New catalogue SWISS SHORTS 2015

SWISSFILMS

SWISS SHORTS

15

SWISS SHORTS This catalogue is a selection of new Swiss short films produced in 2014/15.

Simon Koenig Short Films - Zurich skoenig@swissfilms.ch T +41 43 211 40 50

Sylvain Vaucher Short Films – Geneva svaucher@swissfilms.ch T +41 22 308 12 40 SWISS FILMS Neugasse 6, Postfach CH-8031 Zürich T +41 43 211 40 50 info@swissfilms.ch www.swissfilms.ch

Contents

Published by SWISS FILMS, Zurich Editing Rona Schauwecker, Edith Höhn, Simon Koenig, Daliah Kohn Sylvain Vaucher, Clarissa Wojciechowski Senn Selection of films John Canciani, Simon Koenig, Eva Schweizer, Sylvain Vaucher Cover and Layout volkart&volkart, Zürich Gabriela Maier, Grafik und Illustration, Winterthur Database Publishing Bitbee Solutions GmbH, Zürich Text Bild Technik, Walter Schmid, Zürich Lutz Repro AG, Zürich Photo reference Film stills are provided by producers and directors Peter Volkart © Peter Volkart Nadasdy Film © Miguel Bueno Portrait Stefan Künzler © Gabi Vogt Portrait Ursula Meier © Claude Dussex English translation Sharon Kroska, Lucerne Printed by IRL plus SA, Renens ISSN 1663-1048 Supported by Swiss Federal Office of Culture, Bern

005 Introduction 007 Short Fiction Films 041 Short Animation Films 061 Short Experimental Films 067 Short Documentary Films 083 Reflections on Shorts 084 Mr. Volkart’s cabinets of wonders

by Florian Keller 090 Nadasdy Film – Fertile year for

a prosperous future by Pascal Gavillet 096 In Praise of Hybridisation. Swiss Variations

by Thomas Tode 102 Interview with Ursula Meier

by Philippe Congiusti 106 List of Directors 108 List of Titles 110 List of Films by Running Time 112 List of Films by Category

4

Dear Short Film Aficionados Only those who change remain true to themselves: this year’s catalogue is presented in a slightly new form. Together with a selection of 46 recently produced Swiss shorts, the catalogue features three exclusive texts on the current status of Swiss short films as well as an interview with Ursula Meier, who completed two short films last year and won the Special Award Silver Bear at the Berlinale 2012. The upshot: There is no such thing as THE Swiss short film in our multicultural and multilingual country. The enormous diversity is reflected in the handpicked selection of Swiss short films produced in 2014/2015: 11 documentaries, 11 animation, 2 experimental and 22 fiction films following classic genres, though many would fit into several categories. Hybrid forms are gaining ground worldwide, also in Switzerland, as the film scholar Thomas Tode examines in his essay (p. 96).

Enjoy our selection of outstanding Swiss shorts!

Simon Koenig & Sylvain Vaucher P.S. In addition to the films presented here, professionals will find more short films from Switzerland in our password-protected Short Film Library www.swissfilms.ch/shortfilmlibrary.

Zurich, January 2015

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Short Fiction

Rhona Mühlebach

Kristina Wagenbauer

Isabelle Mayor

Irene Ledermann

Flo Linus Baumann

Maria Nicollier

Christophe M. Saber

Piet Baumgartner

Riccardo Bernasconi / Francesca Reverdito

Jeremy Rosenstein / Kaspar Schiltknecht

Elie Grappe

Moïra Pitteloud

Stefan Künzler

Régine Boichat

Nadège de Benoit-Luthy

Jean-Guillaume Sonnier

Luc Walpoth

Jean-François Vercasson

Peter Volkart

Jean-Daniel Schneider / Valentin Rotelli

Ursula Meier

Elena Brotschi

Abseits der Autobahn Ailleurs exactement Amira Best Buddies Between Cendres de volcan Discipline Inland La farfalla di lana Le mal du citron Limbes L’offre Männer On n’est pas ici pour être mort vivant Orages d’été Petit homme Replika Si j’étais Dieu Subotika Tchan Zaca Tišina Mujo Von Faltbooten und Heringen

8 10 11 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 25 26 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 36 38 39

Short Fiction

Abseits der Autobahn Off The Highway

Roman and Linda are a couple that doesn’t have much in common anymore besides drinking Bloody Marys. They go on a bike trip across the Swiss mountains. Their trip quickly becomes more complicated than expected. The two find themselves at a crossroad and must make a choice.

21' SWITZERLAND

Rhona Mühlebach Born in 1990 in Switzerland. 2014 BA in Film from ECAL (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne).

2014 Abseits der Autobahn (short fiction)

Written by: Rhona Mühlebach Cinematography: Benjamin Dobo Editing: Baptiste Ribrault Sound: Sylvain Lambinet, David Puntener, Nicolas Rohrer, Max Wuchner Cast: Andrea Zogg, Charlotte Heinimann, Marina Grankova, Robert Baranowski, Cédric Leproust Original Version: Swiss-German (French/English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: August 2014 Production: École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne / Leaves & Leaches Pictures, Zürich Producer: Lionel Baier World Rights: École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne Département Cinéma 5, avenue du Temple CH-1020 Renens T +41 21 316 99 33 ecal@ecal.ch

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Ailleurs exactement Elsewhere Exactly

Maxime forgets how to put on her pants but decides to keep her problem to herself. Gradually, her memory loss forces her to confront more and more difficult situations.

22' SWITZERLAND, CANADA

Kristina Wagenbauer Born in 1986 in Russia. Swiss citizenship. Grew up in Switzerland. BA in Communication Sciences from USI (Università della Svizzera italiana). Since 2007 works as independent filmmaker. 2010 Receivs degree in film directing from INIS (Institut National de l’image et du son Montreal).

Lives in Montreal.

2009 Particules (short fiction) / 2009 Que nos joies demeurent (short fiction) / 2009 In The Park, On The Beach (short fiction) / 2009 Cappuccetto rosso (short fiction) / 2009 22 Days (short fiction) / 2010 Soul Symphony (short fiction) / 2010 L’été indien (short fiction) / 2010 Fuite (short fiction) / 2010 Split (fiction) / 2011 Bowling chez Denise (short fiction) / 2011 En Moi (short fiction) / 2011 Moi, c’est Julien (short fiction) / 2012 Mila (short fiction) / 2014 Ailleurs exactement (short fiction)

Written by: Kristina Wagenbauer Cinematography: Stéphane Boissier Editing: Véronique Barbe Sound: Stéphane Bergeron, Luc Bouchard, Guillaume Gallois, Guillaume Pellerin, Antoine Viallefond Music: Jean-Sebastien Williams, Paul Shrofel Cast: Nolwenn Daste, Jérémie Graine, Juliette Chenais, Ugo Gonzalez, Emma Flornoy, Cecile Geindre, Valérie Le Roy Original Version: French (English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: September 2014 Production: ventura film sa, Meride / art et essai, Montréal Producers: Kristina Wagenbauer, Hany Ouichou Executive Producer: Nolwenn Daste World Sales: Travelling Case postale 368 Trois Rivieres, Qc, Canada G9A 5H3 T +1 514 467 81 60, info@travellingdistribution.com Distribution CH: ventura film sa, Meride www.kristinawagenbauer.com/ailleurs-exactement

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Amira Amira, a 17-year-old butcher’s apprentice, is trying to tame the desire she feels for Benji, a boy in her class. As a test of feelings, she suggests that he be present as she butchers a lamb according to Muslim tradition.

FRANCE, SWITZERLAND 18' Written by: Isabelle Mayor Cinematography: Julia Mingo Editing: Emilie Morier Sound: Adrien Kessler, Clément Maléo Music: Alexandre Geindre Cast: Sofia Lesaffre, Eliott Olivrie Original Version: French (English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: September 2014 Production: Local Films, Paris / Box Productions sàrl, Renens Producers: Nicolas Brevière, Elena Tatti World Rights: Local Films 45, rue de la Mare, FR-Paris T +33 1 44 93 73 59, festival_local@yahoo.fr and Box Productions sàrl 4, rue de la Savonnerie, CH-1020 Renens T +41 21 312 64 11, info@boxproductions.ch

Isabelle Mayor Born in 1980 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Since 2003 works as self-taught filmmaker. 2006 MA in Sociology and Journalism from the University of Fribourg.

2006 Sur les traces du Baron d’Aubonne (documentary) / 2008 L’eau crucifiée, une exposition de Catherine Bolle (documentary) / 2009 Organic HK (short fiction) / 2009 D’un don de la farce (short fiction) / 2009 La ménagerie de Betty (short fiction) / 2011 100% Yssam (short fiction) / 2014 Amira (short fiction)

Distribution CH: Box Productions sàrl, Renens

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Short Fiction

Short Fiction

Best Buddies Milo and Luc are the best of friends. When Milo notices that Luc is interested in his sister Flo, however, he fears their own friendship is at stake. Nevertheless, Luc gets involved with Flo and discovers an overwhelmingly new side in himself. Their friendship undergoes a few changes and scrapes, but holds all the more.

33' SWITZERLAND

Irene Ledermann Born in 1976 in Zurich, Switzerland. 2002 Receives degree from ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste), Arts & Education department. 2006-09 Attends ZHdK, Film department.

2009 MA in Film from ZHdK. 2005 Hier beginnt die EU! (short fiction) / 2006 Kinderfrage Aktuell (documentary) / 2007 Prima Vera (short fiction) / 2009 Schonzeit (short fiction) / 2015 Best Buddies (short fiction)

Written by: Irene Ledermann Cinematography: Gaëtan Varone Editing: Christof Schertenleib, Norbert Kottmann Sound: Jean-Pierre Gerth Music: Bernd Schurer Art Direction: Su Erdt, Sophie Stalder Cast: Rabea Egg, Ivo Starke, Flurin Giger Original Version: Swiss-German (German/English/French subtitles), colour, DCP Release: January 2015 Producers: Cornelia Seitler, Brigitte Hofer Production and World Rights: maximage GmbH Neugasse 6 CH-8005 Zürich T +41 44 274 88 66 info@maximage.ch

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Short Fiction

Between Thirteen-year-old Marco is trying to come to terms with his parents’ divorce. Neither his mother nor father are capable of talking to him about this incisive moment that affects them all.

When Luna, a girl from school, shows interest in the quiet boy, he is faced with a new form of affection and love.

29' SWITZERLAND

Flo Linus Baumann Born in 1987 in Singapore. Swiss citizenship. 2011 BA in Film from ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste). 2012-14 Attends Graduate Film Programme at Tisch School of the Arts, New York.

2009 Für Mutti (short fiction) / 2009 Kegelklub Greenhorn (documentary) / 2009 Das System (experimental) / 2010 D-Day #25 (short fiction) / 2010 Jetzt kann ich wieder tanzen (short fiction) / 2011 Korpus (short fiction) / 2015 Between (short fiction)

Written by: Romana Friedli, Flo Linus Baumann Cinematography: Manuel Haefele Editing: Aurora Vögeli Sound: Remie Blaser, Jacques Kieffer Music: Dominik Blumer Cast: Nicca Ritschard, Rabea Egg, Thomas Grötzinger, Stefanie Günther Original Version: Swiss-German/French (German/English/French subtitles), colour, DCP Release: January 2015 Production: CognitoFilms, Zürich / SRF Producer: Rajko Jazbec World Rights and Distribution CH: CognitoFilms Talstrasse 39 CH-8001 Zürich T +41 79 320 94 33 info@cognitofilms.ch www.between-movie.ch

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Short Fiction

Cendres de volcan Volcanic Ash

In the Swiss village of Valangin, a fabulously rich Moroccan plans to build a mausoleum in memory of his late wife. But Hassan’s extravagant project hurts the feelings of his protestant sister-in-law.

Beyond its comical vein, the film explores the evolution of shared grief.

16' SWITZERLAND

Maria Nicollier Born in 1972 in Geneva, Switzerland. 1997 Arts degree from University of Geneva. 1999 Sociology degree from social sciences faculty, Geneva and Kyoto. 2000 Degree in cinema, New York Film Academy. 2001-03 Works as journalist and director at TVP Production, Neuchâtel. 2003 Registered journalist in Lausanne. 2000 Cofounder of Label Image directors’ association, Geneva. 2003 Cofounder of Rec Production, Neuchâtel.

2000 Don’t Walk (short fiction) / 2001 Dracula Mania (documentary) / 2003 Le G8 à l’heure (documentary) / 2004 Dis-moi oui … en japonais (documentary) / 2006 Pour l’amour du ciel (documentary) / 2008 L’oeil du Khmer rouge (documentary) / 2011 Chasse à l’âne (short fiction) / 2014 Cendres de volcan (short fiction)

Written by: Maria Nicollier Cinematography: Patrick Mounoud Editing: Emilie Morier Sound: Eric Ghersinu, Denis Séchaud, Jérôme Vittoz Music: K Wayne, Oussama Bastaoui Art Direction: Maria Nicollier Cast: Mohammed Bastaoui, Brigitte Rosset, Christian Scheidt, Elliot Sanchez, Lisa Harder Original Version: French/Arabic (English/French subtitles), colour, DCP Release: December 2014 Producer: Kinga Kukorelly Executive Producers: Philippe Calame, Maria Nicollier Production, World Rights and Distribution CH: REC Production Case postale 753 CH-2002 Neuchâtel 2 T +41 32 922 66 82 info@recproduction.com

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Short Fiction

Discipline It’s 9:30 pm in a grocery store in Lausanne, Switzerland. The place is run by Egyptians. In a moment of anger, a father loses his patience and disciplines his disobedient child. A shocked customer immediately intervenes to express her concern. Other customers join the conversation, they each put in their two cents and the staff is swamped.

