SWISS FILMS Berlinale 2022

SWISS

2022 BERLIN

FILMS

CLICK HERE TO VISIT US VIRTUALLY AT THE EUROPEAN FILM MARKET ONLINE WATCH SWISS SHORTS ONLINE: www.swissfilms.ch/en/short-film-library

SWISS FILMS Neugasse 6, 8005 Zurich www.swissfilms.ch Published in January 2022 Image campaign by Pierluigi Macor

SWISS FILMS AT BERLINALE 2022

� COMPETITION 4 ENCOUNTERS 6 PANORAMA 7 GENERATION 9 FORUM EXPANDED 10 SHOOTING STAR

12 BERLINALE CO-PRODUCTION MARKET 14 EUROPEAN FILM MARKET 19 COMING SOON 34 IN PRODUCTION 35 SUPPORT MEASURES

11 BERLINALE TALENTS

SWISS FILMS TEAM

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

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

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

CHARLOTTE DUCOS Consultant Documentary Film & Marketing Strategies cducos@swissfilms.ch T +41 76 604 54 95

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

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

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A PIECE OF SKY

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written & directed by Michael Koch 2

In a remote mountain village, Anna tries to preserve her young love for Marco, against all odds.

Fiction

WORLD SALES: New Europe Film Sales, Warsaw www.neweuropefilmsales.com WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2022 INTERNATIONAL PRESS: WOLF Consultants Gordon Spragg, Laurin Dietrich, Michael Arnon hello@wolf-con.com T +49 157 74 74 97 24

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Fiction, 136 min., 2022 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Swiss-German CAST: Michèle Brand, Simon Wisler PRODUCTION: hugofilm features GmbH, Zurich / Pandora Film Produktion, Cologne / SRF / SRG SSR / ARTE SWISS PRODUCER: Christof Neracher

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

His first feature-length film, MARIJA (2016), premiered in Competition at Locarno Film Festival and now A PIECE OF SKY premieres in Competition at the Berlinale 2022.

COMPETITION LA LIGNE

THE LINE

URSULA MEIER * 1971 in France. Ursula Meier is best known for her films HOME (2008), which premiered in Cannes’ Semaine de la Critique and SISTER, which was awarded with the Silver Bear – Special Award at the Berlinale in 2012. Both films received three Swiss Film Awards including Best Fiction Film, were Switzerland’s entry for the Academy Awards and were selected for numesrous prestigious international film festivals. Her latest film THE LINE (2022) premieres in Competition at the Berlinale.

SWITZERLAND / FRANCE / WORLD SALES: BELGIUM Memento International, Paris Fiction, 102 min., 2022 www.memento-films.com ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: WORLD PREMIERE: French Berlinale 2022 SCREENPLAY: INTERNATIONAL PRESS: Stéphanie Blanchoud, PREMIER PR Ursula Meier, Antoine Jaccoud Simone Devlin CAST: theline@premiercomms.com Stéphanie Blanchoud, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Elli Spagnolo, India Hair, Dali Benssalah PRODUCTION: Bandita Films, Geneva / Les Films de Pierre, Paris / Les Films du Fleuve, Liège / ARTE France / RTS SWISS PRODUCERS: Pauline Gygax, Max Karli

Fiction

After a violent argument with her mother, Margaret, 35 years old and with a long history of inflicting and suffering from violence, is subject to a strict restraining order before her trial: she’s no longer allowed to make contact with her mother or approach within 100 metres of the family home for three months. But this separation only exacerbates her desire to be closer to her family and so she returns every day to this invisible and impassable frontier.

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directed by Ursula Meier

ENCOUNTERS

SEE YOU FRIDAY, ROBINSON

À VENDREDI, ROBINSON

directed by Mitra Farahani 4

“We should start with a correspondence. Ebrahim can send me a letter this Friday, and I’ll answer him next Friday. So, see you Friday, Robinson!” And so, Jean-Luc Godard stages himself in his daily thought, wisely desperate, and sends images and words. Ebrahim Golestan tries to decode these UFO-messages and skilfully seeks to bring them back to the appearance of reason.

Does the existence of poets still have any meaning in these times of distress?

Documentary

WORLD RIGHTS: Écran Noir Productions, Paris ecrannoirprod@gmail.com WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2022 INTERNATIONAL PRESS: Écran Noir Productions Aurélien Petit avendredi@ ecrannoirproductions.fr T +39 333 86 51 588

SWITZERLAND / FRANCE / IRAN / LEBANON Documentary, 96 min., 2022 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, English, French, Italian, Farsi PRODUCTION: Écran Noir Productions, Paris / Casa Azul Films, Lausanne / Pejman Foundation, Teheran / Schortcut Films, Beirut SWISS PRODUCER: Fabrice Aragno

MITRA FARAHANI * 1975 in Iran. Mitra Farahani studied graphic design at the Azad University in Tehran.

