SWISS FILMS DOCS FALL 2022

BECOMING GIULIA

written & directed by Laura Kaehr

four months

birth, Giulia Tonelli,

to the stage.

body, but because of the

she’s in. Giulia is now torn

and her choice of

years,

of

LAURA KAEHR

* 1978. Laura Kaehr trained as a professional ballet dancer at the Centre de Danse Rosella Hightower, Cannes. She holds a Master in Transdisciplinarity in art from ZHdK and an Advanced Certificate in Film and Screenwriting at UCLA Los Angeles. Her debut short film, 1927, premiered at Locarno’s spring event L’immagine e la Parola in 2014. BECOMING GIULIA (2022) premiered at the Zurich Film Festival and won its Best Audience Award. She is a screenwriter, director and

choreographer.

BIG LITTLE WOMEN

written & directed by Nadia Fares

How to speak with tenderness of feminist struggles to an enlightened patriarch? Painting her story with a very personal and poetic brush, Nadia Fares transforms a tribute to her beloved Egyptian father into a chronicle of the condition of women in Egypt and in Switzerland. She explores the impact of patriarchal traditions in the East and the West, revealing them as mirror images.

NADIA FARES

Nadia Fares is an EgyptianSwiss director, writer and producer. She has a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television from New York University, TISCH School of the Arts. Her first feature film HONEY AND ASHES (1996) received multiple international awards. Her feature screenplay DIPLOMATIC CORPS was accepted into the New York Writers Lab. She works and lives in Los Angeles, Cairo and Geneva. BIG LITTLE WOMEN (2022) is her first featurelength documentary and pre miered at the Hofer Filmtage.

SWITZERLAND / EGYPT

Documentary, 86 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, Swiss-German, Arabic

PRODUCTION: Luna Films, Geneva / AfterAll Films, Cairo / RTS SWISS PRODUCERS: Agnès Boutruche, Véronique Vergari

WORLD RIGHTS: Luna Films, Geneva www.lunafilms.ch

WORLD PREMIERE: Hofer Filmtage 2022

ERUTAEFTS

DOUGLAS SIRK –HOPE AS IN DESPAIR

written & directed by Roman Hüben

An investigative portrait of the master of cinematic melodrama, Douglas Sirk. His life was the ultimate melodrama, from which all his films were inspired. Through the testimonies of those closest to him and the unpublished accounts in his wife’s diary, we get closer to this man surrounded by mystery. We discover his world and his story, marked by hope and disillusionment, by death and, of course, by love.

WORLD RIGHTS: Picfilm, Manno www.picfilm.ch

WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2022

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY / FRANCE

Documentary, 76 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, English, French

PRODUCTION:

Picfilm, Manno / Berlin Producers Media, Berlin / Acqua Alta, Paris / La Bête, Beausoleil

SWISS PRODUCER: Nicola Genni

ROMAN HÜBEN

* 1990 in Germany. Roman Hüben grew up in Switzerland. 2014 BA in Film from École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne (ECAL). He has directed several short films, including I’VE GOT A POWER (2013) and VILLA VENTURA (2017).

DOUGLAS SIRK –HOPE AS IN DESPAIR (2022) is his first feature-length documentary and premiered in the Locarno Film Festival.

ERICA JONG

BREAKING THE WALL

written & directed by Kaspar Kasics

With her worldwide success “Fear of Flying”, the New Yorker Erica Jong inspired the sexual liberation of women. She dared to set out for herself and demanded an encounter on equal terms. She wanted to change the world and still wants to today. With her own story, with her humour and with trust in the power of words.

KASPAR KASICS

Kaspar Kasics studied philosophy at the University of Zurich and music at the Conservatory of Zurich. In the 1990s he began working as an independent director and producer. For thirteen years he led the Swiss Filmmakers Association as president. His documentaries CLOSED COUNTRY (1999) and BLUE END (2000) premiered in the official selection of the Berlinale and YES NO MAYBE (2015) and ERICA JONG –BREAKING THE WALL (2022) at the Locarno Film Festival.

SWITZERLAND

Documentary, 96 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: English

PRODUCTION:

Distant Lights GmbH, Zurich / Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion AG, Zurich / SRF

PRODUCERS:

Kaspar Kasics, Sereina Gabathuler, Werner Swiss Schweizer

WORLD SALES:

Rise and Shine World Sales, Berlin

www.riseandshine-berlin.de

WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2022

EVERYTHING ABOUT MARTIN SUTER. EVERYTHING BUT THE TRUTH. written & directed by André Schäfer

ALLES ÜBER MARTIN SUTER.