12' SWITZERLAND

Christophe M. Saber Born in 1991 in Cairo, Egypt. Joint Swiss and Egyptian citizenship. 2010-14 Attends ECAL (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne), film department. 2014 BA in Film from ECAL. 2013 Frère et soeur (short fiction) / 2013 Homme en mouvement, 2012 (experimental) / 2014 La vie en rose comme dans les films (documentary) / 2014 Discipline (short fiction)

Written by: Christophe M. Saber Cinematography: Denis Jutzeler Editing: Jonathan Vinel Sound: Zoel Aeschbacher, Julien Cariteau, Pascal Jacquet, Léo Lepage, Aude Sublet Music: Christian Garcia Art Direction: Céline Masson Cast: Adel Ahdy, Nour Gayed, Garance Rohr, Frank Semelet, Florence Quartenoud Original Version: French (German/English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: September 2014 Production: Box Productions sàrl, Renens / École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne / RTS Producer: Elena Tatti World Sales: Salaud Morisset Schönhauser Allee 8 DE-10119 Berlin T +49 152 25 19 23 36 f.morisset@gmail.com

18

Short Fiction

Inland Alina is fifteen years old when her world is suddenly turned upside down. Her stepfather is arrested. He, the tall Nigerian, dealt in drugs – at least, this is what the police claim. Alina knows it is not true. The scandal involving her stepfather ends Alina’s youth. Based on a true story.

20' SWITZERLAND

Piet Baumgartner Born in 1984 in Dieterswil, Switzerland. Trained as technical designer. 2005 Studies journalism at SAL (Schule für Angewandte Linguistik), Zurich. Worked as television reporter. 2011 BA in Film from ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste). Since 2013 MA studies in directing at ZHdK. Works as independent filmmaker.

2006 Glauser hat aufgehört zu schreiben (short fiction) / 2009 Geh aufs Ganze! (short fiction) / 2010 Closer (experimental) / 2011 Alle werden (short fiction) / 2012 Comme tu veux (short fiction) / 2013 Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten (short fiction) / 2013 Elite (short fiction) / 2015 Inland (short fiction)

Written by: Marina Guerrini Cinematography: Stefan Dux Editing: Bigna Tomschin Sound: Christoph Cramer, Manuel Gerber, Benjamin Pogonatos, Gregg Skerman Music: Roman Lerch Art Direction: Annina Geeser, Andrea Schmidlin Cast: Rabea Egg, Diana Dengler, Taffy Oyewusi, Elsa Langnäse Original Version: Swiss-German/English (German/English/French subtitles), colour, DCP Release: Planned for Spring 2015 Producer: Anita Wasser Executive Producer: Sarah Born Production, World Rights and Distribution CH: Zürcher Hochschule der Künste ZHdK Departement Darstellende Künste und Film Fachrichtung Film BA/MA Postfach, CH-8031 Zürich T +41 43 446 31 12, film.info@zhdk.ch www.inland-shortfilm.com

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Short Fiction

La farfalla di lana The Woollen Butterfly

18-year-old Mia wants to be part of the group. To do so she will use her skills in knitting in order to find her own way towards self-confidence.

20' SWITZERLAND

Riccardo Bernasconi Born in 1984 in Sorengo, Switzerland. 2008 BA in Media Design from the NABA (Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti), Milan.

2010 MA in Film, Directing & Scriptwriting from ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste). Works as filmmaker and photographer.

A selection: 2010 Tzirk (short fiction) / 2010 She Wolf (short fiction) / 2012 Dans ma peau ou les principes secrets (short fiction) / 2013 Death For A Unicorn (short fiction) / 2015 La farfalla di lana (short fiction)

Francesca Reverdito

Written by: Francesca Reverdito, Riccardo Bernasconi, Giacomo Mondadori Cinematography: Giacomo Frittelli Sound: Marco Dorici, Marco Monti Art Direction: Francesca Reverdito Cast: Anahì Traversi, Luis Molteni, Rosanna Sparapano Original Version: Italian (English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: Planned for Summer 2015 Production: Inmagine SA, Mendrisio / RSI World Rights: Inmagine SA Via Vincenzo Vela 21 CH-6850 Mendrisio T +41 79 603 44 83 inmagine.ch@gmail.com

Born in 1973 in Ravenna, Italy. Joint Swiss and Italian citizenship. Received degree from IULM (University Institute for Modern Languages) Milan. Trained as make-up artist in Paris.

Since 2007 works as filmmaker and art director.

A selection: 2013 Death For A Unicorn (short fiction) / 2015 La farfalla di lana (short fiction)

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Le mal du citron The Lemon Syndrome

Etienne and Florence, a couple in their thirties, set off for the south of France, where her father has hung himself. This suicide does not seem to affect Florence, but then how could she mourn a father she no longer respected? Etienne soon discovers that this return to her roots will force them to deal with new truths in their relationship.

21' SWITZERLAND, GERMANY

Jeremy Rosenstein Kaspar Schiltknecht JEREMY ROSENSTEIN: Born in 1987 in Geneva, Switzerland.

2012 BA in Film from ECAL (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne).

2011 Corps épousé (short fiction) / 2012 Résurrection (short fiction) / 2014 Le mal du citron (short fiction) KASPAR SCHILTKNECHT: Born in 1987 in Niederbipp, Switzerland. 2009-13 Attends ECAL (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne), film department. 2013 BA in Film from ECAL. 2009 Simon & C-leg X38 (documentary) / 2012 Plaids 87 (documentary) / 2012 Wache Blicke (short fiction) / 2013 Bonne espérance (short fiction) / 2014 Le mal du citron (short fiction)

Written by: Jeremy Rosenstein, Kaspar Schiltknecht Cinematography: Léo Lefèvre Editing: Clémence Diard Sound: Julien Cariteau, Paul Jousselin, Jeremy Rosenstein Art Direction: Sevèrine André Cast: Camille Genaud, Ludovic Chazaud Original Version: French (English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: August 2014 Production: Box Productions sàrl, Renens / RTS / Salaud Morisset, Berlin Producers: Elena Tatti, Salaud Morisset Executive Producers: Kaspar Schiltknecht, Jeremy Rosenstein World Sales: Salaud Morisset Schönhauser Allee 8 DE-10119 Berlin T +49 152 25 19 23 36 f.morisset@gmail.com Distribution CH: Box Productions sàrl, Renens www.lemalducitron.com

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Limbes Two cousins who have never met are the only ones present at their grandmother’s burial in an isolated mountain village. No other family, no hearse, no neighbours: only the old woman’s coffin stored in her barn.

SWITZERLAND 15' Written by: Elie Grappe, Sarah-Lise Salomon Maufroy Cinematography: Florian Berthellot Editing: Elie Grappe, Mathieu Cacheux Sound: Maël Desreumaux, Lucas Le Bart, Mario Loupo Robert Cast: Isabelle Vesseron, Tatiana Baumgartner, Jean-Louis Delorme, Serge Poulain, Didier Grappe Original Version: French (English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: November 2014 Producer: Lionel Baier

Elie Grappe Born in 1994 in Lyon, France. French citizenship. Music training at the National Conservatory in Lyon. 2011 Attends preparatory course at ECAL (École Cantonale d’Arts de Lausanne). Since 2012 attends ECAL, film department.

2014 Répétition (documentary) / 2014 Limbes (short fiction)

Production, World Rights and Distribution CH: École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne Département Cinéma 5, avenue du Temple CH-1020 Renens T +41 21 316 99 33 ecal@ecal.ch

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Short Fiction

Short Fiction

L’offre The Offer

Sami, a young Swiss-Algerian man, goes to Bern to apply for a position in the Swiss Bureau of Intelligence. Applicants vying for the position are not allowed to discuss the recruitment process.

But when he returns home, Sami can’t help telling his family about his employment possibility.

All hell breaks loose.

13' SWITZERLAND

Moïra Pitteloud Born in 1990 in Lausanne, Switzerland. 2009 Studies Visual Arts at HGK (Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst) Basel.

2011-14 Attends HEAD-Genève (Haute école d’art et de design – Genève). 2014 BA in Cinema from HEAD-Genève.

2012 La brèche (short fiction) / 2013 La part des choses (short fiction) / 2014 L’offre (short fiction)

Written by: Moïra Pitteloud Cinematography: Leandro Monti Editing: Félix Sandri Sound: Philippe Ciompi, Félix Sandri Art Direction: Rabah Moulay Cast: Abel Jafri, Mehdi Djaadi, Markus Amrein, Frédéric Polier, Mayya Sanbar, Djamel Belghazi, Christiane Margraitner Original Version: French (English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: November 2014 Production: Bord Cadre films Sàrl, Genève / Haute école d’art et de design – Genève Producers and Executive Producers: Benjamin Corbat, Dan Wechsler World Rights: Bord Cadre films Sàrl 8, rue de la Coulouvrenière Case postale 5353 CH-1211 Genève 11 T +41 22 320 90 25 info@bordcadrefilms.com

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Männer The pursuit of happiness amidst hotdogs, free parking spaces and ready-to-assemble furniture.

A story about reality and appearances, about a father who is open to learning, and about wives who play dumb – dumber than they really are – to gain more control over their husbands.

15' SWITZERLAND

Stefan Künzler Born in 1978 in Zurich, Switzerland. Apprenticeship as electromechanical technician. Attended preparatory course at ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste). 2010 BA in Film from ZHdK. 2014 MA in Film directing from ZHdK. 2010 Happy (short fiction) / 2015 Männer (short fiction)

Written by: Stefan Künzler Cinematography: Janos Menberg Editing: Aurora Vögeli Sound: Pablo Callisaya, Rafael Kistler, Maxim Ritzi, Gregg Skerman Art Direction: Lisa Gertsch Cast: Leonardo Nigro, Anna Schinz, Lisa Brühlmann, Robert Baranowski, Dario Faranda, Alessandra Pasculli, Cam Müller Original Version: Swiss-German (German/English/French subtitles), colour, ProRes 422 Release: Planned for Spring 2015 Producer: Filippo Bonacci Production, World Rights and Distribution CH: Zürcher Hochschule der Künste ZHdK Departement Darstellende Künste und Film Fachrichtung Film BA/MA Postfach CH-8031 Zürich T +41 43 446 31 12 film.info@zhdk.ch

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On n’est pas ici pour être mort vivant

We Are Not Here To Be Living Dead

Clara, a 7-year-old girl, spends most of her time giving aerobic lessons to an imaginary public.

The world which she has created will help her to overcome, in her own way, the painful reality that her mother is dying.

SWITZERLAND 12' Written by: Régine Boichat Cinematography: Tangi Zahn Editing: Pierre-Yves Borgeaud Sound: Carlos Ibañez-Diaz Music: Olivier Grandjean Cast: Isabelle Caillat, Mali Van Valenberg, Mathilde Devanthéry Original Version: French (English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: Planned for Spring 2015 Producer and Executive Producer: Emmanuel Gétaz Production and World Rights: Dreampixies Rue du Torrent 1 CH-1800 Vevey T +41 21 922 40 54 emmanuel@dreampixies.ch

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Régine Boichat Born in 1976 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.

2004-07 Attends EMAF (École de Multimédia et Arts de Fribourg).

2009 Receives degree as certified journalist.

2008 Cellophane (experimental) / 2009 C’est Noël (short fiction) / 2009 Y croyez-vous (short fiction) / 2009 Vue sur la mer (short fiction) / 2012 La vase (short fiction) / 2013 La belle Hélène (short fiction) / 2015 On n’est pas ici pour être mort vivant (short fiction)

Short Fiction

Orages d’été Summer Storms

Holidays, heat, crickets… Think “sea, sex and sun”. Except there is no sex for Victoire and Léo because Victoire can’t make love. This is a couple on the brink of separation. But then, along come two sexed-up, happy lovebirds.

20' SWITZERLAND, FRANCE

Nadège de Benoit-Luthy Born in 1977 in Morges, Switzerland. 2003 Receives degree from ECAL (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne), film department.

2001 Eve et l’homme aux douze roses (short fiction) / 2002 Tu ne le sauras pas! (documentary) / 2002 Poissons (experimental) / 2003 Petit(s) cadavre(s) personnel(s) (short fiction) / 2007 Ménagerie intérieure (short fiction) / 2014 Orages d’été (short fiction)

Written by: Nadège de Benoit-Luthy Cinematography: Joakim Chardonnens Editing: Nadège de Benoit-Luthy Sound: Gabriel Hafner, Renaud Musy, Marc Thill Music: Mallika Hermand Art Direction: Sabine Crausaz Cast: Laurie Lévêque, Diane Fleri, Gael Giraudeau, Vincent Kucholl Original Version: French (English/German/Italian subtitles), colour, DCP Release: August 2014 Production: Octuor films production, Vevey / Stromboli films, Paris Producer: Florian Burion World Rights: Octuor films production JJ Rousseau 6 CH-1800 Vevey T +41 79 412 23 72, info@octuorfilms.ch www.octuorfilms.ch/oragesdete

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Petit homme David is a young apprentice jockey, reserved but determined. At the training centre he is fascinated by Eliab, just a little older than him, a jockey for a famous racing stable.