In 2000 she began studies in fine arts and video /cinema at the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

As a visual artist, filmmaker and producer she works between both the still image and the moving image. Several of her films premiered in the Berlinale, among them JUST A WOMAN (2002), FIFI HOWLS FROM HAPPINESS (2013) and now SEE YOU FRIDAY, ROBINSON (2022) in the Encounters section.

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UNREST written & directed by Cyril Schäublin

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 93 in., 2022 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: French, Swiss-German, Russian CAST: Clara Gostynski, Alexei Evstratov PRODUCTION: Seeland Filmproduktion GmbH, Zurich / SRF PRODUCERS: Linda Vogel, Michela Pini

WORLD SALES: Alpha Violet, Paris www.alphaviolet.com WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2022 INTERNATIONAL PRESS: Jon Rushton jon@jonrushton.com T +44 7969 83 72 42

Fiction

CYRIL SCHÄUBLIN * 1984. Cyril Schäublin studied cinema in Beijing and in Berlin.

His debut feature THOSE WHO ARE FINE (2017) premiered in Locarno, then screened at festivals in Rotterdam, New York, Shanghai, among others.

The film was nominated for the European Film Awards 2018. UNREST (2022) is his second feature-length film and premieres in Encounters in the Berlinale.

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New technologies are transforming a 19th-century watchmaking town in Switzerland. Josephine, a young factory worker, produces the unrest wheel, swinging in the heart of the mechanical watch. Exposed to new ways of organizing money, time and labour, she gets involved with the local movement of the anarchist watchmakers, where she meets Russian traveller Pyotr Kropotkin.

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directed by Chiara Bellosi 6

For each of us, there’s a different reason to jump on the ride.

But when it starts spinning fast, it’s like flying and we don’t want to get off. This is what happens to Benedetta when she meets Amanda and decides to follow her into her vagabond world.

Fiction

WORLD SALES: Vision Distribution, Rome www.visiondistribution.it WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2022 INTERNATIONAL PRESS: Jacopo Bistacchia jacopo.bistacchia@gmail.com T +39 347 348 29 91

ITALY / SWITZERLAND Fiction, 90 min., 2022 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Italian SCREENPLAY: Maria Teresa Venditti, Luca De Bei CAST: Gaia Di Pietro, Andrea Carpenazo, Giandomenico Cupaiuolo, Francesca Antonelli, Alessio Praticò, Barbara Chichiarelli PRODUCTION: tempesta srl, Bologna / tellfilm GmbH, Zurich / RAI Cinema / RSI SWISS PRODUCERS Katrin Renz

CHIARA BELLOSI * 1973 in Italy. Chiara Bellosi has a degree in dramaturgy from the Paolo Grassi Civic School of Theatre in Milan. She directed a short film as part of the collective film CHE COSA MANCA (2006) produced by Eskimosa and Rai Cinema.

In 2007 she studied documentary at the IED Venice along with Leonardo Di Costanzo, Carlotta Cristiani and Silvio Soldini. ORDINARY JUSTICE was her first work of fiction, as well as her first featurelength film. SWING RIDE (2022) premieres at the Berlinale in the Panorama.

GENERATION 14PLUS LA FIÈVRE

FEVER written & directed by Matias Carlier

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 22 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French CAST: David Evora, Marie Pons, Vincent Aubert PRODUCER: Lionel Baier

PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne ECAL jean_guillaume.sonnier@ecal.ch www.ecal.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur 2021 INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE: Berlinale 2022

Fiction

MATIAS CARLIER * 1998 in France. Matias Carlier graduated in 2021 with a Bachelor in Film from the École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne (ECAL). FEVER (2021) premieres interna­tion­ally in the Generation section of the Berlinale 2022.

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Aleister and Joana, two young skateboarders from Lausanne, decide to spend their final evening together.

Throughout the night, they try to declare their love for each other, but this declaration will be undermined by the various obstacles they encounter on their way.

GENERATION KPLUS

THE QUEEN OF THE FOXES

LA REINE DES RENARDS

written & directed by Marina Rosset 8

In the hopes of making their queen smile again, the foxes descend on the city each night to rummage through the humans’ trash, searching for all the love letters that were never sent.

Animation

WORLD RIGHTS: Marina Rosset Productions, Lausanne www.marinarosset.ch WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2022

SWITZERLAND Animation, 9 min., 2022 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French ANIMATION TECHNIQUE: Drawing on paper PRODUCTION: Marina Rosset Productions, Lausanne / RTS PRODUCER: Marina Rosset

MARINA ROSSET * 1984. Marina Rosset makes hand-drawn animated short films and graduated from the Lucerne School of art and Design (HSLU) in 2007. Her short films have screened at films festivals all over the world, and received many awards, notably at Premier Plan Angers for THE BEAR’S HAND (2008), Hiroshima for LATERARIUS (2010), and Locarno for LA FILLE AUX FEUILLES (2013). THE QUEEN OF FOXES premieres in the Berlinale 2022 Generation Kplus.