AUSSER DIE WAHRHEIT.

This film is not a classic portrait but a documentary using fiction to bring Martin Suter’s novels to life while introducing us to the author behind the stories on a whole new level. “Fantasy is usually more true than reality itself” says Suter.

WORLD SALES:

Berlin

WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2022

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY

Documentary, 90 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German

Filmgerberei GmbH, Zurich / Florianfilm GmbH, Cologne / SRF / SRG SSR / ARTE

SWISS PRODUCERS: Nadine Lüchinger, Flavio Gerber

ANDRÉ SCHÄFER

* 1966 in Germany. André Schäfer has directed and produced numerous documentaries for over twenty years. HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU, BOY (2007) and ROCK HUDSON – DARK AND HANDSOME STRANGER (2010) both premiered at the Berlinale. He was nominated for the German Film Award with LENIN CAME ONLY AS FAR AS LÜDENSCHEID (2008). DEUTSCHBODEN (2014) received the German Film Critics’ Award for Best Documentary.

HAPPY PILLS

written & directed by Arnaud Robert, Paolo Woods

A journey through six different countries and characters into a world where chemistry is the ultimate response to human pursuits of well-being. From antidepressants to opioid painkillers or stimulant medication, the film questions our whole consumer society and the so called Eldorado of prescribed happiness.

ARNAUD ROBERT

* 1976. Arnaud Robert has directed three documentaries that won awards at Vues d’Afrique festival in Montreal and Jean Rouch Festival in Paris. His medium-length film, GANGBÉ! (2015), premiered at Visions du Réel in Nyon.

PAOLO WOODS

* 1970 in the Netherlands. Paolo Woods is a photographer He published books on oil networks, Iran, Chinese in Africa, Haiti and on tax havens. He has received two World Press Photos awards. HAPPY PILLS is his first film.

SWITZERLAND

Documentary, 81 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, French, Hebrew, Spanish

PRODUCTION:

Intermezzo Films, Geneva / RTS / SRG SSR / ARTE PRODUCER: Luc Peter

WORLD SALES: Lightdox, Blonay www.lightdox.com

WORLD PREMIERE: Festival dei Popoli 2022

LE FILM DE MON PÈRE

directed by Jules Guarneri

film.

one that

father always dreamt

And perhaps, that is the issue. One day he

started filming himself daily.

footage!

brother and sister who live

who raised and scolded

Then there is me, in the middle of them all,

of there.

JULES GUARNERI

* 1993. Jules Guarneri started making ski films at the age of twelve. Since 2014 he works as a freelance director, cine matographer and film editor of documentaries. LE FILM DE MON PÈRE, his first featurelength film, premiered at and won the Special Jury Award of the National Competition at Visions du Réel Nyon in 2022.

SUR NOS MONTS

OVER OUR HILLS

written & directed by Mateo Ybarra

In the digital era, Swiss soldiers are deploying themselves on the internet by broadcasting with their phones all kinds of images of the militia army. The film explores the underside of a so-called neutral Switzerland, through a mosaic of net footage: Youtube, Periscope, Instagram open a new window on a school of masculinity hidden behind the walls of its barracks.

MATEO YBARRA

* 1992. Mateo Ybarra works as a director and producer. He studied at the University of the Arts in London and graduated from Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD – Genève).

SWITZERLAND

Documentary / Experimental, 54 min., 2022

ORIGINAL

French, Italian, Swiss-German

Mateo Ybarra

Geneva

Ji.hlava Int. Documentary Film Festival 2022

WORLD SALES:

The Party Film Sales, Paris

WORLD PREMIERE:

IDFA 2022

PARADISE

written & directed by Alexander Abaturov

Summer 2021, an exceptional heat-wave and drought led to giant fires ravaging nineteen million hectares in north-eastern Siberia. At the heart of the taiga, lies the village of Shologon soon to be coated by a thick cloud of smoke. Spread by the wind, the black ashes carry alarming news: the forest is on fire and the flames are fast approaching. The government having left them to fend for themselves, the inhabitants must rally to fight the dragon.

FRANCE / SWITZERLAND

Documentary, 89 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Yakut

PRODUCTION: Petit à Petit Production, Paris / Intermezzo Films, Geneva / ARTE / Siberiade, Paris

SWISS PRODUCER: Luc Peter

ALEXANDER ABATUROV

* 1984 in Russia. After graduating from Gorky University, Alexander Abaturov worked as a journalist. He has a Master’s Degree in Documentary Creation from the Lussas Documentary School. SLEEPING SOULS (2013) was selected in many festivals and awarded at the Cinéma du Réel. His first feature-length documentary THE SON (2018) screened in the Berlinale’s Forum and at Cinéma du Réel. PARADISE (2022) is his second feature and premieres at IDFA.

