CAST: Dimitri Stapfer, Dani Levy, Katja Kolm, Miriam Joya Strübel, Sibylle Canonica PRODUCTION: Tilt Production GmbH, Zurich / Teleclub WORLD RIGHTS: Tilt Production GmbH, Zurich mail@tiltproduction.com www.tiltproduction.com

FAMILIENPRAXIS

by Jeshua Dreyfus

D

E

COMING SOON

FAMILY PRACTICE

GLAUBENBERG

D

ECTE XP

Fiction

SPRING 2018

E

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 120 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Swiss-German, German, English CAST: Zsofia Körös, Francis Meier, Milan Peschel, Bettina Stucky, Nikola Socic, Morgane Ferru, Ilayda Akdogan, Erol Afsin PRODUCTION: Okofilm Productions, Zurich / SRF / SRG SSR WORLD RIGHTS: Okofilm Productions, Zurich info@okofilm.ch www.okofilm.ch

ECTE XP

D

E

by Thomas Imbach

Bright and beautiful, Lena feels more for Noah than she should as a sister. She struggles with her dark passion by dating other boys.

When she reveals her feelings, Noah rejects her. Lena chases him to Turkey but finally, in desperation returns to the Swiss mountain that is full of childhood memories.

When Noah returns to what was once their special place, he finds a fountain instead of Lena.

by Marcel Gisler

Mario has fallen in love for the first time, with Leon, the new striker from Germany, who could pose a threat to Mario’s chances of advancing to the premier league. Before long, their relationship is discovered by their team members and rumours begin to spread. Mario realises this jeopardizes his career as a professional football player, but he does not want to lose Leon at any price.

He has to make a decision.

25

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 119 min., 2018 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Swiss-German, German CAST: Max Hubacher, Aaron Altaras, Jessy Moravec, Jürg Plüss, Doro Müggler, Andreas Matti, Joris Gratwohl PRODUCTION: Triluna Film AG, Zurich / Carac Film AG, Bolligen / SRF / SRG SSR / Teleclub WORLD SALES: Films Boutique, Berlin www.filmsboutique.com

Fiction

COMING SOON

MARIO

F RE IR

DER LÄUFER

by Hannes Baumgartner

FEATU ST

E FIR UR

MIDNIGHT RUNNER

E

D

SPRING 2018

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 93 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Swiss-German CAST: Max Hubacher, Annina Euling, Sylvie Rohrer, Christophe Sermet, Saladin Dellers, Luna Wedler PRODUCTION: Contrast Film Bern GmbH, Bern / SRF / Teleclub WORLD RIGHTS: Contrast Film Bern GmbH, Bern www.contrastfilm.ch

Fiction

E

FEAT ST

ECTE XP

D

ECTE XP

The true drama about a wellknown top athlete, who evolves into a serial offender: The Swiss marathon runner Jonas Widmer is looking for a way to overcome his tragic past and as a result, becomes more and more entangled in an ominous double life.

D

SUMMER 2018

An urgent plea from Jade, with whom they once shared a passionate bond, brings two European men, Alex and Bernando, to an unexpected encounter in the Arizona desert, in Navajo Nation.

They are introduced to the harsh reality of Jade’s life by her precocious, free-spirited 10 year-old daughter, Frida. Their views on life, love and even death are about to change forever.

26

ECTE XP

Fiction

ECTE XP

E

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 100 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, French CAST: Anna Mouglalis, Mathieu Demy, Vincent Bonillo, Ruby Matenko, John Doe PRODUCTION: Intermezzo Films, Geneva / RTS / Les Films du Tigre, Geneva WORLD RIGHTS: Intermezzo Films, Geneva www.intermezzofilms.ch

by Frédéric Choffat, Julie Gilbert

D

E

COMING SOON

MY LITTLE ONE

D

ECTE XP

Documentary

SPRING 2018

E

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 77 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, English, Swiss-German PRODUCTION: RECK Filmproduktion, Zurich / SRF WORLD SALES: Magnetfilm GmbH, Berlin www.magnetfilm.de

by Peter Volkart

ECTE XP

D

E

SUBITO – INSTANT PHOTOGRAPHY

Polaroid – a fantastic invention bordering on magic! The history of a cultural phenomenon – betwixt and between the poles of art, pop culture and technology – that emerged in the middle of the last century and whose impact can still be felt today.

ECTE XP

27

SWITZERLAND / CANADA Documentary, 80 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Arabic PRODUCTION: Akka Films, Geneva / National Film Board of Canada, Saint-Laurent / RTS WORLD SALES: National Film Board of Canada, Saint-Laurent studiodocumentaire@onf.ca www.nfb.ca

Documentary

D

SPRING 2018

E

In the summer of 2013, an over 2,500-year-old statue of Apollo is found in the nets of a fisherman in Gaza. The statue vanishes, leaving plenty of room for speculation: hidden in a tunnel, held hostage by armed groups, destroyed by fundamentalists, or sold to international traffickers of art. Proven or imagined, the most absurd hypotheses circulate on the subject.