FORUM EXPANDED

DIVA written & directed by Nicolas Cilins

SWITZERLAND Documentary / Experimental, 30 min., 2022 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Vietnamese PRODUCER: Nicolas Cilins

PRODUCTION AND WORLD RIGHTS: Apparatus, Geneva nicolas.cilins@gmail.com WORLD PREMIERE: Berlinale 2022

Documentary

NICOLAS CILINS * 1985 in France. Nicolas Cilins is a Geneva-based artist, working across the disciplines of visual arts, filmmaking and performance art. He holds a Bachelor in Visual Arts from Villa Arson in Nice and a Diploma of Performance Art from Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD – Genève).

His works have been shown in museums, theatres and film festivals, winners of several prizes and awards from private and public institutions. His experimental short GINEVA also premiered in Forum Expanded in 2015.

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Diva Cat Thy is a transwoman who sells noodles on the streets of Saigon, Vietnam. She posts videos everyday on social media. The film is made out of this found footage, and entangles her story with the ones of the filmmaker and the translator.

EFP EUROPEAN SHOOTING STAR 10

SOUHEILA YACOUB ACTRESS

“Embracing passion and vulnerability at the same time, she is a revelation and a shooting star in the truest sense.”

Jury statement

Souheila Yacoub is Switzerland’s European Shooting Star, presented by the European Film Promotion at the Berlinale.

Born 1992 in Geneva, Souheila Yacoub entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique in Paris.

She started out on the stage, but the film world quickly beckoned. For her supporting role in Gaspard Noé’s CLIMAX, she was celebrated as a “revelation” by the Académie des César. In 2020 Souheila Yacoub played in the French-Swiss co­production THE SALT OF TEARS by Philippe Garrel which premiered at the Berlinale.

THE BRAVES, with Yacoub in the lead and A BRIGHTER TOMORROW were both screened in the Directors Fortnight in 2021.

In 2022, Souheila Yacoub will feature in Cédric Klapisch’s EN CORPS and in Alice and Benoît Zeniter’s debut feature AVANT L’EFFONDREMENT. FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION) 2021

A BRIGHTER TOMORROW

by Yassine Qnia 2021 THE BRAVES

by Anaïs Volpé 2020 THE SALT OF TEARS

by Philippe Garrel 2018 CLIMAX

by Gaspar Noé

DIRECTOR

BERLINALE TALENTS

FLORIAN HOFFMANN

Florian Hoffmann studied Ethnology, Sociology and Political Sciences at the University of Basel. He graduated in 2021 with a Master in directing from the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB). His film WHISPERS OF WAR has recently won various prizes, including the Audience Award of the Black Nights Tallinn Film Festival.

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FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION) 2021 WHISPERS OF WAR 2015 ARLETTE. COURAGE IS A MUSCLE 2015 THE DICTATOR’S HOTEL

NAOMI PACIFIQUE DIRECTOR, PRODUCER

Naomi Pacifique is a Swiss-Dutch multidisciplinary artist based in Amsterdam. She has a Master in Creative Writing from Oxford University and a Master in Filmmaking from the London Film School. Her graduation film AFTER A ROOM (2021) was awarded at the Locarno Film Festival.

FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION) 2021 AFTER A ROOM

BERLINALE CO-PRODUCTION MARKET

BERLINALE CO-PRODUCTION MARKET On behalf of the Federal Office of Culture (FOC), SWISS FILMS provides Swiss producers and filmmakers with support in promoting and marketing their works and helps them build an international network through programme collaborations such as Rotterdam Lab, Producers’ Network Cannes or Berlinale Co-Production Market. Five producers have been nominated to represent Switzerland in the Visitors Programme of the Co-Production Market 2022.

EMILIE MOOR PRODUCER 12

Since 2017 she has been executive producer, manager & assistant and distributor for Adok Films mainly supporting documentary and shorts.

She is part of the Critical Curatorial and Cybermedia research based Master programme at HEAD – Genève.

FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION) 2021 DREAM RACING by Juliette Riccaboni

MAGDALENA WELTER PRODUCER Producer and co-owner of the production company Lomotion. Welter produced a.o. BEYTO, which won the Audience Award in Solothurn 2021.

She took part at the Zurich Film Festival Talent Academy in 2021.

FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION) 2021 BORDERS by Christian Wehrlin

BERLINALE CO-PRODUCTION MARKET

PHILIPP RITLER DIRECTOR, PRODUCER Director and producer at Dynamic Frame. Their short film MENSCHEN AM SAMSTAG directed by Jonas Ulrich won the Golden Leopard at the 2020 Locarno Film Festival.

FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION) 2021 IN GOOD HANDS by Philipp Ritler, Kezia Zurbrügg

SOPHIA RUBISCHUNG In 2016 she joined Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion. Sophia Rubischung has participated in international programs (a.o. DFI Producers Lab).

In 2021, she produced her first short film EATING THE SILENCE. FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION) 2021 EATING THE SILENCE by Joël Jent, Ali Al-Fatlaw

VÉRONIQUE VERGARI PRODUCER After studying Communications and Entertainment Sciences in Milan, she began her career as a producer in advertising, fashion and theatre. Currently she works as a producer at Luna Films.

FILMOGRAPHY (SELECTION) 2022 BIG LITTLE WOMEN by Nadia Fares 2021 THE FAM by Frédéric Baillif

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PRODUCER

directed by Silvio Soldini

Camilla is a successful lawyer and mother of a grown-up daughter.

A late-night traffic accident, possibly her fault, in which a sanspapier dies, turns her life upside down. This unnamed dead man prompts her to conduct private investigations that take her far away from familiar places and people.

ITALY / SWITZERLAND Fiction, 120 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Italian SCREENPLAY: Doriana Leondeff, Davide Lantieri, Silvio Soldini CAST: Anna Ferzetti, Caterina Forza, Kasia Smutniak PRODUCTION: Lumière & Co., Milan / ventura film sa, Meride / RSI / SRG SSR WORLD SALES: Vision Distribution, Rome www.visiondistribution.it

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Fiction

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SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Fiction, 115 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: English, Swiss-German SCREENPLAY: Urs Bühler, Daniel Young CAST: Morgane Ferru, Sven Schelker PRODUCTION: Zodiac Pictures, Zurich / MMC Zodiac, Cologne / SRF / SRG SSR / Blue WORLD SALES: The Playmaker, Munich www.playmaker.de WORLD PREMIERE: Zurich Film Festival 2021

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AND TOMORROW WE WILL BE DEAD UND MORGEN SEID IHR TOT directed by Michael Steiner In 2011 the young Swiss couple Daniela Widmer and David Och is kidnapped on their journey along the old Silk Road in Pakistan.

They’re taken 500 kilometres to warlike Waziristan and handed over to the local Taliban. The two of them live under the most precarious conditions for eight months in hostage, until they finally succeed in escaping from the Taliban, as the only civilians so far.

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SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Documentary, 83 min., 2022 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, English, French PRODUCTION: Ensemble Film GmbH, Zurich / Lichtblick Film- und Fernseh­ produktion, Cologne / ZDF/ARTE / RSI / SRF WORLD SALES: Autlook Filmsales, Vienna www.autlookfilms.com WORLD PREMIERE: Solothurner Filmtage 2022

Documentary

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Based on Patricia Highsmith’s personal writings and accounts of her family and lovers, the film casts new light on the famous thriller writer’s life and oeuvre, permeated by themes of love and its defining influence on identity.

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written & directed by Eva Vitija

MONTE VERITÀ

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

SWITZERLAND / AUSTRIA / GERMANY Fiction, 115 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German CAST: Maresi Riegner, Max Hubacher, Julia Jentsch, Joel Basman PRODUCTION: tellfilm GmbH, Zurich / KGP Filmproduktion, Vienna / COIN FILM, Cologne / RSI / ORF / MMC Movies, Cologne / blue+ WORLD SALES: The Playmaker, Munich www.playmaker.de WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021

Fiction

directed by Stefan Jäger

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MOTHER LODE directed by Matteo Tortone

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Jorge, a young Lima mototaxi driver reaches the richest and most dangerous goldmine in Peru. Lost under a glacier in the Andes mountains, La Rinconada is “the closest city to the sky”. It attracts thousands of seasonal workers like Jorge, in quest for a bit of fortune and a better life. But each year numerous miners mysteriously disappear. For gold belongs to the Devil, “El Tio de la Mina” who requires some sacrifices.