POLISH PRAYERS

directed by Hanna Nobis

Twenty-two-year-old Antek grows up in a deeply religious and radical right-wing family in contemporary Poland. Catholicism, nationalism and especially celibacy define his world. Filmmaker Hanna Nobis follows him and his friends of the Brotherhood, a small group of like-minded young men, for more than four years. Antek leads them in survival camps and at anti-pride demonstrations. At the same time, he is curious about the world, and mostly, about the women in it.

HANNA NOBIS

*1990 in Poland. Hanna Nobis studied Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Warsaw. She acted on the Polish stage and assisted theatre directors, later directed and produced video installations. In 2014 she shot her first short film. In 2016 she started developing her first feature-length film POLISH PRAYERS (2022) as part of the Doc Pro course at the Andrzej Wajda Master School. The film premieres at IDFA.

SWITZERLAND / POLAND

Documentary, 84 min. and 52 min, 2022 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Polish

SCREENPLAY: Hanna Nobis, Esther van Messel

PRODUCTION:

First Hand Films GmbH, Zurich / Offhand JDG, Warsaw / HBO Europe, Prague / MDR / SRF

PRODUCER: Esther van Messel

WORLD SALES:

First Hand Films GmbH, Zurich www.firsthandfilms.com

WORLD PREMIERE: IDFA 2022

RADICAL LANDSCAPES

written

directed by Elettra Fiumi

Place vegetable gardens on a dance floor. Replace

grass so it won’t sink. The film’s director, Elettra, discovers her father Fabrizio’s projects

his

architecture group, 9999, when he dies and she inherits a multimedia archive. We enter a vibrant 1960s

and a surprising page of a utopian Florence, bringing to life landscapes both emotional and historical

sixty years of unearthed archives. Finally Elettra breaks the spell of memory with a revival.

SWITZERLAND

ELETTRA FIUMI * 1983. Elettra Fiumi is an award-winning Swiss-based film producer, director and editor. She is the founder of Fiumi Studios based in Lugano and New York. She has worked on documentaries for Netflix, Amazon Prime, The New Yorker and BBC. Her films have been screened in several museums, including the Vitra Design Museum and Palazzo Strozzi. She is also an alum of Columbia Journalism School and Mount Holyoke College.

STFEATURE

CASCADEUSES

STUNTWOMEN

written & directed by Elena Avdija

Virginie, Petra and Estelle are stuntwomen. They get hit by cars or struck by violent husbands and gangsters, often repeatedly. And every time, they get back up on their feet, ready to shoot the scene as many times as necessary. Freedom, glory or a search for power fuel these women’s desire to push their bodies to the limits. But how much violence are their bodies and minds able to take on? The film questions how cinema and television distribute roles and violence on the screen.

ELENA AVDIJA

* 1987. Elena Avdija has a degree in Sociology from the EHESS (The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences) in Paris. She worked for several years as assistant director in documentaries, notably for Point du Jour in Paris where she developed screenplays for historical documentary series for ARTE. She also directed two selfproduced short documentaries. On her return to Switzerland, she began working as assistant director on fiction films. STUNTWOMEN (2022) won a Golden Eye at Zurich Film Festival.

SWITZERLAND / FRANCE

Documentary, 85 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, French, Swiss-German

PRODUCTION:

Bande à part Films, Lausanne / Alter Ego Production, Orléans / RTS / SRG SSR / ARTE / BIP TV

SWISS PRODUCERS: Agnieszka Ramu, Marie-Lou Pahud, Ursula Meier

WORLD SALES: Andana Films, Lussas www.andanafilms.com

NATIONAL PREMIERE: Zurich Film Festival 2022

INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE: IDFA 2022

Maria Kaur Bedi, Satindar Singh Bedi

The filmmakers, Maria, a Swiss, and Satindar, an Indian,

calamitously

A poetic hybrid hypnotic

tale of two souls split by

MARIA KAUR BEDI

* 1985. Maria Kaur Bedi collaborates with filmmakers across the globe to create films with inspiring female lead characters for a variety of genres.

SATINDAR SINGH BEDI

* 1980 in India. Satindar Singh Bedi is a graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India.

The creative director auteur duo has worked together since 2019. Their fiction feature THIRD EYE OF SHIVA has been granted funding by Migros Ideenförderung 2020.