To get to know him better and to obtain his advice, he spies on him and covers up his nightly escapades. Eliab starts to open up to him. But is David sure of his own motivation?

SWITZERLAND 30' Written by: Loïc Barrère, Jean-Guillaume Sonnier Cinematography: Pascale Marin Editing: Vincent Tricon Sound: Gabriel Hafner, Arnaud Marten Cast: Hamza Meziani, Thomas Doret Original Version: French (English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: August 2014 Production: Casa Azul Films, Lausanne / RTS Producers: Fabrice Aragno, Jean-Guillaume Sonnier World Rights: Casa Azul Films Rue de Genève 97 CH-1004 Lausanne T +41 21 625 60 25 mail@casa-azul.ch

Jean-Guillaume Sonnier Born in 1988 in Annecy, France. French citizenship.

2011 Receives degree from ECAL (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne), film department.

2010 Shabbat, Dieu merci! (short fiction) / 2011 À quoi tu joues (short fiction) / 2014 Petit homme (short fiction)

www.casa-azul.ch/casa-azul/Petit_homme.html

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Short Fiction

Replika Devastated when her 13-year-old android daughter has to be formatted due to technical problems, a mother approaches her husband with the idea of adopting a human baby. But in a world dominated by materialism and function, security takes precedence over emotions.

26' SWITZERLAND, FRANCE

Luc Walpoth Born in 1981 in Zurich, Switzerland. Attended EICAR (École Internationale de Création Audiovisuelle et de Réalisation), Paris. Since 2002 works as film director and cinematographer.

2009 Cofounder of Turbulence Films, Geneva.

2004 Arbusto (short fiction) / 2004 Love Hurts (short fiction) / 2005 Marée basse (short fiction) / 2006 Hide & Sick (short fiction) / 2007 Je rêve d’un métier (documentary) / 2008 Wer ist Berger? (short fiction) / 2009 Viens avec nous (documentary) / 2009 Ellipse (experimental) / 2010 Sous les draps (short fiction) / 2010 Traiettorie invisibili (short fiction) / 2014 Replika (short fiction)

Written by: Luc Walpoth, Klaus Pas Cinematography: Frank van Vught Editing: Jean Reusser Sound: Alexandru Dumitru, Eric Ghersinu, Marius Leftarache Cast: Carole Brana, Jérôme Robart, Patricia Bopp Original Version: French (English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: November 2014 Production: Elefant Films Sàrl, Genève / La Voie Lactée, Paris Producer: Alexandre Iordachescu World Rights: Elefant Films Sàrl 10, rue Jean-Jaquet CH-1201 Genève T +41 22 301 65 00 info@elefantfilms.ch

32

Si j’étais Dieu Lucien, a 28-year-old cabaret musician, suffers from pathological shyness. Tonight, instead of doing his standard pianist’s routine, he wants to get up on the stage and sing his lyrics for the first time in front of an audience. Waiting in the wings, he calms his stage fright with alcohol and cigarettes. He wants to make it through this hell, which will also be his liberation.

SWITZERLAND 17' Written by: Jean-François Vercasson Cinematography: Jean-François Vercasson, Julia De Cooker Editing: Jean-François Vercasson Sound: Björn Cornelius, Adrien Kessler Cast: Swann Arlaud, Olivia Csiky Trnka, Julia Batinova, Rinaldo Marasco Original Version: French (German/English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: Planned for Spring 2015 Production: Earthling Productions, Genève / Haute École Spécialisée de Suisse occidentale, Renens / RTS Producer and Executive Producer: Priscilla Frey World Rights and Distribution CH: Earthling Productions 8, rue de la Coulouvrenière CH-1204 Genève T +41 22 550 04 13 pfrey@earthling-prod.net

33

Jean-François Vercasson Born in 1982 in France. Joint Swiss and French citizenship.

2006 Engineering degree from École d’Ingénieur in Geneva.

2011 BA in Cinema from HEAD-Genève (Haute école d’art et de design). 2014 MA in Film from HES-SO ECAL/HEAD (University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland).

2009 Le carnet (short fiction) / 2009 Un pied devant l’autre (short fiction) / 2011 Le début de la fin (short fiction) / 2013 Antigo para sempre (documentary) / 2015 Si j’étais Dieu (short fiction)

Short Fiction

Short Fiction

Subotika Subotika, a little-known island on the other side of the globe. Endeavouring to step up tourism in the Republic, the Foreign Minister commissions an advertising movie. An enchanting country with extraordinary sights, grand visions and a couple of minor problems.

13' SWITZERLAND

Peter Volkart Born in 1957 in Zurich, Switzerland. 1983 BFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York. Attended film courses at New York University. Exhibitions in Switzerland and abroad. Since 1990 works as independent graphic designer and filmmaker. 2006 Awarded Swiss Film Prize, Best Short Film for “Terra incognita”.

1982 Suburban Wildlife (short fiction) / 1984 Monoglia (short fiction) / 1986 Der junge Eskimo (short fiction) / 1994 Crosstown (documentary) / 2001 En route … (documentary) / 2005 Terra incognita (short fiction) / 2008 Monsieur Sélavy (short fiction) / 2009 Ja ja, nein nein (documentary) / 2012 Zimmer 606 (short fiction) / 2015 Subotika (short fiction)

Written by: Anita Hansemann Cinematography: Hansueli Schenkel Editing: Harald & Herbert Sound: Guido Keller Cast: Francesca Tappa, Alireza Bayram, Heinz-Jürgen Steinhauer, Helmut Vogel (narrator) Original Version: German (English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: Planned for Spring 2015 Production: RECK Filmproduktion GmbH, Zürich / SRF Producer: Franziska Reck World Rights: RECK Filmproduktion GmbH Dienerstrasse 7 CH-8004 Zürich T +41 44 241 37 63 info@reckfilm.ch

34

Short Fiction

Tchan Zaca At the farewell ceremony of a recently deceased friend, a young woman recalls how they met a painter that used their life as a subject for his works. A journey between fiction and reality into the mind of a painter, told by a fictional model.

15' SWITZERLAND

Jean-Daniel Schneider Born in 1975 in Geneva, Switzerland. 1998-2000 Attends Faculty of Japanese culture at University of Geneva.

2002 Cofounds A_zero gallery. 2007 Receives degree from HEAD-Genève (Haute école d’art et de design – Genève), cinema department. Works as editor and director.

A selection: 2006 Nouvel ordre (short fiction) / 2007 Maelstrom (short fiction) / 2012 Madame W (short fiction) / 2014 Tchan Zaca (short fiction)

Valentin Rotelli Born in 1983 in Geneva, Switzerland. Since 2004 works as film editor. 2006 Cofounds Big Sur Films, production company.

2011 Swiss Film Award Best Actress for “All That Remains”.

Written by: Valentin Rotelli, Jean-Daniel Schneider Cinematography: Valentin Rotelli, Jean-Daniel Schneider Editing: Valentin Rotelli, Jean-Daniel Schneider Sound: Benjamin Benoît, Valentin Rotelli, Jean-Daniel Schneider Music: Fabio Poujouly, Guillaume Peitrequin Cast: Zoe Cappon, Jonathan Delachaux, Sotho Houle, Hélène Patricio, Jacques Houssay, Adama Royal, Olivier Moreau, Roger Haas Original Version: French (English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: November 2014 Production: Offspace Online GmbH, Cham / Big Sur Films, Genève Producers: Roger Haas, Armando Haas World Rights and Distribution CH: Offspace Online GmbH Hinterbergstrasse 18 CH-6330 Cham T +41 79 252 27 12 office@osol.ch

A selection: 2008 Big Sur (short fiction) / 2010 All That Remains (fiction) / 2014 Tchan Zaca (short fiction)

36

Tišina Mujo Quiet Mujo

It’s training time at the Zetra stadium in Sarajevo. Ten-year-old Mujo misses his penalty kick. The ball flies over the goal and disappears among the tombstones of the graveyard that replaced the sports grounds during the war. “Go search among the Christians!” some of his playmates yell. “Seek among the Muslims!” others snicker. Searching for the ball, Mujo wanders in the kingdom of the dead.

10'

Ursula Meier Born in 1971 in Besançon, France. Joint Swiss and French citizenship. 1990-94 Studies cinema and television production at IAD (Institut des Arts de Diffusion) Louvain-la-Neuve.

2008 “Home” premieres at Festival de Cannes – Semaine Internationale de la Critique. Swiss Film Prize 2009, Best Fiction Film, Best Screenplay and Best Emerging Actor for “Home”. 2012 Silver Bear – Special Award for “Sister”, 62nd Berlin International Film Festival. 2013 Swiss Film Award Best Fiction Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actor for “Sister”.

1994 Le songe d’Isaac (short fiction) / 1998 Des heures sans sommeil (short fiction) / 2000 Autour de Pinget(documentary) / 2001 Tous à table (short fiction) / 2002 Pas les flics, pas les noirs, pas les blancs (documentary) / 2002 Des épaules solides (fiction) / 2008 Home (fiction) / 2012 Sister (fiction) / 2014 Les ponts de Sarajevo (fiction) / 2014 Tišina Mujo (short fiction) / 2015 Kacey Mottet Klein, naissance d’un acteur (documentary)

SWITZERLAND, FRANCE, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA, GERMANY, ITALY, PORTUGAL

Written by: Ursula Meier, Antoine Jaccoud Cinematography: Agnès Godard Editing: Nelly Quettier Sound: Etienne Curchod, Henri Maïkoff Cast: Vladan Kovacevic, Alma Prica, Sead Jesenkovic Original Version: Bosnian/German/Italian/Romanian/ French/Catalan (French/English/German subtitles), colour, ProRes 422 Release: November 2014 Production: Bande à part Films, Lausanne / Cinétévé, Paris / Obala Art Center, Sarajevo / Ukbar filmes, Évora / Unafilm GmbH, Köln / MIR Cinematografica Srl, Milano Executive Producer: Frédéric Mermoud World Sales: Indie Sales 32, rue Washington, FR-75008 Paris T +33 1 44 83 02 27, info@indiesales.eu Distribution CH: Bande à part Films Sàrl, Lausanne www.bridgesofsarajevo.com/meier.html

38

Von Faltbooten und Heringen Sparrows And Snorkels

Ivan meets Paolo, little Jonas meets Ida, another Jonas meets Sandra and Annina meets Jonas – in July, at a campsite by a river.

SWITZERLAND 15' Written by: Elena Brotschi, Mario Gysi Cinematography: Tom Keller Editing: Simon Gutknecht Sound: Benoît Barraud, Rebekka Friedli, Benjamin Pogonatos, Matthias Sahli, Gregg Skerman Art Direction: Pia Meier, Mirjam Aggeler, Caroline Feder, Jimena Cugat, Melanie Imfeld, Mirco Petrilli Cast: Aminta Iseppi, Vinzent Lehmann, Jonas Gygax, Jara Bihler, Philippe Heule, Thomas Butteweg, Janina Kutschan, Maria-Valentina Brotschi Original Version: German/English/Swiss-German (English subtitles), colour, DCP Other Versions: German and French subtitles Release: October 2014 Producer: Filippo Bonacci

Elena Brotschi Born in 1984. Swiss citizenship. 2009 Receives degree in photography from ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste) and HFF Gothenburg. 2014 BA in Film from ZHdK. 2012 Heute Abend mit Musik (short fiction) / 2014 Von Faltbooten und Heringen (short fiction)

Production, World Rights and Distribution CH: Zürcher Hochschule der Künste ZHdK Departement Darstellende Künste und Film Fachrichtung Film BA/MA Postfach, CH-8031 Zürich T +41 43 446 31 12, film.info@zhdk.ch

39

Short Fiction

Short Animation

Daniel Harisberger

Mauro Carraro

Lena von Döhren

Mirella Brunold / Nina Calderone

Maja Gehrig

Nino Christen

Marcel Barelli

Isabelle Favez

David Epiney

Justine Klaiber

Nils Hedinger

Astronaut-K Aubade Der kleine Vogel und das Eichhörnchen Es war finster und merkwürdig still Königin Po L’Île noire Lucens Messages dans l’air Prose du transsibérien The Sound Of Crickets Timber

42 44 46 47 48 50 52 54 56 57 58

Short Animation

Astronaut-K Crash landed on a barren lifeless planet, a chubby astronaut is forced to adapt to his surroundings as he struggles to survive! Fighting against his misfortune and even his own clumsiness, he follows his rumbling tummy to find food, shelter and a place in this world.

6'

Daniel Harisberger Born in 1987 in Bern, Switzerland. 2005-09 Attends Schule f端r Gestaltung Bern und Biel. 2009 Receives degree in graphic design. 2009-10 Internship as graphic designer.

2010-11 Internship as screen designer. 2011-14 Studies 3D Animation at HSLU (Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst).

2014 BA in Animation from HSLU. 2014 Astronaut-K (animation)

SWITZERLAND

Written by: Daniel Harisberger Cinematography: Daniel Harisberger Technique: 3D Computer animation Editing: Daniel Harisberger Sound: Dominik Di Rosa, Heinrich-Dieter Hebben, Christof Steinmann Music: Raphael Ochsenbein Original Version: Without dialogue, colour, DCP Release: September 2014 Production: Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst / SRF Producer: J端rgen Haas Executive Producer: Gerd Gockell World Rights and Distribution CH: Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst Studienbereich Animation Baselstrasse 61 CH-6003 Luzern T +41 41 248 64 64 animation@hslu.ch

42

Short Animation

Aubade A black sun rises on Lake Geneva. In a surrealist backlit scene, swimmers and birds witness the spectacle of dawn, hypnotized by the music of a double bass player.