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FRANCE / ITALY / SWITZERLAND Docufiction, 86 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Spanish SCREENPLAY: Matteo Tortone, Mathieu Granier PRODUCTION: Wendigo Films, Paris / Malfé Film, Torino / C-Side Productions, Geneva WORLD SALES Intramovies, Rome www.intramovies.com WORLD PREMIERE: Settimana internationale della critica Venice 2021

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Animation

JUNGLE ROUGE directed by Juan José Lozano, Zoltán Horváth

SWITZERLAND / FRANCE Animation, 85 min., 2022 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Spanish ANIMATION TECHNIQUE: 2D / 3D Computer animation, mixed technique SCREENPLAY: Juan José Lozano, Antoine Germa PRODUCTION: Intermezzo Films, Geneva / Dolce Vita Films, Paris / RTS / Nadasdy Film Sarl, Geneva / Tchack, Lille WORLD SALES: Urban Distribution International, Paris www.urbangroup.biz

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

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SCREAM OF THE SOUL CRI DE L’ÂME written & directed by Dominique Othenin-Girard

Joe Boehler, former soldier, boxer and self-taught artist, says he had to choose between killing people and creating art. Shot on the eve of a new exhibition of Boehler’s work, the film allows a new generation of art lovers to discover how great artists transform trauma into something beautiful and meaningful. We accompany Boehler on his journey of self-discovery and celebrate his late-life victories.

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Documentary

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 63 min.,2022 ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French PRODUCTION: Artisan Productions, Geneva WORLD SALES: Impromptu Productions, Hellemmes-Lille www.impromptu-prod.fr

SOUL OF A BEAST

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SWITZERLAND Fiction, 110 min., 2021 ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: French, Swiss-German CAST: Pablo Caprez, Ella Rumpf, Art Bllaca, Luna Wedler, Lolita Chammah, Tonatiuh Radzi PRODUCTION: Hesse Film, Zurich / 8horses, Zurich / Milan Film, Basel / The Hub Media, Basel / SRG SSR / SRF / blue+ WORLD SALES: Picture Tree International, Berlin picturetree-international.com

WORLD PREMIERE: Locarno Film Festival 2021

Fiction

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In a delirious summer rush, teenage father Gabriel falls in love with enigmatic Corey, the girlfriend of his best friend Joel. Deeply hurt about their deceitful intentions, Joel reveals the truth about Gabriel’s entangled past, there is not only a child.

Overwhelmed with the decision of his life, Gabriel is catapulted into the unforgiving wilderness of his heart, where imagination is more real than reality.

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written & directed by Lorenz Merz

Swiss films in Berlin

Notre Musique, Jean-Luc Godard, 2004 World premiere of the digitally restored version 2022

by Cinémathèque suisse Sauve qui peut (la vie), Jean-Luc Godard, 1980 Homage and Honorary Golden Bear for Isabelle Huppert La Dentellière, Claude Goretta, 1977 Homage and Honorary Golden Bear for Isabelle Huppert

Image : Notre Musique by Jean-Luc Godard, 2004. Collection Cinémathèque suisse. All rights reserved.

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99 MOONS

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directed by Jan Gassmann 20

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

Fiction

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

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 110 min.

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

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

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WORLD RIGHTS: Point Prod, Geneva www.pointprod.ch

Documentary

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 90 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, English, French, Italian PRODUCTION: Point Prod, Geneva / SRF / RTS / RSI PRODUCERS: David Rihs, Vanessa Droz

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Giulia Tonelli, principal dancer at the Zurich Opera House, returns from maternity leave. She has to fight to find her place and a new balance, between the competitive and extremely demanding world of an elite ballet company and her new family life. The documentary is an unprecedented immersion in the microcosm of a great opera house from 2019–2021, an intimate and committed look at the journey of a woman who reclaims her own body and herself to be back on stage.

LAURA KAEHR * 1978. Laura Kaehr trained as a professional ballet dancer at the Centre de Danse Rosella Hightower, Cannes. She holds a Master in Transdisciplinarity in art from ZHdK and an Advanced Certificate in Film and Screenwriting at UCLA Los Angeles. Her debut short film, 1927, premiered at Locarno’s spring event L’immagine e la Parola in 2014.

Her experimental dance film NEW WORLD (2018) won Best Film at the Underexposed Film Festival. She is a screenwriter, director and film choreographer.

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written & directed by Laura Kaehr

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directed by Valentin Merz

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

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

Fiction

DE NOCHE LOS GATOS SON PARDOS

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 110 min.

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

VALENTIN MERZ * 1985. Valentin Merz moved to Mexico City in 2007 where he worked as a typographer.

From 2009–14 he worked in Berlin in cinema and theatre before studying film at Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD – Genève). His short films have been screened at international festivals. In 2018, he cofounded the production company Andrea Film. His first feature film DE NOCHE LOS GATOS SON PARDOS is in post production.

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SWITZERLAND / ITALY Fiction, 100 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: German, Italian, English SCREENPLAY: Samuel Perriard, Markus Ziegler CAST: Julia Jentsch, Florian Lukas, Sami Loris, Sarah Hostettler, Fortunato Cerlino PRODUCTION: Catpics AG, Zurich / Helios Sustainable Films SRL, Bolzano / SRF / SRG SSR SWISS PRODUCERS: Sarah Born, Dario Schoch, Rajko Jazbec

WORLD RIGHTS: Catpics AG, Zurich www.catpics.ch

Fiction

SAMUEL PERRIARD * 1983. Samuel Perriard studied Design at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) from 2003 to 2006. BLACK PANTHER (2013) was his graduation film from the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (dffb) and premiered at the Munich Film Festival.