THE DNA OF DIGNITY

written & directed by Jan Baumgartner

The Balkan War of the nineties resulted in the disappearance of thousands of people; their remains possibly missing forever. Survivors and those left behind pin their hopes on excavations and scientific work. Forensic anthropologists and archaeologists work with great concentration. A person takes shape bone by bone. Will he also get an identity? Will relatives finally receive closure and a grave to anchor their remembrance and grief?

JAN BAUMGARTNER

* 1987. Jan Baumgartner is a self-taught filmmaker. He discovered his passion for photography and filmmaking through extensive traveling. He works as a freelance film maker and photographer. His short TALKING SOIL (2018) screened in the International Competition in Winterthur. THE DNA OF DIGNITY (2022) is his first feature-length documentary and premiered in Locarno’s Critics Week.

SWITZERLAND

Docufiction, 61 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Bosnian

PRODUCER: Jan Baumgartner

PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Jan Baumgartner, Bern www.janbaumgartner.ch

WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2022 MORE INFORMATION: www.thednaofdignity.com

SWITZERLAND

Anidoc, 11 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French

ANIMATION TECHNIQUE: Drawn animation

PRODUCTION: Nadasdy Film, Geneva / RTS

WORLD RIGHTS: Nadasdy Film, Geneva www.nadasdyfilm.ch

WORLD PREMIERE: DOK Leipzig 2022

ARMAT

written & directed by Élodie Dermange

ANIDOC CODINA

Élodie tries to find out more about her family’s Armenian origins. She interviews her father, her uncle, her great aunt, and discovers a harsh history where violence and the inability to express love are passed down from generation to generation.

DUST AWAY

directed by Tanita Rahmani, Dea Gjinovci

SWITZERLAND / UNITED STATES

Documentary, 11 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Spanish

SCREENPLAY: Tanita Rahmani

PRODUCTION: Dea Gjinovci, Geneva / Tanita Rahmani, Brooklyn

WORLD RIGHTS: Dea Gjinovci, Geneva www.deagjinovci.com Tanita Rahmani, Brooklyn tanitadhiyaan@gmail.com

NATIONAL PREMIERE: Int. Kurzfilmtage Winterthur 2022

INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE:

After sharing a cleaning job that upended their lives, voices of immigrants in the United States traverse dreamscapes that ponder upon visions of their American dream, the realities of cleaning in New York City, being paperless and the dust that still lingers in their chests decades later.

FUKU NASHI

written & directed by Julie Sando

After several years of absence, Yukie returns to Baba’s house in search of her identity. In this house of a thousand corners, these two lonely souls meet, but a great chasm separates them. Little by little, between the murmur of the television and the abandoned garden, tongues are loosened and the distance decreases.

MOUNTAIN

written & directed by Valentina Shasivari

STUDENT

Hikers pass by, while the village fountain gently sputters and the church bells ring out across the valley. But the idyll of summer is disturbed by recurring noises. Will the mountain come down eventually? As a mountain village loses its foundations, the crumbling becomes louder and louder.

SWITZERLAND

Docufiction, 45 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Japanese

PRODUCTION: JoY, Lausanne / Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD – Genève)

WORLD RIGHTS: JoY, Lausanne joy.filmproduction@gmail.com

NATIONAL PREMIERE: Visions du Réel Nyon 2022

INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE: Festival dei Popoli 2022

SWITZERLAND

Documentary, 18 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Swiss-German

PRODUCTION: Cinédokké Sagl, Savosa / Master in Film ECAL/HEADGenève (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne ECAL / Geneva University of Art and Design) / RSI

WORLD RIGHTS: Cinédokké Sagl, Savosa www.cinedokke.ch / Master in Film ECAL/HEAD-Genève www.ecal.ch www.hesge.ch/head

WORLD PREMIERE: IDFA 2022

SWITZERLAND

Documentary, 30 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: English

PRODUCTION: Akka Films, Geneva / Master in Film ECAL/HEADGenève (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne ECAL / Geneva University of Art and Design)

WORLD RIGHTS: Akka Films, Geneva www.akkafilms.ch

NATIONAL PREMIERE: Visions du Réel Nyon 2022

INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE: DOK Leipzig 2022

STUDENT TNEDUTS

SWITZERLAND

Documentary, 14 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Italian

PRODUCTION: La Belle Film GmbH, Zurich / Matteo Gariglio Films, Luzern

WORLD RIGHTS: La Belle Film GmbH, Zurich www.labellefilm.com

WORLD PREMIERE: Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur 2022

RAMBOY

written & directed by Matthias Joulaud, Lucien Roux

Achill is an island populated mainly by sheep. Cian, a young teenager, hopes to spend the summer holidays with his friends. But for Martin, his grandfather, it’s time to introduce him to farm work.