5'

Mauro Carraro Born in 1984 in Venice, Italy. Italian citizenship.

2008 Professional training at Creative Cube, Paris. Since 2010 works with animation and computer graphics at Nadasdy Film.

2013 Hasta Santiago (animation) / 2014 Aubade (animation)

SWITZERLAND

Written by: Mauro Carraro Cinematography: Mauro Carraro Technique: 3D Computer animation Editing: Mauro Carraro, Zoltán Horváth Sound: Martin Stricker Music: Mich Gerber Original Version: Without dialogue, colour, DCP Release: August 2014 Production: Nadasdy Film Sarl, Genève / RTS Producer and Executive Producer: Nicolas Burlet World Sales: Autour de Minuit Production/Distribution 21, rue Henry Monnier FR-75009 Paris T +33 1 42 81 17 28 info@autourdeminuit.com Distribution CH: Nadasdy Film Sarl, Genève

44

Der kleine Vogel und das Eichhörnchen The Little Bird And The Squirrel

It’s autumn. At the end of a branch hangs a red leaf. A little black bird comes along to water it.

Suddenly a squirrel nicks the bird’s bright green watering can. The bird follows the cheeky thief: this is the start of an exciting chase through the forest. But behind the trees the fiery red fox is already waiting for his chance.

5'

Lena von Döhren Born in 1981 in Berlin, Germany. German citizenship. Studied visual communications in Amsterdam. 2011 MA in Design from HSLU (Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst).

2009 Lovestory 2 (animation) / 2012 Der kleine Vogel und das Blatt (animation) / 2014 Der kleine Vogel und das Eichhörnchen (animation)

SWITZERLAND

Written by: Lena von Döhren Technique: 2D Computer animation Editing: Fee Liechti Sound: Christof Steinmann Music: Martin Waespe Original Version: Without dialogue, colour, 35mm Other Version: DCP Release: September 2014 Production: Schattenkabinett GmbH, Bern / SRG SSR Producers: Gerd Gockell, Ted Sieger, Jochen Ehmann Executive Producers: Ted Sieger, Gerd Gockell World Rights: Schattenkabinett GmbH Fährstrasse 36 CH-3004 Bern T +41 77 486 86 16 info@schattenkabinett.com

46

Es war finster und merkw端rdig still It Was Dark And Eerily Quiet

Silently, a man lands with his ship on a sea coast and moves into an abandoned house.

From the very first sight the people of the nearby town find him suspicious. Soon the stranger begins to build a bizarre machinery. Day after day the townspeople observe him and eventually they disclose his wonderous secret.

SWITZERLAND 5' Written by: Mirella Brunold, Nina Calderone Cinematography: Mirella Brunold, Nina Calderone Technique: 2D/3D Computer animation Editing: Mirella Brunold, Nina Calderone Sound: Thomas Gassmann, Frederic Siegel Music: David Hohl Original Version: German (English subtitles), colour, DCP Other Version: English Release: September 2014 Producer and Executive Producer: Gerd Gockell

Mirella Brunold Nina Calderone MIRELLA BRUNOLD: Born in 1988 in Peist, Switzerland. Worked as flight attendant. 2011-14 Attends HSLU (Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst), animation department. 2014 BA in 3D Animation from HSLU. 2014 Es war finster und merkw端rdig still (animation)

Production, World Rights and Distribution CH: Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst Studienbereich Animation Baselstrasse 61 CH-6003 Luzern T +41 41 248 64 64 animation@hslu.ch

NINA CALDERONE: Born in 1989 in Lenzburg, Switzerland.

Trained in Visual Communication. Worked for an advertising agency in Zurich. 2011-14 Attends HSLU (Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst), animation department. 2014 BA in 3D Animation from HSLU. 2014 Es war finster und merkw端rdig still (animation)

47

Short Animation

Short Animation

Königin Po Queen Tush

It’s bedtime. Father and daughter make up a world floating high above the clouds. The queen of this world is called Po. Ms. Triangel and Mr. Vierangel live in her kingdom, but the queen is in their way. They shove her back and forth, ever faster and more and more, until this world is swung so high that it could only fall.

11' SWITZERLAND Written by: Maja Gehrig, Pamela Dürr Technique: 2D Computer animation, Drawing on paper Editing: Fee Liechti Sound: Peter Bräker Maja Gehrig Music: Kaspar König Original Version: Swiss-German/German (English subtitles), colour, DCP Born in 1978 in Zurich, Switzerland. 1999-2000 Attends Release: January 2015 preparatory course at ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste). Production: Schick Productions, Zollikon / SRG SSR 2000-02 Attends Fachhochschule Aarau, Media Arts Producer and Executive Producer: Ruedi Schick department. 2002-03 Internship at Eesti Joonisfilm, Tallinn.

2003-05 Attends HSLU (Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst), World Rights: animation department. 2006-11 Works as curator of Schick Productions installations and performances at ARM (Artspace Rondeel Zollikerstrasse 107 Maastricht). 2011 Founds Gehrig Trick & Sohn. CH-8702 Zollikon T +41 79 400 62 60 2003 Metawalz (animation) / 2003 Triple Texas Dream ruedi.schick@gmail.com (animation) / 2004 Mister Mocco (animation) / 2004 Teestunde (animation) / 2004 2PS (animation) / 2005 Une nuit blanche (animation) / 2009 Amourette (animation) / 2012 Bergzeug animiert (animation) / 2015 Königin Po (animation)

48

Short Animation

L’Île noire On an island, at the edge of the woods, a watchman and his bird live a miserable and isolated life.

One day a deceptive chance to escape their boredom arises. A truck loaded with a dangerous freight tries to get into the forest. At the checkpoint the watchman is bribed with a radio. In his hut he listens to sounds from around the world.

6'

Nino Christen Born in 1984 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Swiss citizenship. 2003-06 Apprenticeship as graphic designer. 2006-09 Attends HSLU (Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst), animation department.

2009 BA in Animation from HSLU. Since 2010 works as independent producer, director, animator and illustrator.

2008 Back In Times (animation) / 2008 Emmenufer (experimental) / 2009 Maggoty (animation) / 2009 Micro. kosmos (animation) / 2009 Little Eden (animation) / 2014 L’Île noire (animation)

SWITZERLAND

Written by: Nino Christen Cinematography: Nino Christen Technique: Drawn animation Editing: Marcel Derek Ramsay Sound: Peter Bräker Music: Peter Bräker Characters by: Nino Christen, Milan Hofstetter Original Version: Without dialogue, b/w, DCP Release: February 2014 Production: Nino Christen, Zürich / SRF / SRG SSR Producer and Executive Producer: Nino Christen World Rights: Nino Christen Koechlistrasse 14a CH-8004 Zürich T +41 79 242 65 99 info@ninochristen.ch www.ninochristen.ch/lilenoire

50

Short Animation

Lucens The story of the first nuclear power plant 100% made in Switzerland… but also the last.

7'

Marcel Barelli Born in 1985 in Lodrino, Switzerland. 2005-09 Attends HEAD-Genève (Haute école d’art et de design – Genève), cinema department. 2009 Receives degree from HEAD-Genève.

2008 No Penguin’s Land (animation) / 2008 Bianconero (animation) / 2009 Peripheria (animation) / 2011 Gypaetus Helveticus (animation) / 2013 Vigia (animation) / 2015 Lucens (animation)

SWITZERLAND

Written by: Marcel Barelli Cinematography: Marcel Barelli Technique: Drawing on paper Editing: Zoltán Horváth, Marcel Barelli Sound: Louis Crelier Music: Louis Crelier Original Version: French/Italian (German/English subtitles), colour and b/w, DCP Release: Planned for Spring 2015 Production: Nadasdy Film Sarl, Genève / RSI Producer and Executive Producer: Nicolas Burlet World Rights: Nadasdy Film Sarl 4, rue du Beulet CH-1203 Genève T +41 22 300 20 54 info@nadasdyfilm.ch

52

Short Animation

Messages dans l’air A young woman lives alone with her cat in a small town. The two are complete opposites: whereas the woman is good-hearted and benevolent, the cat is a hunter-killer type. The young woman has a secret: she is in love with her neighbour, a boxer. Thanks to her cat’s adventures, she will have closer contact with her love.

6'

Isabelle Favez Born in 1974 in Bern, Switzerland. 1994-99 Attends ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste), Film and Video Department.

1999 Receives degree from ZHdK. Works as independent animation filmmaker.

1993 Lebenshunger (animation) / 1995 Kino (animation) / 1997 Café-Bar (animation) / 1999 Replay (animation) / 2002 Les voltigeurs (animation) / 2003 Casa lunatica (animation) / 2003 Circuit marine (animation) / 2006 Tarte aux pommes (animation) / 2009 Valise (animation) / 2012 Au coeur de l’hiver (animation) / 2015 Messages dans l’air (animation)

SWITZERLAND, FRANCE

Written by: Isabelle Favez Cinematography: Isabelle Favez Technique: 2D Computer animation Editing: Fee Liechti Sound: Loïk Burkhart, Loïc Moniotte Music: Mario Batkovic Original Version: Without dialogue, colour, DCP Release: January 2015 Production: Nadasdy Film Sarl, Genève / Folimage, Bourg-Les-Valences / RTS Producer and Executive Producer: Nicolas Burlet World Rights and Distribution CH: Nadasdy Film Sarl 4, rue du Beulet CH-1203 Genève T +41 22 300 20 54 info@nadasdyfilm.ch

54

Prose du transsibérien Prose Of The Trans-Siberian

Accompanied by voice-over extracts from “Prose du Transsibérien et de la petite Jehanne de France” by Blaise Cendrars, the film expresses the sensations of this journey, of the horizontal shifting, with its tempo, its pauses, its agitations and the proliferation of thoughts that this particular space-time makes possible.

11' SWITZERLAND

David Epiney Born in 1976 in Geneva, Switzerland. 1996-2000 Attends École Emile Cohl in Lyon. 2000 Recieves degree in Animation, Infography and Illustration. Works as graphic designer.

2000 Les bains (animation) / 2004 Galeries (animation) / 2007 Le printemps de Sant Ponç (animation) / 2014 Prose du transsibérien (animation)

Written by: David Epiney, Gilles Gabriel Grassioulet, Eugenia Mumenthaler Cinematography: Gilles Gabriel Grassioulet Technique: 2D Computer animation, Drawing on paper, Mixed technique Editing: David Epiney Sound: Alejandro Castillo, Etienne Curchod, Denis Séchaud Music: Alan Mumenthaler Cast: Jacques Probst Original Version: French, colour and b/w, DCP Other Version: German/English/Spanish subtitles Release: August 2014 Production: Alina film Sarl, Genève / Bordu Films, Genève Producers: David Epiney, Eugenia Mumenthaler World Rights and Distribution CH: Alina film Sarl Case postale 1073, CH-1211 Genève 1 T +41 76 372 21 96 info@alinafilm.com

56

The Sound Of Crickets A young girl has to find the strength to fight for freedom and independence from her tyrannical mother.

SWITZERLAND 6' Written by: Justine Klaiber Cinematography: Justine Klaiber Technique: 2D Computer animation Editing: Justine Klaiber Sound: Evelyn Buri, Christof Steinmann Music: Andreas Bissig Original Version: Without dialogue, colour, HD Cam Release: September 2014 Producer: Gerd Gockell Production, World Rights and Distribution CH: Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst Studienbereich Animation Baselstrasse 61 CH-6003 Luzern T +41 41 248 64 64 animation@hslu.ch

57

Justine Klaiber Born in 1989 in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Joint Swiss and South African citizenship. 2009-10 Attends preparatory course at HSLU (Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst). 2010 Internship in animation and illustration. 2010-14 Attends HSLU animation department. 2014 BA in Animation from HSLU. 2010 Carl (animation) / 2011 BildWortFetzen (experimental) / 2011 Psst (animation) / 2012 Look (animation) / 2012 Remote Controlled (animation) / 2014 The Sound Of Crickets (animation)

Short Animation

Short Animation

Timber On a cold winter night, a group of logs is on the verge of freezing to death. When they realize that they themselves, being firewood, are the only solution to making a warm fire their situation gets a little hot.

6'

Nils Hedinger Born 1986 in Bern, Switzerland. 2007-10 Attends HSLU (Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst), animation department.

2010 BA from HSLU. Since 2011 works as independent filmmaker and animator.

2008 Die Zeitgenossen (animation) / 2009 Venedig – Stiller Haas (documentary) / 2009 Zu viele Käppchen verderben den Wolf (animation) / 2010 Yuri (animation) / 2010 Animal Kingdom (animation) / 2011 Chantons ensemble (animation) / 2013 Der Unzusammenhang (animation) / 2014 Timber (animation)

SWITZERLAND

Written by: Nils Hedinger Technique: Cutout animation Editing: Nils Hedinger Sound: Thomas Gassmann, Christof Steinmann Music: Tobias Diggelmann Characters by: Marius Portmann Original Version: Without dialogue, colour, DCP Release: June 2014 Producer: Lina Geissmann Production: Prêt-à-tourner Filmproduktion GmbH, Schlieren World Sales: KurzFilmAgentur Hamburg e.V. Friedensallee 7 DE-22765 Hamburg T +49 40 391 063 0 kfa@shortfilm.com Distribution CH: Xenix Filmdistribution GmbH, Zürich www.timber-film.ch

58

Short Experimental

Fabian Kaiser Elias Gamma / Eliane Bertschi

De Schnuuf Opak

62 64

Short Experimental

De Schnuuf The Breath

Surveillance cameras track the descent of the action force. There’s a burning sensation 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?