The film went on to have its international premiere at the Chicago International Film Festival in 2014. BLACK PANTHER was nominated for the FIRST STEPS Awards 2013 and the STUDIO HAMBURG Young Talent Award 2014.

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Adam, Helena and their son Finn spend their traditional summer holiday with friends at the seaside in southern Italy. When Finn collapses unconscious on his way home from the beach, it is a shock for everyone. Although the boy is well again the next day, the incident continues to have an effect on all of them, plunging Helena and Adam completely unprepared into a relationship crisis.

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(working title) directed by Samuel Perriard

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IM FALLEN (working title)

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GIRL GANG

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written & directed by Susanne Regina Meures 24

Fourteen-year-old Leonie is a successful teen influencer who lives on the outskirts of Berlin. Millions of followers are at her feet, and companies shower her with products.

When Leonie’s parents recognise the enormous economic potential of their daughter’s online activities, they quickly take over her management. They want Leonie to have a better life than they had. But Leonie’s life dictated by brands and pressure to produce content, slowly turns into a prison.

Documentary

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

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 98 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: German PRODUCTION: Christian Frei Filmproduktion GmbH, Zurich / SRF PRODUCER: Christian Frei

SUSANNE REGINA MEURES * 1977 in Germany. Meures studied Photography and Art History at The Courtauld Institute of Art in London.

She also holds a Master in Film from ZHdK. With RAVING IRAN her first feature-length documentary she launched her international festival and box-office success. The film screened at countless festivals and won numerous awards.

SAUDI RUNAWAY premiered at Sundance and among other prizes was nominated for the European Film Award in 2020.

GIRL GANG is her third feature-length documentary.

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written & directed by Antoine Cattin

SWITZERLAND Documentary, 87 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Russian SCREENPLAY: Antoine Cattin PRODUCTION: Les Films Hors-Champ, Lignerolle / RTS PRODUCER: Elena Hill

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

Documentary

ANTOINE CATTIN * 1975. Antoine Cattin graduated from the University of Lausanne in History, Cinema and Russian in 2001. He is founder and editor of the journal “Hors-Champ”. He worked in Russia as assistant director to Sergei Loznitsa. Since 2004 he lives in Russia and Switzerland.

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Djous dreams of a better life. Dina dreams of taking power.

Anna Fyodorovna dreams of retirement. Nikita dreams of business. Saint Petersburg, a dream city, is the setting for the action. National holidays, a popular dream or an instrument of power, punctuate the calendar. A year goes by and the authoritarian stranglehold of the Kremlin seems to be closing in on Russian society. A tragi-comedy about contemporary and eternal Russia.

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SPRING 2022

written & directed by Tizian Büchi

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In the heat of the summer, two watchmen secure the river that runs through a neighbourhood in Lausanne. Ammar is new to the job, and Daniel shares his experience with him.

During their rounds and encounters with the inhabitants, they observe and are observed, while bonds are being formed. And the question arises: what could have happened by the river?

WORLD RIGHTS: Alva Film Production, Geneva www.alvafilm.ch

Docufiction

L’ÎLOT

SWITZERLAND Docufiction, 110 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French PRODUCTION: Alva Film Production, Geneva PRODUCERS: Thomas Reichlin, Britta Rindelaub

TIZIAN BÜCHI * 1981. Tizian Büchi graduated in History of Cinema and Aesthetics from the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and in directing from Institut des Arts de Diffusion (IAD) in Belgium.

He worked as programmer for various Swiss festivals and in film distribution. His short film TO THE TOP (2015) premiered at Kurzfilmtage Winterthur and THE SOUND OF WINTER (2016) at Visions du Réel.

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written & directed by Delphine Lehericey

SWITZERLAND / BELGIUM Fiction, 90 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French CAST: François Berléand, Kacey Mottet Klein, La Ribot, Sabine Timoteo, Jean-Benoît Ugeux PRODUCTION: Box Productions sàrl, Lausanne / Need Productions, Brussels / RTS / RTBF / BeTv SWISS PRODUCERS: Elena Tatti, Thierry Spicher

WORLD SALES: Be For Films, Brussels www.beforfilms.com

Fiction

DELPHINE LEHERICEY * 1975. Delphine Lehericey studied Performing Arts at the University of Paris X and performed in numerous theatre productions before she directed her own films.

Her first feature PUPPYLOVE (2013) was awarded Best Belgian Feature at the FIFF Namur. With BEYOND THE HORIZON (2019) Lehericey won four prizes at the Swiss Film Awards. The film screened at various international film festvials.