THE MASON IL MURATORE directed by Matteo Gariglio

As the last inhabitant, Giuseppe Spagnuolo lives in a small, deserted Italian village. Around him, the old house facades are slowly breaking down and nature is reclaiming the last remaining building structures. Every day Giuseppe dresses up in elegant clothes to present himself to the incoming tourists. But slowly Giuseppe’s façade is also beginning to show its cracks.

FABRICA

written & directed by Verena Paravel, Lucien Castaing-Taylor

Five centuries ago, anatomist André Vésale opened up the human body to science for the first time in history. Today, this documentary opens the human body to the cinema. It reveals that human flesh is an extraordinary landscape that exists only through the gaze and attention of others. As places of care, suffering and hope, hospitals are laboratories that connect every body in the world.

GIRL GANG

written & directed by Susanne Regina Meures

Leonie is a teen influencer living on the outskirts of Berlin. With millions of followers and companies showering her with products, Leonie’s parents quickly recognise the enormous economic potential of their daughter’s online activities and take over her management. They want Leonie to have a better life than they had. But Leonie’s life has a shadow side that the adrenaline, fame and free sneakers can’t make up for.

FRANCE /SWITZERLAND

Documentary, 115 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French

PRODUCTION: Norte Productions, Paris / Rita Productions, Geneva WORLD SALES: Les Films du Losange, Paris www.filmsdulosange.com

FESTIVALS (SELECTION):

Quinzaine Cannes 2022 / New York Film Festival 2022 / Busan 2022 / Festival dei Popoli 2022 / IDFA 2022

SWITZERLAND

Documentary, 98 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German

PRODUCTION: Christian Frei Filmproduktion GmbH, Zurich / SRF

WORLD SALES: Rise and Shine World Sales UG, Berlin www.riseandshine-berlin.de

FESTIVALS (SELECTION): CPH:DOX 2022 / Hot Docs 2022 / DOK.fest München 2022 / ZFF 2022 / Festival dei Popoli 2022 / DOC NYC 2022 / IDFA 2022

MORE INFORMATION: www.girlgang-film.com

SWITZERLAND

Documentary, 87 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Russian

PRODUCTION: Les Films Hors-Champ, Chavornay / RTS

WORLD RIGHTS: Les Films Hors-Champ, Chavornay www.hors-champ.ch

FESTIVALS (SELECTION):

CPH:DOX 2022 / Sydney Film Festival 2022 / Zurich Film Festival 2022 / Message to Man St. Petersburg 2022 / Porto Post Doc 2022

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY

Documentary, 83 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, English, French

PRODUCTION:

Ensemble Film GmbH, Zurich / Lichtblick Film- und Fernsehproduktion GmbH, Cologne / ZDF / ARTE / RSI / SRF

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

FESTIVAL (SELECTION):

Solothurner Filmtage 2022 / Docaviv 2022 / Sydney Film Festival 2022 / Locarno Film Festival 2022 / Film Fest Gent 2022

HOLIDAYS JOURS DE FÊTE written & directed by Antoine Cattin

St. Petersburg is the city of dreamers – Dzhus dreams of a better life, Nikita dreams of success, Dina dreams of taking power and Anna dreams of retirement. As we follow these characters over the course of a year and seven popular holidays, the authoritarian grip of the Kremlin closes in on all of them, leaving very little room for dreams. A tragicomedy about contemporary and eternal Russia.

LOVING HIGHSMITH

written & directed by Eva Vitija

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.

MAN CAVES

GARÇONNIÈRES

written & directed by Céline Pernet

What does it mean to be a man today? The filmmaker asks this infinitely complex question to a group of thirty men aged 30–45. As the men discuss sex, love, cohabitation, friendship, father hood, work and the patriarchy, we are treated to a specter of different perspectives, experiences and philosophies. Failing to provide definitive answers, the film succeeds in provoking plenty of laughs, thoughts and discussions.

SEE YOU FRIDAY, ROBINSON

À VENDREDI, ROBINSON

written & directed by Mitra Farahani

“… Ebrahim can send me a letter this Friday, and I’ll answer him next Friday. So, see you Friday, Robinson!” Jean-Luc Godard stages himself in his daily thought, and sends images and words. Ebrahim Golestan tries to decode these UFO-messages and skilfully seeks to bring them back to the appearance of reason. Does the existence of poets still have any meaning in these times of distress?