11' SWITZERLAND

Fabian Kaiser Born in 1986 in Herisau, Switzerland. Worked in visual communications. 2010-14 Attends ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste), film department. 2014 BA in Film from ZHdK. Since 2014 Master studies in editing at ZHdK. 2011 Selecteur (documentary) / 2014 De Schnuuf (experimental)

Written by: Fabian Kaiser Cinematography: Kevin Rodriguez Editing: Fabienne Andreoli Sound: Remie Blaser, Manuel Gerber, Can Isik Music: Can Isik Art Direction: Andrea Schmidlin, Annina Geeser Cast: Ueli Alder, Alireza Bayram, Sawas Wassiliadis, Matthias Hungerbühler, David Flury, Ralf Frehner, Christoph Gross, Martin Kaiser, Bruno Lang, Gian-Luca Liguori, Mahir Sal Original Version: Without dialogue, colour, DCP Release: October 2014 Producer: Filippo Bonacci Production, World Rights and Distribution CH: Zürcher Hochschule der Künste ZHdK Departement Darstellende Künste und Film Fachrichtung Film BA/MA Postfach CH-8031 Zürich T +41 43 446 31 12 film.info@zhdk.ch

62

Short Experimental

Opak Keep on going – whatever happens. Stand still – whatever happens. Her – The city. A definite glance, tar and stones. A silent body wanders through paths of thoughts. Throw yourself into the world and get robbed. What remains is a language that keeps a stubborn silence.

8'

SWITZERLAND

Elias Gamma Born in 1988 in Stans, Switzerland. 2010-11 Attends preparatory course in Aarau. 2011-14 Studies film at HSLU (Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst).

2014 BA in Film from HSLU. 2014 Opak (experimental)

Eliane Bertschi Born in 1990 in Aarau, Switzerland. 2007-10 Apprenticeship as decorator. 2011-14 Studies film at HSLU (Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst). 2014 BA in Film from HSLU.

Written by: Elias Gamma, Eliane Bertschi Cinematography: Samuel Weniger Editing: Elias Gamma, Eliane Bertschi, David Zürcher Sound: Eliane Bertschi, Elias Gamma, Hans Peter Gutjahr Music: Mario Hänni Original Version: German (English subtitles), colour, ProRes 422 Release: November 2014 Producer: Edith Flückiger Production, World Rights and Distribution CH: Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst Studienrichtung Video Baselstrasse 61 CH-6003 Luzern T +41 41 248 61 12 edith.flueckiger@hslu.ch

2013 So Welt da (experimental) / 2014 Opak (experimental)

64

Short Documentary

Samuel Grandchamp

Salome Wüllner

Florine Leoni

Ursula Meier

Sophie Perrier / Masanori Omori

Pauline Julier

Eileen Hofer

Basil Da Cunha

Laurence Bonvin

Jan-Eric Mack

Karin Bachmann

Calle Guise Der Saugwagenpilot En garde Kacey Mottet Klein, naissance d’un acteur Komorebitachi La disparition des Aïtus My Honeymoon Nuvem negra Sounds Of Blikkiesdorp Wandelzeit – Eine Gletscherperformance Wilde Oasen

68 69 70 72 73 74 75 76 78 80 81

Calle Guise A look at the everyday life and the environment of an Argentinian worker in Buenos Aires.

6'

Samuel Grandchamp Born in 1990 in Geneva, Switzerland. 2012 B.Sc. in Economics from HEC (École des Hautes Études Commerciales) Lausanne.

Since 2013 studies film at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. Lives in New York.

2009 Le grand détournement artamis (documentary) / 2013 Distress (short fiction) / 2014 Calle Guise (documentary)

SWITZERLAND, UNITED STATES

Written by: Samuel Grandchamp Cinematography: Samuel Grandchamp Editing: Samuel Grandchamp Sound: Samuel Grandchamp Original Version: Spanish (English subtitles), colour, ProRes 422 Release: November 2014 Production: Samuel Grandchamp, Genève / Tisch School of the Arts, New York Producer: Samuel Grandchamp World Rights: Samuel Grandchamp 27, rue des Délices CH-1203 Genève T +41 78 748 29 22 samuelgrandchamp@gmail.com

68

Der Saugwagenpilot Suction Trucker

Stefan transports wood shavings that this special vehicle sucks out of the silos of wood engineering plants. The job has its dangers, but Stefan knows how to handle every one of them. He is someone who has taken charge of his destiny and is not defeated by any obstacles in his way.

SWITZERLAND 14' Written by: Salome Wüllner Cinematography: David Röthlisberger Editing: Mirella Nüesch Sound: Simon Graf, Beni Mosele, Mirella Nüesch Music: Antonio Corrado Original Version: Swiss-German (English/Italian/French/German/Slovak subtitles), colour, DCP Release: June 2014 Producer: Edith Flückiger

Salome Wüllner Born in 1987 in Zurich, Switzerland. 2011 Diploma from F+F, Schule für Kunst und Mediendesign Zürich. 2011-14 Attends HSLU (Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst), video department.

2014 BA in Film from HSLU. 2014 Der Saugwagenpilot (documentary)

Production, World Rights and Distribution CH: Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst Studienrichtung Video Baselstrasse 61 CH-6003 Luzern T +41 41 248 61 12 edith.flueckiger@hslu.ch

69

Short Documentary

Short Documentary

En garde Fencing and hypnosis: at the place where two such disparate practices meet, the respective contours of their idiosyncratic dynamics become even sharper. The film puts a focus on this encounter in the contestable zones where extremes collide.

17' SWITZERLAND

Florine Leoni Born in 1980 in Schlieren, Switzerland. 2006 Diploma of Fine Arts from HSLU (Hochschule Luzern, Design & Kunst).

2013 MA in Contemporary Arts Practice from University of Applied Sciences Bern.

2008 I Always Knew It Was There But Never Guessed Where (experimental) / 2011 The Venue (experimental) / 2012 Koordinaten ihrer Erinnerung (experimental) / 2013 Your Territory: Kasia Pacura (experimental) / 2013 Your Territory: Dina Ewans (experimental) / 2014 En garde (documentary)

Written by: Florine Leoni Cinematography: Aurelio Buchwalder Editing: Florine Leoni Sound: Lukas Huber, Tobias Koch, Cedric Spindler, Robert Torche Original Version: German/French (English subtitles), colour, ProRes 422 Release: June 2014 Production, World Rights and Distribution CH: Florine Leoni Gärtnerstrasse 50 CH-4057 Basel T +41 76 502 88 08 contact@florineleoni.net

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Kacey Mottet Klein, naissance d’un acteur Kacey Mottet Klein, Birth Of An Actor

8 years. 12 years. 15 years old. A body is growing and developing in front of the camera, absorbing sensations and emotions, confronting its limits and its darker hidden parts. 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. A portrait of an adolescent who has created himself with the camera.

14' SWITZERLAND

Ursula Meier Born in 1971 in Besançon, France. Joint Swiss and French citizenship. 1990-94 Studies cinema and television production at IAD (Institut des Arts de Diffusion) Louvain-la-Neuve.

2008 “Home” premieres at Festival de Cannes – Semaine Internationale de la Critique. Swiss Film Prize 2009, Best Fiction Film, Best Screenplay and Best Emerging Actor for “Home”. 2012 Silver Bear – Special Award for “Sister”, 62nd Berlin International Film Festival. 2013 Swiss Film Award Best Fiction Film, Best Screenplay and Best Actor for “Sister”.

1994 Le songe d’Isaac (short fiction) / 1998 Des heures sans sommeil (short fiction) / 2000 Autour de Pinget (documentary) / 2001 Tous à table (short fiction) / 2002 Pas les flics, pas les noirs, pas les blancs (documentary) / 2002 Des épaules solides (fiction) / 2008 Home (fiction) / 2012 Sister (fiction) / 2014 Les ponts de Sarajevo (fiction) / 2014 Tisina Mujo (short fiction) / 2015 Kacey Mottet Klein, naissance d’un acteur (documentary)

Written by: Antoine Jaccoud, Ursula Meier, based on an idea by Antoine Jaccoud and Ursula Meier Cinematography: Agnès Godard, Ursula Meier, Jeanne Rektorik Editing: Julie Brenta Sound: Julie Brenta, Dimitri Haulet, Ursula Meier, Franco Piscopo Music: John Parish, Catherine Graindorge Original Version: French, colour, DCP Other Versions: English and German subtitles Release: Planned for February 2015 Production: Milos-Films SA, Neuchâtel / RTS / La Lanterne Magique, Neuchâtel Producers: Vincent Adatte, Francine Pickel, Isabelle Zampiero World Rights: Milos-Films SA Case postale 1676 CH-2001 Neuchâtel 1 T +41 32 723 77 01 milosfilms@gmail.com

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Komorebitachi The result of a visual training workshop of HEAD-Geneva with Naomi Kawase in Japan, the film was shot in a region whose culture is strongly influenced by Shintoism. The worship of nature as a fully-fledged living being permeates the narrative in which a lumberjack cuts down a tree, begging its forgiveness, while villagers plant another to restore the balance of nature.

SWITZERLAND 15' Written by: Sophie Perrier, Masanori Omori Cinematography: Masanori Omori Editing: Sophie Perrier Sound: Raphaël Harari, Adrien Kessler, Sophie Perrier Original Version: Japanese (French/English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: May 2014 Producer: Jean Perret Production, World Rights and Distribution CH: Haute école d’art et de design – Genève Département Cinéma / cinéma du réel Boulevard James-Fazy 15 CH-1201 Genève T +41 22 388 58 00 cinema.head@hesge.ch

Sophie Perrier Masanori Omori SOPHIE PERRIER: Born in 1984 in Vevey, Switzerland. 2008 BA in Political Sciences from University of Lausanne. 2010 MA in European Studies from University of Geneva. Since 2012 attends HEAD-Genève (Haute école d’art et de design – Genève), cinema department.

A selection: 2011 Hugo (experimental) / 2012 Le carton (documentary) / 2014 Komorebitachi (documentary) MASANORI OMORI: Born in 1986 in Tokyo, Japan. Japanese citizenship. Studied political sciences and international relations at Waseda University. Studied film and European culture at ESEC (École Supérieure des Études Cinématographiques de Paris). Since 2013 works as director, cinematographer, electrician and production assistant in Paris.

2006 White (documentary) / 2014 Komorebitachi (documentary)

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Short Documentary

La disparition des Aïtus 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 inhabitants’ imaginaries.

A metaphoric fable about the electrical modernization of the country. And scientific information about waves and stories.

35' SWITZERLAND

Pauline Julier Born in 1981 in Geneva, Switzerland.

2002 Degree from Institut d’Études Politiques, Grenoble.

2007 Degree from École Nationale Supérieure de Photographie, Arles. Has participated in collective exhibitions in Switzerland and France.

2006 Autrement dit (experimental) / 2006 Outo Hiljaisuus (experimental) / 2009 Pamiec (documentary) / 2010 Noé (experimental) / 2012 After (experimental) / 2014 La disparition des Aïtus (documentary)

Written by: Pauline Julier Cinematography: Pauline Julier Editing: Pauline Julier Sound: Nicolas Chapoulier, Xavier Lavorel Original Version: French (English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: September 2014 Producer: Pauline Julier Production and World Rights: Le Poulpe 48, rue de Berne CH-1201 Genève T +41 76 615 76 79 association.le.poulpe@hotmail.com

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My Honeymoon In 2013, 11’600 asylum seekers, most of them Syrians, arrived in Bulgaria, one of the poorest countries of the European Union. The director’s friends and family gave her funds so she brought them food and useful items during a trip to Sofia. This is how she briefly met Berivan and improvised the film in less than an hour.

SWITZERLAND 4' Written by: Eileen Hofer Cinematography: Kamen Kalev Editing: Eileen Hofer Sound: Ladislav Agabekov, Eileen Hofer Music: Ladislav Agabekov Original Version: English (French/English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: April 2014 Producer: Eileen Hofer Production, World Rights and Distribution CH: 5 To Five 21, rue Rothschild CH-1202 Genève T +41 76 432 53 83 info@eileenhofer.ch

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Eileen Hofer Born in 1976 in Zurich, Switzerland. 2001 Receives post-graduate degree in History of Cinema. Worked as press attachée for a film festival and for Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS). Since 2005 works as freelance journalist, photographer and filmmaker.

2003 5 to Five Kabul City (documentary) / 2008 Racines (short fiction) / 2009 Le deuil de la cigogne joyeuse (short fiction) / 2010 Soap Opera In Wonderland (short fiction) / 2012 He Was A Giant With Brown Eyes (documentary) / 2014 My Honeymoon (documentary)

Short Documentary

Short Documentary

Nuvem negra Black Cloud

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

19' SWITZERLAND

Basil Da Cunha Born in 1985 in Morges, Switzerland. Joint Swiss and Portuguese citizenship. Member of Thera Production.

2008-12 Attends HEAD-Genève (Haute école d’art et de design – Genève). 2012 BA in Cinema from HEAD-Genève.

Since 2013 lecturer in film at HEAD-Genève.