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At the age of 75, Germain, a contemplative and homely man, finds himself a widower and is trying to cope with his children’s invasive anxiety. True to a promise he made to his wife years ago, he is going to have to take his place in a contemporary dance performance, in secret from his family.

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SUMMER 2022

L’AMOUR DU MONDE

directed by Jenna Hasse

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On the shores of Lake Geneva, fourteen-year-old Margaux meets seven-year-old Juliette, and Joël, a fisherman recently returned from Indonesia. The trio, at odds with life as it is, find themselves torn between attraction, disappointment and the desire to escape.

WORLD RIGHTS: Langfilm – Bernard Lang AG, Freienstein www.langfilm.ch

Fiction

LONGING FOR THE WORLD

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 85 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: French SCREENPLAY: Jenna Hasse, Nicole Stankiewicz, Julien Bouissoux CAST: Clarisse Moussa, Esin Demircan, Marc Oosterhoff PRODUCTION: Langfilm – Bernard Lang AG, Freienstein / RTS PRODUCERS: Olivier Zobrist, Anne-Catherine Lang

JENNA HASSE * 1989 in Portugal. Jenna Hasse has Swiss and Portuguese citizenship and studied Drama at INSAS in Brussels.

Her award-winning short IN AUGUST (2014) premiered at the Quinzaine des réalisateurs in Cannes and also screened at Rotterdam IFFR and BFI London. Her second short SOLTAR (2016) and her medium-length documentary, THE PROTAGONIST (2020), screened at FIFF Namur, Curtas Vila do Conde and DocLisboa, among others.

LONGING FOR THE WORLD is her first feature-length film.

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WORLD RIGHTS: Cinédokké, Savosa www.cinedokke.ch

Fiction

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 85 min.

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

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

CATERINA MONA * 1973. Caterina Mona studied English Literature before studying Film at the Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle (INSAS) in Brussels.

She graduated as an editor in 2001. Besides editing several feature and documentary films she worked for the film festivals in Locarno and Berlin. Her short film LOST (2015) premiered at the Locarno Film Festival.

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directed by Lionel Baier 30

Nathalie Adler is on a mission for the EU in Sicily.

She organizes the next visit of Macron and Merkel to a migrant camp. Their presence has a high symbolic value to show that everything is under control. But who still wants to believe in this European family on the verge of a nervous breakdown? Probably not Albert, Nathalie’s son, an NGO activist who arrives without warning. He, moreover, no longer believes in his mother.

Fiction

WORLD SALES: Les Films du Losange, Paris www.filmsdulosange.com

SWITZERLAND / FRANCE Fiction, 89 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: French, Italian, English SCREENPLAY: Lionel Baier, Laurent Larivière CAST: Isabelle Carré, Théodore Pellerin, Ursina Lardi, Ivan Georgiev, Tom Villa, Daphne Scoccia PRODUCTION: Bandita Films, Geneva / Les Films du Losange, Paris / RTS SWISS PRODUCERS: Pauline Gygax, Max Karli

LIONEL BAIER * 1975. Lionel Baier was the Head of the Cinema department at the École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne (ECAL) from 2002–21. He cofounded Bande à part Films with Ursula Meier, Jean-Stéphane Bron and Frédéric Mermoud in 2009.

Baier is best known for the award-winning LONGWAVE (2013), which became a festival hit and was honoured with the Trophée Francophone for Best Director. VANITY (2015) was selected for ACID in Cannes.

Shock Waves – First Name: Mathieu screened in Berlinale Panorama in 2018.

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In 2008, after years of exile, Remo returns to his native Kosovo. He must help his cousin Una with the exhumation of a mass grave that contains most of their family members buried there during the war. But the bodies reveal family secrets that will make Remo and Una question their future.

A film about the possibility of truth in a place that only knows survival.

SWITZERLAND / KOSOVO WORLD RIGHTS: Fiction, 112 min.

Alva Film Production, Geneva ORIGINAL LANGUAGES: www.alvafilm.ch French, Albanian, English CAST: Luàna Bajrami, Florist Bajgora, Luan Jaha, Arta Musa, Irena Aliu PRODUCTION: Alva Film Production, Geneva / Ikonë Studio, Pristina / RTS SWISS PRODUCERS: Britta Rindelaub, Thomas Reichlin

Fiction

FISNIK MAXVILLE * 1989 in Kosovo. Fisnik Maxville was a refugee in Switzerland until 2005. He studied Film at ECAL / HEAD,completing his studies with a Master’s degree.

His first film LOST EXILE (2016) premiered in Locarno and won a jury award. He wrote and directed THE VALLEY OF HAPPINESS (2017), ZVICRA (2018) and ENDGAME (2020).