ECTE XP

D

E

(working title) LE MYSTÈRE APOLLON

by Nicolas Wadimoff

COMING SOON

THE APOLLO MYSTERY

THE INNOCENT

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Fiction, 110 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Swiss-German CAST: Judith Hofmann, Naomi Scheiber, Christian Kaiser, Thomas Schüpbach, Anna Tenta, Urs-Peter Wolters PRODUCTION: 8horses GmbH, Zurich / Augenschein Filmproduktion GmbH, Cologne / ZDF / SRF / ARTE / Teleclub WORLD SALES: Kinology, Paris festivals@kinology.eu www.kinology.eu

Fiction

D

SPRING 2018

E

ECTE XP

Ruth loves Jesus and works in cutting-edge neuroscience. When her past lover reappears after twenty years in prison her fragile reality comes undone.

ECTE XP

D

E

DER UNSCHULDIGE

by Simon Jaquemet

D

SPRING 2018

In 1877 a Swiss aristocrat, Alfred von Rodt, became the king of a remote Chilean island. He ruled for 30 years over a handful of fishermen and thousands of goats.

Nowadays his descendants, proud of their Swiss origins, dream of becoming politically independent and think about limiting the emigration. From the utopia of small kingdom to the dream of self-government, this island is a laboratory and a metaphor.

28

ECTE XP

Documentary

ECTE XP

E

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 95 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Spanish, French, German PRODUCTION: Association Climage, Lausanne / RTS WORLD RIGHTS: Association Climage, Lausanne stephane@climage.ch www.climage.ch

LES INSULAIRES

by Stéphane Goël

D

E

COMING SOON

THE ISLANDERS

D

SPRING 2018

ECTE XP

Fiction

ECTE XP

E

SWITZERLAND / ITALY Fiction, 109 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Italian CAST: Luigi Lo Cascio, Vincenzo Crea, Ursina Lardi, Bruno Todeschini, Leonardo Nigro PRODUCTION: Cineworx Filmproduktion, Zurich / Achab Film Srl., Rome / RAI / RSI WORLD RIGHTS: Cineworx Filmproduktion, Zurich www.cineworxfilmproduktion.ch MORE INFORMATION: Based on a novel Il Mangiatore di Pietre by Davide Longo

IL MANGIATORE DI PIETRE

by Nicola Bellucci

D

E

THE STONE EATER

Cesare, a former bootlegger and human trafficker, finds the dead body of his nephew Fausto, whom he had introduced into the business, in a remote Piedmont valley.

He is resolved to find the killer.

Sergio, a teenager from the valley, eager to flee its constriction, asks Cesare to help him guide a couple of refugees abandoned by Fausto over the border. During the journey they get attacked and suddenly he faces Fausto’s murderer.

E

COMING SOON

FEAT ST

ECTE XP

D

D

SPRING 2018

SWITZERLAND / BELGIUM Fiction, 100 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French CAST: Olivier Gourmet, Adèle Bochatay, Pauline Schneider, Delphine Bibet, Michel Voïta PRODUCTION: Box Productions sàrl, Renens VD / Novak Productions, Brussels / RTS / RTBF / Teleclub WORLD SALES: Be For Films, Brussels www.beforfilms.com

ECTE XP

29

E

Frank loses his job following a serious professional mistake.

Telling his wife is impossible.

He decides to do some soulsearching and ends up calling all of his values into question.

Fiction

F RE IR

CEUX QUI TRAVAILLENT

by Antoine Russbach

FEATU ST

E FIR UR

THOSE WHO WORK

WITH THE WIND

SWITZERLAND / FRANCE / BELGIUM Fiction, 90 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French CAST: Mélanie Thierry, Pierre Deladonchamps, Nuno Lopes, Anastasia Shevtsova, Audrey Cavelius, Patrick Lapp PRODUCTION: Rita Productions, Geneva / Silex Films, Paris / Versus Production, Brussels / RTS / Teleclub WORLD RIGHTS: Rita Productions, Geneva www.ritaproductions.com

Fiction

D

FALL 2018

E

ECTE XP

Pauline and Alex, a committed, passionate young couple in their thirties, took over the family farm and devote their energy to save the planet in the face of human indifference. Their perfect balance is suddenly broken

by Samuel’s arrival, the engineer hired to install the wind turbine that will fulfill their desire to be energy self-sufficient. This new wind will deeply disrupt their lives.

ECTE XP

D

E

LE VENT TOURNE

by Bettina Oberli

D

FALL 2018

WOLKENBRUCHS WUNDERLICHE REISE IN DIE ARME EINER SCHICKSE

by Michael Steiner

E The young Orthodox Jew, Motti Wolkenbruch, finds himself at a turning point. His beloved mother wants him to get married and presents one marriage candidate after the other. Unfortunately none of the women pleases him, because they all look just like her.