SWITZERLAND

Documentary, 90 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French

PRODUCTION: Association Climage, Lausanne / RTS

WORLD SALES: Lightdox, Blonay www.lightdox.com

FESTIVAL (SELECTION): Visions du Réel Nyon 2022 / Sheffield Doc Fest 2022 / Bergen International Film Festival 2022

FRANCE / SWITZERLAND / IRAN / LEBANON

Documentary, 96 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, English, French, Italian, Persian

PRODUCTION: Écran Noir Productions, Paris / Casa Azul Films, Lausanne / Pejman Foundation, Teheran / Schortcut Films, Beirut

WORLD RIGHTS: Écran Noir Productions, Paris www.ecrannoirproductions.fr

FESTIVAL (SELECTION): Berlinale 2022 / CPH:DOX 2022 / BAFICI 2022 / Busan 2022 / doclisboa 2022

AUTOSAURUS REX

written & directed by Marcel Barelli

FESTIVAL

SWITZERLAND

Anidoc, 6 min., 2022

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French

ANIMATION TECHNIQUE:

2D Computer animation

PRODUCTION: Nadasdy Film, Geneva / RSI

WORLD RIGHTS: Nadasdy Film, Geneva www.nadasdyfilm.ch

FESTIVALS (SELECTION):

Annecy 2022 / FIFF Namur 2022 / Animatou Geneva 2022 / Festival du Nouveau Cinéma Montréa 2022 / Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid 2022 / Interfilm Berlin 2022

SWITZERLAND

Anidoc, 5 min., 2021

ANIMATION TECHNIQUE:

2D Computer animation

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: French, Italian SCREENPLAY: Marcel Barelli, Fleur Daugey

PRODUCTION: Nadasdy Film, Geneva / RSI

WORLD SALES: SND Films, Amsterdam www.sndfilms.com

FESTIVALS (SELECTION):

ANIFILM Liberec 2022 / Locarno 2022 / Hiroshima Animation Season 2022 / Reykjavik Int. Film Festival 2022

Among the different species that inhabit our planet, one stands out from the others by its power and its impact on ecosystems. It is the Autosaurus Rex!

IN NATURE

DANS LA NATURE directed by Marcel Barelli

In nature, a couple is a male and a female. Well, not always! A couple is also a female and a female. Or a male and a male. You may not be aware of it, but homosexuality isn’t just a human story.

SOON

DIE ANHÖRUNG

LISA GERIG

1990. Lisa Gerig graduated

a Bachelor in Film from Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) in 2015. Since then she has worked as a freelance filmmaker in Zurich and Cologne and collaborates with other directors. THE HEARING is her first feature-length documentary.

DREAMERS

directed by Stéphanie Barbey, Luc Peter

At the age of nine, Carlos arrives from Mexico to Chicago with his three brothers and his parents. The day he turns eighteen, his future becomes uncertain. According to United States law, Carlos is now undocumented. The slightest mistake can lead him to deportation. From defeats to successes, the film tells the story of Carlos now thirty-eight-years-old, his brothers and the fate of 2.5 million people growing up in a country that still does not recognize them as its own.

STÉPHANIE BARBEY

* 1972. Stéphanie Barbey has a Master from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences. She studied documentary film at Ateliers Varan in Paris. She is a filmmaker of documentary films for cinema and television.

LUC PETER

* 1963. Luc Peter has a Bachelor and Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Geneva and a degree in Cinema from the ECAL. Director of cinema and TV documentaries. He works as a producer since 2001.

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY

Documentary, 85 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, Spanish SCREENPLAY: Stéphanie Barbey

PRODUCTION: Intermezzo Films, Geneva / Dirk Manthey Film, Hamburg / RTS / SWR / ARTE

SWISS PRODUCERS: Luc Peter, Katia Monla

WORLD RIGHTS: Intermezzo Films, Geneva www.intermezzofilms.ch

GOD IS A WOMAN

DIEU EST UNE FEMME

In 1975, Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau, an Oscar-winning

flew to Panama with his four-year-old daughter, Akiko,

film the Kunas, a matrilocal tribe. The film was

and never shown, not even to

Forty-eight years later, the protagonists of the original

retrace the hidden history that led them

Akiko

the recovered film. At last, the Kunas

mythical in

ANDRES PEYROT

Andres Peyrot studied at the Tisch School of the Arts of the New York University (NYU). He is a Swiss writer-director, cinematographer and editor. In 2010, his short film BRUJA, shot amongst the Embera indigenous community, won Best Film at the HAYAH Film Fest in Panama.

IDDU – INSELGESCHICHTEN

IDDU –ISLAND STORIES

written & directed by Miriam Ernst

Stromboli – a small cosmos in the shadow of an active volcano. A poetic documentary about island stories, told by the islanders in four seasons. A love story between the people and their volcano: a transgenerational fascination between threat and attraction – a symbiosis between the force of nature and a small community confronted with drastic changes in their living conditions.