NOSTROMO is his first film shot in North America. He is currently working on two feature films, THE LAND WITHIN and THE DUST OF DAWN.

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SPRING 2022

THE WATER directed by Elena López Riera

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It is summer in a small village in southeastern Spain.

A storm threatens to cause the river crossing it. Throughout the village, this old popular belief is repeated like a litany, ensuring that some women are predestined to disappear with each new flood, Ana, who dreams of fleeing this village that stinks of death, and José will live a love story, until the storm bursts.

WORLD SALES: Elle Driver, Paris www.elledriver.fr

Fiction

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SWITZERLAND / SPAIN / FRANCE Fiction, 100 min.

ORIGINAL LANGUAGE: Spanish SCREENPLAY: Elena López Riera, Philippe Azoury CAST: Luna Pamiés, Bárbara Lennie, Alberto Olmo PRODUCTION: Alina film, Geneva / SUICA Films, València / Les Films du Worso, Paris / RTS SWISS PRODUCERS: Eugenia Mumenthaler, David Epiney

ELENA LÓPEZ RIERA * 1982 in Spain. Elena López Riera is a visual artist and filmmaker. She holds a PhD in Audiovisual Communication.

Her short film PUEBLO (2015) competed at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes and THE ENTRAILS (2016) at the Locarno Film Festival. Her last short THOSE WHO DESIRE (2018) won several prizes and was nominated for the European Film Awards. She has worked as a programmer for Entrevues Belfort, Sevilla European Film Festival and Visions du Réel.

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WORLD SALES: WTFilms, Paris www.wtfilms.fr

Fiction

SWITZERLAND Fiction, 90 min.

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

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Summer 1900, in a valley in southern Switzerland.

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

CARMEN JAQUIER * 1985. Carmen Jaquier is a director and screenwriter.

She studied film and screenwriting at École cantonale d’art de Lausanne and Geneva University of Art and Design (ECAL / HEAD – Genève).

Her diploma film THE GIRLS’ GRAVE (2012) won the Silver Pardino at the Locarno Film Festival. THUNDER is her first feature-length film.

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FALL 2022

DIE GOLDENEN JAHRE

ELECTRIC CHILD

by Barbara Kulcsar, director of THE TWO OF US

by Simon Jaquemet, director of THE INNOCENT and CHRIEG

SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Fiction PRODUCTION: 8horses GmbH, Zurich / Unafilm GmbH, Cologne WORLD RIGHTS: 8horses GmbH, Zurich www.8horses.ch

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SWITZERLAND / GERMANY Fiction CAST: Esther Gemsch, Stefan Kurt, Ueli Jäggi, Gundi Ellert PRODUCTION: Zodiac Pictures Ltd, Zurich / Claussen+Putz Filmproduktion GmbH, Munich / SRF / SRG SSR / ZDF / Blue WORLD SALES: Beta Cinema GmbH, Munich www.betacinema.com

SPRING 2023

FALL 2022

LAISSEZ-MOI

PREPARATIONS FOR A MIRACLE

by Maxime Rappaz

by Tobias Nölle, director of ALOYS

SWITZERLAND /FRANCE / BELGIUM Fiction PRODUCTION: GoldenEggProduction, Geneva / Paraiso Production, Paris / Fox the Fox, Brussels / RTS / SRG SSR WORLD RIGHTS: GoldenEggProduction, Geneva www.goldeneggproduction.ch

SWITZERLAND Docufiction PRODUCTION : hugofilm features, Zurich / Flare Film, Berlin / SRF / SRG / ARTE WORLD RIGHTS: hugofilm features, Zurich www.hugofilm.ch

Supporting the theatrical release and distribution via online platforms of Swiss films worldwide.

Its aim is to strengthen the visibility and the distribution of Swiss films abroad. The subsidies are granted according to the “Guidelines Funding for the distribution of Swiss films and coproductions in foreign countries”.

For more information please consult our website www.swissfilms.ch A support measure by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC), administrated by SWISS FILMS. www.bak.admin.ch

KEY INCENTIVES – Funding for releases worldwide – Funding for cinema and / or VOD releases – Increase of maximum support per film release – Applications for individual as well as slate funding – No fixed submission deadlines Applications must be submitted by the distributor via the Swiss producer.

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Contact : support@swissfilms.ch

SUPPORT MEASURES

DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT

FILM SALES SUPPORT for films from Switzerland

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

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

EFP additionally offers FSS for the promotion of films from Switzerland outside of Europe thanks to new international measures by the Federal Office of Culture, Media Desk Suisse and SWISS FILMS. This support has been confirmed and takes immediate effect.

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NOTES

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

SWISS FILMS is supported by

“ Do you want it?

It’s home-made.” in THE LINE by Ursula Meier