2003 Summary of Swiss Films at International Festivals

Compared to previous years, a significantly lower number of fiction films were available for festival participation (seven fiction films in 2003 instead of ten in 2002 and twelve in 2001), and most of the new films were released in the second half of 2003. Swiss documentary films, however, have enjoyed an increasing presence at international festivals: at prominent events abroad, six films were invited in 2001, nine in 2002, and eleven films in 2003.

The participation of Swiss films at the Berlinale was sparse with only one documentary film shown as part of the main sections in the forum: ”Mutter” von Miklós Gimes. For the last several years, Switzerland has been represented in Cannes, if at all, only with smaller co-productions, such as this year’s French-Swiss film ”Ce jour-là” by Chilean author Raúl Ruiz. For the Biennale d’arte cinematografica di Venezia, led by Moritz de Hadeln, a Swiss national, no Swiss fiction films were available. At San Sebastian, however, Swiss film continue to achieve recognition: Swiss-German co-production “When the right one comes along” by Oliver Paulus and Stefan Hillebrand was shown in the Zabaltegi section and received an honorary mention by the jury of the Altais New Directors Awards. And, at the IDFA in Amsterdam, the most important international event for documentary film, “Hans im Glück (“Lucky Hans”) by Peter Liechti will be part of the competition.

By the end of October 2003, five fiction films and two documentary films received international awards.

In addition to their presence at international events, Swiss productions were invited to more than 100 film festivals worldwide.

Zurich, November 3, 2003