2002 La boîte (short fiction) / 2003 Moreira (short fiction) / 2004 Stigmate (short fiction) / 2005 Sweet Dreams (short fiction) / 2007 Le mur (short fiction) / 2008 La loi du talion (short fiction) / 2009 À côté (short fiction) / 2011 Nuvem (Le poisson lune) (short fiction) / 2012 L’homme est-il bon? (short fiction) / 2012 Os vivos tambem choram (short fiction) / 2013 Até ver a luz (fiction) / 2014 Nuvem negra (documentary)

Written by: Basil Da Cunha Cinematography: Basil Da Cunha Editing: Basil Da Cunha Sound: Adrien Kessler Original Version: Portuguese/Creole (English/French subtitles), colour, DCP Release: September 2014 Producer: Andrea Bellini Production and World Rights: Andrea Bellini 10, rue des Vieux-Grenadiers CH-1205 Genève T +41 22 329 18 42

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Short Documentary

Sounds Of Blikkiesdorp Blikkiesdorp is a new township in the periphery of Cape Town where, despite the harsh living conditions and uncertainties, the people we come across do all they can to make a living and improve their home. In a place of informality and resourcefulness, sound and music become the link between inside and outside, creating a soundtrack for Blikkiesdorp.

25' SWITZERLAND

Laurence Bonvin Born in 1967 in Sierre, Switzerland. 1991 Receives degree from École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie in Arles.

Since 2002 teaches photography at ECAL (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne).

2013 After Vegas (documentary) / 2014 Sounds Of Blikkiesdorp (documentary)

Written by: Laurence Bonvin Cinematography: Laurence Bonvin Editing: Orsola Valenti, Laurence Bonvin Sound: Gilles Aubry Original Version: Without dialogue, colour, DCP Release: July 2014 Producer: Laurence Bonvin Production and World Rights: Laurence Bonvin 19, rue du Grand-Bureau CH-1227 Les Acacias T +41 79 258 36 28 focus@laurencebonvin.com

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Wandelzeit – Eine Gletscherperformance Through The Ages – A Glacier Performance

On a Swiss glacier at more than 2700 meters 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 unprotected surface of the glacier melted over two meters. Left was a smooth, geometric form in the middle of the wild structures in the Alps.

19' SWITZERLAND

Jan-Eric Mack Born in 1983 in Trüllikon, Switzerland. 2002-05 Trains as graphic designer. 2005-09 Works as graphic designer.

2009-13 Attends ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste), film department. 2013 BA in Film from ZHdK. 2009 Ausweg (short fiction) / 2010 Oskar und die fliegende Kiste (documentary) / 2010 Ronaldo (short fiction) / 2011 Magnetfelder (short fiction) / 2011 Dialoge 11 (experimental) / 2012 Island (short fiction) / 2013 Alfonso (short fiction) / 2014 Wandelzeit – Eine Gletscherperformance (documentary)

Written by: Jan-Eric Mack Cinematography: Aurelio Buchwalder Editing: Jan-Eric Mack, Lesia Kordonets Sound: Jan-Eric Mack, Simon Schäppi Music: Dimitri Käch Original Version: Swiss-German (English subtitles), colour, DCP Release: November 2014 Producer: Jan-Eric Mack Production and World Rights: Jan-Eric Mack Neustadtgasse 32 CH-8400 Winterthur T +41 76 379 50 70 jan-eric@gmx.ch

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Wilde Oasen Let us change the world – This is what I promised to my inner wild horse.

But it did not yet happen. In an ultimate attempt, my animal sends me searching for a wild oasis.

But there aren’t any utopias far and wide. Is everything just a horse fantasy?

SWITZERLAND 24' Written by: Karin Bachmann Cinematography: Karin Bachmann Editing: Katharina Bhend Sound: Karin Bachmann, Peter Von Siebenthal Original Version: Swiss-German, colour, DCP Other Versions: English, French and German subtitles Release: Planned for Spring 2015 Producers: Louis Mataré, David Fonjallaz Executive Producer: Louis Mataré Production, World Rights and Distribution CH: Lomotion AG | Filmproduktion Weyermannsstrasse 28 CH-3008 Bern T +41 31 388 00 89 info@lomotion.ch

Karin Bachmann Born in 1983 in Zofingen, Switzerland. 2004-07 Studies Human Geography at the University of Geneva. 2008-11 Works as journalist reporter in Bern. 2012 MA in Cinema from HES-SO ECAL/HEAD (University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland).

2008 Au-delà des rêves (documentary) / 2010 Les chats farouches (documentary) / 2012 O Signore Stracciarolo (documentary) / 2012 Er/Ich (documentary) / 2015 Wilde Oasen (documentary)

www.wilde-oasen.com

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Short Documentary

Short Fiction

Reflections on Shorts

Peter Volkart – Mr. Volkart’s cabinets of wonders by Florian Keller

Nadasdy Film – Fertile year for a prosperous future by Pascal Gavillet

In Praise of Hybridisation. Swiss Variations by Thomas Tode

Interview with Ursula Meier by Philippe Congiusti

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Peter Volkart – Mr. Volkart’s cabinets of wonders

by Florian Keller

In the capital city of Surabaya, hotel meals are delivered directly to the room via pneumatic post. A little farther north, in the small town of Petrograd, the surrounding region is so rich in mineral resources that hair oil and shoe polish is pumped directly out of the ground. And at the

The town of Novosuburbia in “Terra incognita“

Lunaport aerospace base, steam-driven rockets are waiting for their first mission into space.

Welcome to the outlandish island of Subotika, the most recent destination in the repertoire of the Swiss world explorer Peter Volkart. What the 57-year-old has created in his award-winning films is fantastic in every respect: they are journeys of the mind that transport us to imaginary realms. This man from the small country of Switzerland fabricates in his short stories entire worlds sweeping so far they rarely fit on a map.

In most cases, his characters are explorers, at times even explorers against their will. For instance, the inventor of the “Magnetodrom“ in quest of the legendary anti-gravity (“Terra incognita“, 2006). Or the eccentric artist from

“Room 606“: Small-scale model of an escape raft.

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the Swiss provinces who, on a failed self-experiment, catapults himself to the moon, where he henceforth grows vegetables and works on his sculptures made of lunar basalt, far removed from the public eye and state support for culture (“Yea yea, nay nay“, 2010). Or the travel-

that unfailingly pushes the boundaries of what we learned to call reason and reality. In the case of his latest film “Subotika“ (2015), Volkart goes back to his own fictitious geography: an island called Subotika had already appeared in “Terra incognita.“ The fact that he has now

Kurt Bachofen, first artist on the moon in “Yea yea, nay nay“

Jonathan Fisch, the travelling salesman in “Room 606“

ling salesman peddling glass eyes who manages to get the last vacant room in a run-down hotel. Unbeknownst to him, the inner workings of the apparatuses in this establishment are covert, for dwelling inside the clock and television are tiny beings that keep them running, like in a miniature totalitarian state (“Room 606“, 2012).

bestowed an entire cinematic journey upon this island is due to a Bulgarian tourism film from 1979 he accidentally stumbled across on the Internet. The seemingly random sequence of touristic impressions underscored with tacky easy listening music inspired him to create a remake, as he puts it. And sure enough, Volkart’s remake is more like a fantastically skewed, yet tender persiflage on tourism advertising which in fact completely defeats the purpose – but in an absolutely sublime manner.

This is typical for Volkart, this surreptitious surrealist of Swiss filmmaking: “Room 606“ is a convoluted masterstroke made up of parallel universes. It feeds on an old childhood fantasy – the notion that dwarf-like beings crouched inside the radio are making the music and reciting the news. Volkart utilises the small scale of the short film to navigate through a cosmos

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Thus we accompany Elfriede and Herbert, newlyweds on their honeymoon here in this country improbably suitable for romantic forays.

Although the narrator in voiceover stoically maintains the contrary, he himself does not

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Peter Volkart – Mr. Volkart’s cabinets of wonders

seem to really believe the hackneyed tourism marketing slogans he continually discharges.

Furthermore, the black crater in the Subotikan mountains with, reportedly, a tunnel leading straight through the earth directly to Paris.

the friendly clerk in a fantasy government agency that would still need to be invented. But Volkart is not simply an ingenious fantast. He is a collector who is talked into some of his stories, so to speak, by the objects he gathers. In his

Impressions of Volkart’s studio, located on the outskirts of Zurich

This, too, is to be taken symbolically: Subotika, the flip side of the city of love; a dismal, yet somehow enchanted spot on the other side of the world. Like in all of his films, Peter Volkart conceived the enchanting gloom surrounding Subotika in magnificently faded colours. In doing so, he kindles nostalgia for a world in a post-Soviet look, appearing anything but paradisiacal. His films are a bit like the exquisite animated canapés that Igor, the Subotikan chef, serves in his bistro: everything looks as if it were preserved in aspic.

A confirmed nostalgic? Volkart answers with a smile and pretends he has not heard the question. Wearing his flat cap, he looks a little like

Portrait

films he fabulates entire worlds from findings that only exist in his head. In the past, he frequented flea markets to buy old photographs and film reels from private archives and then ascribe his own stories in the montage; nowadays it’s a lot more convenient via Internet.

It comes as no surprise then that to a large extent “Subotika“ is also made up of stock footage of landscapes which he composed on the computer, creating these fantastic tableaux vivants in which hidden charms can still be discovered even upon third and fourth viewing.

As in the case of Plutonia, the cruise liner run aground in “Subotika“ with a reservoir tower and a dilapidated tenement rising up from

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the deck, but actually have no business being there, at least according to our mundane logic. Could one say that Peter Volkart is a tinkerer? “There is a more elegant word for it,“ he corrects, kindly. “I prefer bricoleur.“ And it is

indeed closer to the esprit of the surrealists, tangible in all of his films. This esprit can also be felt in his studio at the edge of Zurich, comprised of an editing room and a spacious atelier. As a visitor, it feels at times as if one might have slipped through a wormhole and entered a wonder cabinet. Under the elegantly ornate nameplate from Igor’s bistro, a prop from “Subotika“, one also finds a small aquarium, jutting out from the wall. In it floats an eyeless, whale-like chimera, and if you get too close, it lets a few air bubbles loose.

But how does Peter Volkart find the balance between commissioned works and his own short films? Very simple: “I work on the com-

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Tasty aspic canapé. A local delicacy served at Igor’s in Petrograd, Subotika

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Peter Volkart – Mr. Volkart’s cabinets of wonders

missions in the morning, and on my films in the afternoon.“ He learned the craft of filmmaking long ago in New York: in the early eighties he studied art at the School of Visual Arts, in addition to attending film courses at the New York University. After that, he found his way much later from object art to film – also thanks to digitalisation. For however nostalgically fitted out his films may be, Volkart raves about the abundance of digital tools on the computer affording him complete freedom in image processing. “But in the atelier,“ he says, pointing over there, “the wood shavings still fly.“

Left top: Surabay, glorious capital city of Subotika Left bottom: Herbert and Elfriede on their honeymoon cruise

The films by Peter Volkart therefore celebrate a wondrous marriage of digital technology and analogue craft as well. And apropos of nothing, he also refutes two persistent prejudices about makers of short films: he is no longer that young, nor does he dream of a feature-length work. He is beginning to feel a little strange when applying for grants: “A lot of people still consider short films a student’s medium.“ Such being the case, his latest film was also a godsend for him, because he was able to finance “Subotika“, a coproduction with Swiss tele­vision, almost solely with prize money and incentive payments: “If I had had to submit a grant application for the remake of an old Bulgarian tourism film, it would never have gone through!“

Right top: Visit Subotika – where every day is a great day Right bottom: Map of Subotika

Florian Keller (born 1976) is a film critic and culture editor at WOZ – Die Wochenzeitung, a Swiss weekly based in Zurich. He is the author of “Andy Kaufman: Wrestling with the American Dream“ (University of Minnesota Press, 2005).

Photos by Peter Volkart

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Short Fiction Portrait

Nadasdy Film – Fertile year for a prosperous future

by Pascal Gavillet

Zoltán Horváth and his team at the Nadasdy Film studio in Geneva

Nadasdy. Three intriguing syllables. It is the name of the production company for animated films founded in Geneva in 1995 by filmmaker Zoltán Horváth. Why Nadasdy? Because that was the surname of Zoltán’s paternal grandmother. In Hungarian, nadasdy means “of the reed bed“, a term indicating a marshy area where reeds grow. In the early days, this modest organisation served Horvath only for editing his own films, as is often the case in independent cinema. Today, Nadasdy Film has grown considerably, as has its film catalogue, and the company profiles itself as one of the only ones

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Work in progress for “Lucens“: The animated story of the first Swiss nuclear power plant, directed by Marcel Barelli

in Switzerland functioning as such in a genre – animated cinema – which is sometimes wrongly considered the poor relation in the sector.

Things really started to take off in 2000. That year, Zoltán Horváth was offered a coproduction by a French partner. The experience was profitable and three years later, when Nicolas Today, Nadasdy Film has grown consider­ ably, as has its film catalogue, and the company profiles itself as one of the only ones in Switzerland functioning as such in a genre – animated cinema – which is sometimes wrongly considered the poor relation in the sector.

Burlet – a childhood friend of the filmmaker – joined the company, Nadasdy had a new face.