MIRIAM ERNST

* 1981. Miriam Ernst trained as primary school teacher prior to graduating with a Bachelor in Theatre and Film from the Universities of Bern and Zurich in 2009. In 2016 she graduated with a Master in Directing Documentary from the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in Beaconsfield. She works as a freelance director and cinematographer.

SWITZERLAND

min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE:

Bern /

Corbat

LAC

LAKE

written & directed by Fabrice Aragno

In a civilized world that seems to be increasingly losing its bearings, a woman and a man throw themselves headlong into an endurance sailing race on a large lake. One would like to cross over, yet one cannot, one misses any sign of life, yet life is perceivable in the rushing tide, in the blowing of the wind, in the drifting clouds, in the solitary cry of birds. One must delve deep into oneself and feel the heart-ripping that nature imposes.

WORLD

SWITZERLAND

ORIGINAL

FABRICE ARAGNO

* 1970. Fabrice Aragno has a degree in directing from from the École cantonale d’art de Lausanne (ECAL). He colla borated with Jean-Luc Godard as cinematographer on a number of films, including FILM SOCIALISME (2010) and LES TROIS DÉSASTRES (2012). He directed several short films, among them his graduation film, DIMANCHE, selected for the 1999 Cannes Film Festival, INSIDE (2003), and AUTOUR DE CLAIRE (2010).

LAS TORERAS

written & directed by Jackie Brutsche

Is it possible to come to terms with the past? After thirty years, Jackie no longer wishes to live in ignorance and wants to get to know her mother, who had taken her life during Jackie’s childhood. The drama inspired Jackie’s art, but left many unanswered questions that are avoided in her families in Switzerland and Spain. With her fictional character Jack Torera she traces the painful truth and has to look it in the face.

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, 100 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: Spanish, Swiss-German

PRODUCTION:

TV AG, Bern / RECK

Zurich /

Corbat, Franziska Reck

WORLD

TV AG, Bern

ANTIER NOCHE

GONE

ALBERTO MARTÍN MENACHO

* 1986 in Spain. Alberto Martín Menacho is an editor and filmmaker. He studied Visual Arts at Geneva School of Art and Design. MY BELOVED, THE MOUNTAINS (2017) received the Best Short Film Award at Las Palmas International Film Festival and Penínsulas Award at Curtocircuíto International Film Festival. ANTIER NOCHE (NIGHTS GONE BY), currently in post-production, is his first feature film and was part of the Ikusmira Berriak residency of the San Sebastian International Film Festival in 2019.

WIR WAREN KUMPEL

ONCE WE WERE PITMEN

written & directed by Christian Johannes Koch, Jonas Matauschek

Black dust, high-pitched metallic sounds, dark tunnels, strong working men – this is the past. The humorous and heart warming journey of five miners rediscovering themselves in times of climate change and gender discussions after their workplace, the last underground coal mine in Germany, is finally shut down.

CHRISTIAN JOHANNES

KOCH

* 1986. Christian Johannes Koch is a director, screenwriter and lecturer in script develop ment. After a number of short films, SPAGAT (2020), his feature fiction film debut, premiered in San Sebastian.

JONAS MATAUSCHEK

* 1987 in Germany. Jonas Matauschek studied photo graphy at the Academy of Fine Arts in Leipzig. In 2021 he was recipient of the Kompagnon Fellowship of Berlinale Talents along with Christian J. Koch.

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY

Documentary, 105 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German

PRODUCTION: Catpics, Zurich / elemag pictures, Leipzig / SRF / ZDF

SWISS PRODUCERS: Rajko Jazbec, Dario Schoch, Sarah Born

WORLD RIGHTS: Catpics, Zurich www.catpics.ch elemag pictures, Leipzig www.elemagpictures.com

DETCEPXE

OUT OF UGANDA

ROLANDO COLLA

* 1957. Rolando Colla’s SUMMER GAMES (2011) was nominated by Switzerland to run as an Oscar candidate in the category Best Foreign Language Film in 2012. His works range from shorts to feature-length fiction and documentaries.

JOSEF BURRI

* 1946. Josef Burri is a former editor of a print media and children’s programming at Swiss Television. He is a producer of international series and author of nonfiction books.

written & directed by Rolando Colla, Josef Burri

REDwritten & directed by Mara Manzolini, Andrea Pellerani, Élodie Dermange

A character driven anidoc with twenty-seven-year-old Francesco Laquale as protagonist. A former European and Moroccan kickboxing champion, Francesco tries to keep his life under control as he desperately tries to find his place in life and leave behind the destructive path of burning rage that constantly threatens to overwhelm him.