The situation gets even more complicated, when Motti secretly falls in love with the non-Jewish girl Laura, a so-called Shiksa.

30

Fiction

ECTE XP

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Fiction, 90 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, Yiddish, Hebrew CAST: Joel Basman, Inge Maux, Udo Samel, Noémie Schmidt, Lena Kalisch, Aaron Arens PRODUCTION: Turnus Film AG, Zurich / DCM Pictures GmbH, Berlin WORLD RIGHTS: Turnus Film AG, Zurich www.turnusfilm.com

ECTE XP

D

E

COMING SOON

WOLKENBRUCH’S WONDROUS JOURNEY INTO THE ARMS OF A SHIKSA

ZONE ROUGE

D

ECTE XP

Fiction

SPRING 2018

E

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 85 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, Swiss-German, French, Swedish, Turkish CAST: Chantal Le Moign, Michael Neuenschwander, Siir Eloglu, Nicolas Rosat, Christopher Buchholz, Marie Popall, Helmut Mooshammer PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Abrakadabra Films AG, Zurich www.abrakadabra.ch

ECTE XP

D

E

by Cihan Inan

A mild summer night in a beautiful home. The former circle of friends meets for the first time after college graduation for an after party, following a class meeting. Above the joy of the reunion, the presence and the past are interacting. In the seemingly superficial chatter old themes glimmer through and over the exuberant mood lies a dark shadow. The “cause” is 25 years back and was part of the reason for the sudden break-up.

SUMMER 2018

BEAST

O FIM DO MUND0

by Lorenz Merz

(working title) LA FIN D’UN MONDE

by Basil Da Cunha SWITZERLAND Fiction PRODUCTION: Hesse Film GmbH, Zurich / Milan Film AG, Basel

IN PRODUCTION

SUMMER 2019

SWITZERLAND Fiction PRODUCTION: Thera Production, Lausanne / RTS

SPRING 2019

SHIPBREAKER

THE BRAIN

by Tim Fehlbaum

by Jean-Stéphane Bron

31

SUMMER 2019

SWITZERLAND Fiction PRODUCTION: Vega Film AG, Zurich

SWITZERLAND / FRANCE Fiction PRODUCTION: Bande à part Films, Lausanne / Les Films Pelléas, Paris

SPRING 2019

WINTER 2019

THE GIRL AND THE SPIDER

ZWINGLI

by Stefan Haupt

DAS MÄDCHEN UND DIE SPINNE

by Ramon & Silvan Zürcher SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Fiction PRODUCTION: Beauvoir Films, Geneva / Komplizen Film, Berlin

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Fiction PRODUCTION: C-Films AG, Zurich / SRF / Eikon Film Südwest, Stuttgart

SUPPORT MEASURES

DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT NON-EUROPEAN COUNTRIES Supporting the theatrical release of Swiss feature films in ten selected non-European countries.

Its aim is to strengthen the visibility and the distribution of Swiss films outside of Europe. The subsidies are granted according to the “Guidelines for Distribution Support of Swiss films in non-European countries”.

Applications must be submitted by the foreign distributor.

Film Sales Support FSS is a scheme by the European Film Promotion (EFP) for the promotion of European films outside of Europe.

With support by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, Media Desk Suisse and SWISS FILMS, FSS is also available to European and Swiss sales companies selling Swiss films at selected festivals and markets: Sundance FF, TIFF, Tribeca FF, Hot Docs Toronto, Hong Kong Int’l Film & TV Market, Asian Film Market, American Film Market. Applications must be submitted online by the world sales company.

Guidelines and application: www.efp-online.com/en/project_market/guidlines.php

32

A support measure by SWISS FILMS in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC). www.swissfilms.ch/en/distribution Contact: support@swissfilms.ch

FILM SALES SUPPORT

VOD SUPPORT

Supporting the distribution of Swiss films on important international VOD platforms.

DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT EUROPEAN COUNTRIES Supporting the theatrical release of Swiss feature films in Europe.

Its aim is to strengthen their visibility and to generate financial returns to the Swiss producer. The subsidies are granted according to the “Guidelines VOD Support”. Applications must be submitted by the Swiss producer.

Its aim is to strengthen the visibility and the distribution of Swiss films in Europe.

The subsidies are granted according to the “Guidelines Funding for the distribution of Swiss films and co-productions in foreign countries”. Applications must be submitted by the European distributor via the Swiss producer.

A support measure by SWISS FILMS in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC). www.swissfilms.ch/en/vod Contact: support@swissfilms.ch

A support measure by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC), administrated by SWISS FILMS. www.bak.admin.ch Contact: support@swissfilms.ch

VISIT US ALSO AT OUR STANDS AT : Cannes Village International Mifa Annecy Locarno Festival Toronto International Film Festival Short Film Market Clermont-Ferrand

SWISS FILMS is supported by

“

It is addressed to you.”

Judge in SHOCK WAVES – DIARY OF MY MIND by Ursula Meier