“It was in 2003 that we really founded the company,“ explains Zoltán Horváth. “I needed a partner to fill in the gaps. Nicolas, who had gone to engineering school before graduating with degrees in political science, economics,

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communication and media, is responsible for the administrative and financial side of our production team. But this division of roles is certainly not written in stone.“ Since then, Nadasdy Film has profiled itself as a business, with a workshop and various projects carried out in parallel. “The number of people working for us can range from two to twenty-five, depending on the films in production.

We work principally with animators. There are not many of them in Switzerland and the market is very small. We avoid looking for them abroad, which is why we take charge of the post-production of the films we coproduce.“ As an example, eleven films were produced in 2014, a fertile year for projects, whereas in 2013 there were only five. “The latest is that people are coming to us. But we are still not being selective: for the moment, we study all the projects which we receive with the desire to accompany the writers as far as possible, even if we sometimes have doubts as to their financing. However, it

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“D’ombres et d’ailes“ by Eleonora Marinoni and Elice Meng: TVPaint animation

cannot be said that we function like a family.

Each has his own realm and just tries to make it as consistent and successful as possible. What is important is that we have also been working on series for a few years: first in coproduction, then launching some ourselves, notably thanks to the contribution of RTS (Switzerland’s French-language radio and TV broadcasting organisation).“ The added value for Nadasdy Film is clearly the focus on one genre, animation. “We are nearly the only ones who are doing this in Switzerland. Of course there are groups and companies that do both animation and publicity. But because of our basically artisanal structure, we can allow ourselves to concentrate on this genre. Our expenditures are very reasonable, which permits us to focus our resources on the films. Thanks to a fairly large volume of activity, we can finance some of the short films or the more tenuous projects. The various projects that are running at any one time balance

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each other out. But if we continue to grow, we will have to make adjustments. Until now, we have been fortunate enough never to have had to abandon a project.“ Nadasdy Film has no restrictions with regard to animation techniques as such. “At first glance, we do everything. But one has to distinguish between two categories: animation produced at a workstation composed of a computer and its “extensions“ (like computer-generated ima­ges, “Thanks to a fairly large volume of activity, we can finance some of the short films of the more tenuous projects.[...]

Until now, we have been fortunate enough never to have had to abandon a project.“ cartoons, compositing, or even paper cutouts) and stop-motion animation (puppets, plastiline, modelling clay). The latter is much more complicated for a production company to

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Working on “Lucens“ by Marcel Barelli

One of the funny bees from “Vigia“ by Marcel Barelli

manage, because it necessitates filming in a studio, keeping stock rooms and specific material: another kind of infrastructure. For a long time, we worked on stop-motion films only as minority producers, on the compositing. But things change and we are currently working on our first stop-motion film.“

the distributors’ expectations.“ The only thing that Nadasdy Film has not yet done is a feature-length film. Zoltán Horváth is still somewhat wary on this point, even if he does admit that he is currently working on the develop-

Nowadays, Nadasdy Film productions are often selected for festivals, winning prizes for films such as those by Mauro Carraro and Marcel Barelli, two in-house filmmakers (even if Zoltán Horváth does not really like the term).

“I think that their films hit their mark. The company pretty much relies on these two filmmakers in their domain. In addition, the festivals are beginning to know us. Having said that, each filmmaker has his own networks. But for short films, we do not intervene. I always tell them: we suggest, you shape. It is different with series and 26-minute TV specials, which are products intended for the television market. They have to fit a format and conform to

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“One has to be careful, because several companies that launched into full-length animated films went out of business.“ ment of his own full-length project. “One has to be careful, because several companies that launched into full-length animated films went out of business. As a beginning, we hope to be able to release our first 26-minute film in 2015.

Something else that is new is that we are currently producing several projects from the German-speaking part of Switzerland.“ In a word, the future of Nadasdy Film looks prosperous.

Pascal Gavillet (born 1967) is a film critic at Tribune de Genève, a Swiss daily based in Geneva.

Photos by Miguel Bueno

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Focussing on animation: Marcel Barelli, Zoltรกn Horvรกth and Nick Krummenacher at the studio of Nadasdy Film (from left to right)

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An extensive catalogue A glance at the Nadasdy Film catalogue attests to its scope: around 40 films by a total of 12 directors. Among them, one finds two filmmakers who have placed their stamp on this small company, Marcel Barelli and Mauro Carraro. Marcel Barelli draws cartoons on paper. In 2011, his “Gypaetus Helveticus“ received more than 80 festival selections and a dozen prizes. “Vigia“, about a funny bee and its ecological mishaps, had similar success in 2013, winning the Silver Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival that year.

His most recent film, “Lucens“, is about the first nuclear power plant in Switzerland.

Certainly, Mauro Carraro is not to be outdone.

“Hasta Santiago“, a humorous take on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela made in 2013, received attention at numerous festivals. The more recent “Aubade“, made in 2014, seems destined for similar success. This comical, poetic stroll around the Lake of Geneva notably won awards at the Fantoche festival in Baden and the Animatou festival in Geneva.

Among Nadasdy’s other recent works of coproductions, “Le sens du toucher“ by Jean-Charles Mbotti-Malolo should also be mentioned, together with Isabelle Favez’ new film “Messages dans l’air“. Zoltán Horváth’s own work, such as “Chamane Bazar“ – which charmed audiences at both Fantoche and Namur in 2013 – should be noted. As regards series, little “Dimitri“, an orphan fledgling, continues in a variety of episodes (a French-Swiss coproduction), which have attracted and beguiled their own public.

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INTERVIEW Portrait

In Praise of Hybridisation. Swiss Variations

by Thomas Tode

Over the last few years, hybrid forms have increased immensely in short film, whether as animadocs, animated experimental films, documentaries with re-enacted elements, photofilms or essay films. They are concerned with the hybridising and interlacing of established form and genre expectations, which occur in Hybrid forms have increased immensely in short film, whether as ani­madocs, animated experimental films, documentaries with re-enacted elements, photofilms or essay films.

new constellations. Furthermore, the hybrid forms’ current boom is also thanks to digitisation and computers, which are capable of processing the most varied forms of images, sounds and writing effortlessly in a matrix.

Moreover, in an era of globalisation, migration and post-colonialism, we are learning right now to forego the coherence of the old interpretative systems and even becoming aware of our languages and cultures as hybrids, the ones which have established them: And in fact these final bastions of the national and the “pure“, when viewed more closely, are proving themselves to be has-beens, already enfeebled and intermingled.

In his photofilm “Kwa Heri Mandima“ (Switzer­ land 2010), Robert-Jan Lacombe takes still ima­ ges in a cinematographic context to provide an account of his origins from two worlds and cultures. A photo which is central for him shows the parting moment when he – born and reared in Zaire as a child of European parents – leaves this country forever as a ten-year-old.

Essay

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In “Kwa Heri Mandima“ Robert-Jan Lacombe takes still images in a cinematographic context to provide an account of his origins

Actually, the paltry photo of a Cessna on a jungle airstrip does not exactly reflect the pain of the situation. This is achieved more by the names of his three best friends left behind, which are uttered evocatively three times in the film. The suffering and misfortune cannot be conveyed directly, but ultimately only in a complex essayist study which unfolds around the photo mentioned, yet also draws upon further recorded images – operating especially at the edges of the photo. The three friends can also be detected there, in the initially unobserved margins of a farewell photo, where the local people also appear, having come together for the farewell, and where further emotionally important figures of attachment can be seen,

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but only from behind. Yet what kind of a medium is it that does not show the decisive things in the way they are perceived?

Capitulated into the new western sphere of life, the narrator must first learn its codes and icons: Nintendo, 007 and Michael Jackson.

Meanwhile, the friends left behind are facing entirely different learning matter: A rebel army, looting and massacres, for which only the black and white image represents an adequate visual framing. The blank space also refers to their insufficient depiction in the official discourse of the western world. Consequently, the sole motion picture shot, that of the plane starting, also reveals the culmination

INTERVIEW Essay

In Praise of Hybridisation. Swiss Variations

Drawing from “Le printemps de Sant Ponç“ the animadoc

by David Epiney and Eugenia Mumenthaler

of their separation, together with the tears of his friend Watumu – and it is where we finally get to see some from the narrator as well: As a teardrop on the cheeks of time. The film is an intonation “in praise of Creoleness“. Creoleness – as defined by the Caribbean philosopher and progressive thinker Édouard Glissant – is characterised by the mutual appreciation of the heterogeneous elements which are placed in a context with each other. Photofilms are bastards and hermaphrodites: They originate from two art forms, film and photography, the moving image and the non-moving image. They exist in the “in-between“. And they are suited especially for subjects which focus on that which is excluded from the dominant bourgeois culture and representation.

The documentary animation “Le printemps de Sant Ponç“ (Switzerland 2007) from David Epiney and Eugenia Mumenthaler shows the drawings from four people living in a home for

Essay

the mentally handicapped, and animates them into colourful, full-blown visual worlds. While we never get to see the drawers, we are able to follow their mutual conversation off-screen.

This is mostly about traumatic experiences, such as the death of a father and a brother which occurred at the same time and which the person concerned was unable to cope with, as well as about a rape that almost happened and an abortion, among others. By transporting us into the self contained visual world of the protagonists – except for a few real film shots of the home – and letting us concentrate on their language, the film accords them utmost respect and enhances awareness for the singularity, uniqueness and richness of each and every existence.

It is not the merging as a simple mixture which is productive in the hybrid film form. This can also be dull and uninspiring, as demonstrated by the mundane use of re-enactment scenes in the TV “documentations“ of historical subjects. The important aspect here is that the Photofilms are bastards and herma­phrodites: They originate from two art forms, film and photo­graphy, the moving image and the non-moving image.

They exist in the in-between.

differential quality of the individual elements combined is recognisable and retained, and can impact on each other. Only then does the specific lingering moment of the situational mixture of reflection arise and create new intermediate spaces, fruitful places which

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This postcard was the starting point of the award-winning found footage short film by Marie-Elsa Sgualdo

expand and charge up our imagination. Her essayist found footage anthology “You Can’t Do Everything At Once, But You Can Leave Everything At Once“ (Switzerland 2012) was conceived by Marie-Elsa Sgualdo as an open letter to the Catalonian auteur filmmaker José Luis Guerin in the form of a fiction of one’s own (potential) life. The first-person narrator comments on the frequently black and white images, which come from the archive of the Swiss broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse, as though they were her own home movies. In this situation, when one speaks of the mama of the “most beautiful woman in town“, even Brigitte Bardot can represent the mother in the image, only to be immediately replaced by an agile twist dancer. This florilegium is arranged in ten aphoristically structured chapters, most of which are accorded odd names, such as The

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Washing Machine, The Care, or Whoever Laughs Last, Laughs Best. The penchant for side comments, for whimsical and associative marginal notes is savoured and negotiated in a provocative manner as family secrets and traumatic experiences (such as with the boy’s haircut: “You want to turn me into a boy!“). At the end two adolescent girls speak, in direct sound, about their ideas of life, reminiscing that this is connected with wishes, dreams and desires.

At the threshold between the film forms and genres, intermediates spaces are created in which the viewers have to reorient themselves and develop a mobility between established patterns of interpretation. The essayist approach of working with set elements (from the lives of others) and interfering individual convergences is extended here through the delib-

INTERVIEW Essay Short Fiction

In Praise of Hybridisation. Swiss Variations

Brigitte Bardot in “ You Can’t Do Everything At Once, But You Can Leave Everything At Once“ by Marie-Elsa Sgualdo

erate confusion of narrative and documentarymethods, and conveys a radical consequence: In diaries and family films, where one usually believes to be most alone and most private, the most conventional is revealed, with the images and experiences being compared – and which could also be narrated with the images of others.

At the threshold between the film forms and genres, intermediates spaces are created in which the viewers have to reorient themselves and develop a mobility between established patterns of interpretation.

By contrast, the essayist experimental film “Opak” (Switzerland 2014) by the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts graduates, Elias Gamma and Eliane Bertschi insists on the individuality of the singular and unique as it stubbornly searches for looks, motives and framings for a young woman’s attitude to life.

She “investigates“, wanders, lets herself drift

Essay

through an eastern European city (Warsaw) immersed in cold light, with high rises behind small mesh fences, looks down from morbid heights onto the dusky cityscape, and repeated journeys on the underground metro. Accompanied by abruptly alternating extreme close-ups of the eyes, the crook of her arm, her face and other external details of an inner world. Associative slivers of thought resound off-screen, in part mysteriously opaque, and in part hobby philosophic. Yet presented with the emphasis and charm of youth, the search for the absolute, for the opposites in life, for inwardness and external experience, united in a great gesture. In this way, the authors demand that the things really have to be “seen“ and not merely recognised, such as for instance in the unusual close-up of a puddle in the street dubbed a “mountain lake“ or the close-ups of escalator steps with their strange spinning sound. Using surprising perspectives, editing sequences and image-sound combinations, the film shifts, in the sense of an avant-garde programme for the “renewal of the eye“, the attention to otherwise inconspicuous sides of the city and of the ego waiting to be newly discovered. This defamiliarising view is concerned with experiencing anew things which are familiar from everyday life and thus often overlooked, as though seeing them for the first time, seeing them consciously – which also necessitates an unfamiliar city (for the authors).