SWITZERLAND

Anidoc, 85 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Italian

PRODUCTION:

Amka Films Productions SA, Savosa / Nadasdy Film Sarl, Geneva / RSI / SRG SSR

PRODUCERS: Gabriella de Gara, Amel Soudani, Nicolas Burlet

WORLD RIGHTS:

Amka Films Productions SA, Savosa www.amka.ch

RUÄCH

directed by Andreas Müller, Simon Guy Fässler

mysterious

a film team sets out

Yenish

that stretches from

the forests of Carinthia. Told

and old Travellers, a kaleidoscopic

Diverse people relate

by their love of freedom but

the

ANDREAS MÜLLER

* 1975. Andreas Müller gra duated in Film from Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). He works as director and writer. JOSHUA (2002) was recipient of numerous international prizes.

SIMON GUY FÄSSLER

* 1977. Simon Guy Fässler has a degree in Visual Communi cations from University of Fine Arts Hamburg. He works as cameraman and filmmaker. In 2017 he won the Swiss Film Award “Best Cinematography” for ALOYS by Tobias Nölle.

SILKE

directed by Coline Confort

Silke, a high-level paracycling athlete, is intensely preparing for the Tokyo Paralympic Games. But in between training sessions, she hopes to return to the circus ring, the place of her accident with her husband and partner Didier. Torn between her responsibilities as a competitor and her dreams of acrobatics, Silke will have to assert her choices.

COLINE CONFORT

* 1998 France. Coline Confort graduated with a Bachelor in Visual Communication, specialisation cinema, from École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne (ECAL) in 2020. Her graduation film IMPERIAL screened in numerous festivals including Locarno Film Festival, Palm Springs ShortFest and the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur. SILKE is her first feature-length documentary and is currently in post-production.

SWITZERLAND / FRANCE

Documentary, 78 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French

SCREENPLAY: Coline Confort, Emmanuel Gétaz

PRODUCTION: Dreampixies, Vevey / RTS / Goyaves, Paris / ARTE SWISS PRODUCER: Emmanuel Gétaz

WORLD RIGHTS:

Vevey

THE DRIVEN ONES

written & directed by Piet Baumgartner

PIET BAUMGARTNER * 1984. Piet Baumgartner is

artist

works

director.

theatre.

in

graduated with a Master in Film directing from Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and is also a graduate of the Drehbuchwerkstatt Munich, assistantships with Frank Castorf and René Pollesch. His films were awarded numerous international prizes.

THE MIES VAN DER ROHES

written & directed by Sabine Gisiger

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.

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 Award for Best Documentary, followed by GAMBIT (2005) and YALOM’S CURE (2014) and a nomination for WELCOME TO SWITZER LAND (2017). She is a professor for documentaries at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK).

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 SALES: Rise and Shine World Sales UG, Berlin www.riseandshine-berlin.de

DETCEPXE

THIS KIND OF HOPE

written

directed by Pawel Siczek

a diplomat, Andrei Sannikov was instrumental in

disarmament in the 1990s. Under

Lukashenko,

resigned from the civil service

for a democratic Belarus, which

landed him in

a stateless diplomat, he tirelessly

politicians in his homeland.

PAWEL SICZEK

1977 in Poland. Pawel Siczek grew up in Libya and Switzerland. He studied documentary film at the University of Television and Film HFF in Munich. He is known for BASSIONA AMOROSA (2008) FUSS GÄNGERZONE (2010) and DIE HÄLFTE DER STADT (2015).

I MIGHT REMEMBER

SWITZERLAND

Documentary PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: DokLab GmbH, Bern www.doklab.com

SWITZERLAND / FRANCE

Documentary PRODUCTION: Association Ecran Mobile, Geneva / Les soeurs Jaouen, Paris WORLD RIGHTS: Association Ecran Mobile, Geneva www.ecran-mobile.ch

by Laura Gabay, director of SWEET SALTY WIND

by Svetlana Rodina, Laurent Stoop, directors of OSTROV – LOST ISLAND

FILM SALES

A scheme by the European Film Promotion (EFP) for the promotion of European films outside of Europe.

for films from Switzerland

EFP offers Film Sales Support (FSS) for the promotion of films from Switzerland outside of Europe thanks to international measures by the Federal Office of Culture, MEDIA Desk Suisse and SWISS FILMS.

FSS is available for:

Classic

Digital

Digital Plus

Inclusion

Contact: support@swissfilms.ch

US AT

Annecy

Film

International Film

AT:

by

Elena Avdija