From the outset, the hybrid short film has been regarded as a field of experiment for new forms and for up-and-coming directors, who then move on to feature films. But it is now forsak-

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“Opak“ by Elias Gamma and Eliane Bertschi

“Opak“: a young woman’s attitude to life

ing to an increasing extent its role as the “little brother“ to the feature-length film, as the (TV) standardisation of film lengths and even

visual forms, as already stated in 1944 by the Bauhaus professor Laszló Moholy-Nagy in “Abstract of an Artist“: “Neither painting nor photography, the motion pictures nor light-display can be any longer jealously separated from each other.“ The current boom in hybrid films reflects and contextualises this telescoping together and cohabitation of the arts – as indeed the end to all the bogus separating out and pigeonholing, which are still only advocated in the name of the TV-station production departments. Because ultimately there are only inspiring films and uninspiring ones.

From the outset, the hybrid short film has been regarded as a field of experiment for new forms and for up-and-coming directors, who then move on to feature films. But it is now forsaking to an increasing extent its role as the “little brother“ to the feature-length film.

the screening options for short films are widening and multiplying in parallel. And even the screening locations are being subjected to hybridisation. Projections in “pure“, real cinemas or on television have long been expanded with those in galleries, theatres, museums, bars, the internet and on mobile presentation devices. Increasingly, the arts are also working together, with film finding its place in performance and media art. So that an art is capable of developing here which integrates all

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This is an adapted version of the essay which was originally published in SHORT report #6, the short film magazine of the German Short Film Association, which we highly recommend reading.

Thomas Tode (born 1962) works as a independent film­ maker, curator and publicist in Hamburg. He researches and teaches in the fields of essay film, Soviet avantgarde and political documentaries as well as re-education, architecture and epic films.

INTERVIEW Essay

“I never thought of films in terms of length“ Interview with Ursula Meier – by Philippe Congiusti

“The short film should serve as a laboratory, a place of experimentation, even if it means getting it all wrong.”

“The short film escapes […] commercial restraints and should be allowed liberty and a pinch of complete risks.”

Interview

Ursula Meier, director of the successful films “Home“ and “Sister“, has returned to short films with two works: “Kacey Mottet Klein, Birth Of An Actor“, a documentary about the young actor she introduced to the public with her films “Home“ and “Sister“ and the fictional “Tišina Mujo“, a segment filmed as part of the “Bridges Of Sarajevo“ anthology, which was voted best Swiss short film at the Internatio­ nale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur in 2014. But this filmmaker, who claims to have always loved the short format, actually began her learning pro­ cess with a feature-length film.

What’s your interest in the short format?

Ursula Meier: I have never thought of films in terms of length, but oddly enough, at the age of 15, the first film I directed was full-length. I had been working as a cashier to earn money to buy a camera and over the course of two summers I made a film that I never edited because the sound from the camera was such poor quality.

After that, I loved dealing with the challenges of short film. My film for the final examination, “Le songe d’Isaac“, which I kept a tight rein on, was a way of paying homage to the masters who had nurtured me before and during my film schooling: Bergman, Tarkovski, Bresson, Dreyer, etc. For “Tous à table“, I took the opposite course, putting the narration of a film into question, experimenting on the work with the actors. There was real wine and fake wine during the shooting and the actors decided for themselves whether they wanted to get drunk or not. In a way, I put into question everything I had learned at film school. I remember standing on the set in a complete state of ecstasy and euphoria. Anything and everything was pos-

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Ursula Meier: “I think that my true domicile, my home, my territory, is the cinema“ / Photo: © Claude Dussex

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Interview

“Kacey Mottet Klein, Birth Of An Actor“: a short documentary

sible on the set. The short film should serve as a laboratory, a place of experimentation, even if it means getting it all wrong. It escapes commercial restraints and should be allowed liberty and a pinch of complete risk, resisting a certain tendency towards “business card“ pigeon-holing: short films that are “well-made“, “well-lit“, “well-acted“, and yet in which nothing works. I have always preferred a shaky film in which one feels a real desire, a need, to a smooth film with no pulpit, no folly.

Was the excitement when you started the production of “Tišina Mujo“ the same as for a feature-length film?

Returning to the short format was an intense, exhilarating experience, if only for the length: 9 minutes. I had never made a film that short.

And then there was the topic: Sarajevo. Even if the film lasts only 9 minutes, it represents

Interview

months of thought. I felt hesitant about making a documentary or an arthouse piece. Daring to focus my imagination on that city so charged with history (as well as individual stories) and to gradually allow myself to use fiction was a long process. Sarajevo is neither my city nor my history, and I think I was afraid to cause pain, or to settle into a kind of compassion. I wanted

“I have always preferred a shaky film in which one feels a real desire, a need, to asmooth film with no pulpit, no folly.” to illuminate, to tell a story of today, starting simple and gradually revealing the complexity of the subject. I love to dig and dig and dig as deep as I can. In the beginning of “Tišina Mujo“, everything seems simple: a lost ball, a kid, a woman, the juxtaposition of a Christian and a Muslim cemetery. Suddenly, bridges are

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“Tišina Mujo“: “Returning to the short format was an intense, exhilarating experience“ (Ursula Meier)

created between the religions, between the living and the dead. Through the encounter with a woman who has lost her little brother, the child realises that there are thousands of dead under his feet. In just a few minutes, one can make the viewer more aware of the history of a country, just like for the boy in the film.

Was the film initially intended to be run as an independent film at the festivals?

Yes, that was a condition in the contract.

Once the feature-length film was screened at cinemas in France, the short films could exist independently.

ropean one. I think that my true domicile, my home, my territory, is the cinema. Coproduction is necessary. Of course one can make films solely with Swiss backing, but the budgets are quickly limited and without the help of foreign distributors who invest in the film already at the time of production, operation becomes difficult outside our borders. In addition, the vote of February 9 weakened Swiss cinema terribly at the international level. Today more than ever, we need foreign partners to exist globally.

Philippe Congiusti (born 1971) is the producer and moderator of “Brazil“, a film programme on the french language Swiss radio station Couleur3.

As a European director, you work in Fran­ce, Belgium, Switzerland and Bos­­­­nia. Coproductions are a reality for you. How do you see the future of coproductions?

I see myself as much a Swiss director as a Eu-

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Interview

List of Directors Bachmann Karin Wilde Oasen Barelli Marcel Lucens Baumann Flo Linus Between Baumgartner Piet Inland Bernasconi Riccardo La farfalla di lana Bertschi Eliane Opak Boichat Régine On n’est pas ici pour être mort vivant Bonvin Laurence Sounds Of Blikkiesdorp Brotschi Elena Von Faltbooten und Heringen Brunold Mirella Es war finster und merkwürdig still Calderone Nina Es war finster und merkwürdig still Carraro Mauro Aubade Christen Nino L’Île noire Da Cunha Basil Nuvem negra de Benoit-Luthy Nadège Orages d’été Epiney David Prose du transsibérien Favez Isabelle Messages dans l’air Gamma Elias Opak Gehrig Maja Königin Po Grandchamp Samuel Calle Guise Grappe Elie Limbes Harisberger Daniel Astronaut-K Hedinger Nils Timber Hofer Eileen My Honeymoon Julier Pauline La disparition des Aïtus Kaiser Fabian De Schnuuf Klaiber Justine The Sound Of Crickets Künzler Stefan Männer Ledermann Irene Best Buddies Leoni Florine En garde Mack Jan-Eric Wandelzeit – Eine Gletscherperformance Mayor Isabelle Amira Meier Ursula Kacey Mottet Klein, naissance d’un acteur Meier Ursula Tišina Mujo Mühlebach Rhona Abseits der Autobahn Nicollier Maria Cendres de volcan Omori Masanori Komorebitachi Perrier Sophie Komorebitachi Pitteloud Moïra L’offre Reverdito Francesca La farfalla di lana 106

81 52 14 20 22 64 29 78 39 47 47 44 50 76 30 56 54 64 48 68 25 42 58 75 74 62 57 28 12 70 80 11 72 38 8 16 73 73 26 22

List of Directors Rosenstein Jeremy Le mal du citron Rotelli Valentin Tchan Zaca Saber Christophe M. Discipline Schiltknecht Kaspar Le mal du citron Schneider Jean-Daniel Tchan Zaca Sonnier Jean-Guillaume Petit homme Vercasson Jean-François Si j’étais Dieu Volkart Peter Subotika von Döhren Lena Der kleine Vogel und das Eichhörnchen Wagenbauer Kristina Ailleurs exactement Walpoth Luc Replika Wüllner Salome Der Saugwagenpilot

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24 36 18 24 36 31 33 34 46 10 32 69

List of Titles Abseits der Autobahn Rhona Mühlebach 8 Ailleurs exactement Kristina Wagenbauer 10 Amira Isabelle Mayor 11 Astronaut-K Daniel Harisberger 42 Aubade Mauro Carraro 44 Best Buddies Irene Ledermann 12 Between Flo Linus Baumann 14 Calle Guise Samuel Grandchamp 68 Cendres de volcan Maria Nicollier 16 De Schnuuf Fabian Kaiser 62 Der kleine Vogel und das Eichhörnchen Lena von Döhren 46 Der Saugwagenpilot Salome Wüllner 69 Discipline Christophe M. Saber 18 En garde Florine Leoni 70 Es war finster und merkwürdig still Mirella Brunold / Nina Calderone 47 Inland Piet Baumgartner 20 Kacey Mottet Klein, naissance d’un acteur 72 Komorebitachi Sophie Perrier / Masanori Omori 73 Königin Po Maja Gehrig 48 La disparition des Aïtus Pauline Julier 74 La farfalla di lana Riccardo Bernasconi / Francesca Reverdito 22 Le mal du citron Jeremy Rosenstein / Kaspar Schiltknecht 24 L’Île noire Nino Christen 50 Limbes Elie Grappe 25 L’offre Moïra Pitteloud 26 Lucens Marcel Barelli 52 Männer Stefan Künzler 28 Messages dans l’air Isabelle Favez 54 My Honeymoon Eileen Hofer 75 Nuvem negra Basil Da Cunha 76 On n’est pas ici pour être mort vivant Régine Boichat 29 Opak Elias Gamma / Eliane Bertschi 64 Orages d’été Nadège de Benoit-Luthy 30 Petit homme Jean-Guillaume Sonnier 31 Prose du transsibérien David Epiney 56 Replika Luc Walpoth 32 Si j’étais Dieu Jean-François Vercasson 33 Sounds Of Blikkiesdorp Laurence Bonvin 78 Subotika Peter Volkart 34 Tchan Zaca Jean-Daniel Schneider / Valentin Rotelli 36 108

List of Titles The Sound Of Crickets Justine Klaiber Timber Nils Hedinger Tiťina Mujo Ursula Meier Von Faltbooten und Heringen Elena Brotschi Wandelzeit – Eine Gletscherperformance Jan-Eric Mack Wilde Oasen Karin Bachmann

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57 58 38 39 80 81

List of Films by Running Time 1-10 minutes 4 min.

My Honeymoon 5 min. Aubade 5 min.

Der kleine Vogel und das Eichhörnchen 5 min.

Es war finster und merkwürdig still 6 min. Astronaut-K 6 min. Calle Guise 6 min. L’Île noire 6 min.

Messages dans l’air 6 min.

The Sound Of Crickets 6 min. Timber 7 min. Lucens 8 min. Opak 10 min. Tišina Mujo

75 44 46 47 42 68 50 54 57 58 52 64 38

11-20 minutes 11 min. De Schnuuf 11 min. Königin Po 11 min. Prose du transsibérien 12 min. Discipline 12 min. On n’est pas ici pour être mort vivant 13 min. L’offre 13 min. Subotika 14 min. Der Saugwagenpilot 14 min. Kacey Mottet Klein, naissance d’un acteur 15 min. Komorebitachi 15 min. Limbes 15 min. Männer 15 min. Tchan Zaca 15 min. Von Faltbooten und Heringen 16 min. Cendres de volcan 17 min. En garde 17 min. Si j’étais Dieu 18 min. Amira 19 min. Nuvem negra 19 min. Wandelzeit – Eine Gletscherperformance 20 min. Inland 20 min. La farfalla di lana 20 min. Orages d’été

62 48 56 18 29 26 34 69 72 73 25 28 36 39 16 70 33 11 76 80 20 22 30

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List of Films by Running Time over 20 minutes 21 min. Abseits der Autobahn 21 min. Le mal du citron 22 min. Ailleurs exactement 24 min. Wilde Oasen 25 min. Sounds Of Blikkiesdorp 26 min. Replika 29 min. Between 30 min. Petit homme 33 min. Best Buddies 35 min. La disparition des A誰tus

8 24 10 81 78 32 14 31 12 74

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List of Films by Category Children Children Children Children Children Children

Astronaut-K 42 Der kleine Vogel und das Eichhörnchen 46 Kacey Mottet Klein, naissance d’un acteur 72 Königin Po 48 Messages dans l’air 54 On n’est pas ici pour être mort vivant 29

Comedy Comedy Comedy Comedy Comedy Comedy Comedy

Abseits der Autobahn 8 Astronaut-K 42 Cendres de volcan 16 Discipline 18 Lucens 52 Männer 28 Von Faltbooten und Heringen 39

Fantastic Fantastic Fantastic Fantastic

Astronaut-K 42 La farfalla di lana 22 Replika 32 Subotika 34

Student Student Student Student Student Student Student Student Student Student Student Student Student Student Student

Astronaut-K 42 Calle Guise 68 De Schnuf 62 Der Saugwagenpilot 69 Discipline 18 Es war finster und merkwürdig still 47 Inland 20 Komorebitachi 73 Limbes 25 L’offre 26 Männer 28 Opak 64 Si j’étais Dieu 33 The Sound Of Crickets 57 Von Faltbooten und Heringen 39

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