Appellations Suisse 200558. Locarno International Film Festival
12.07.2005
Cinema films presented in the “Appellations Suisse” section at the Locarno International Film Festival, the largest and most important international film event in Switzerland, not only provide an overview of Swiss film production from the previous year but also reflect new trends and continuity in Swiss filmmaking. SWISS FILMS, the national film promotion organisation established in 2003, is responsible for organising the contents of this film series which has been well received by the spectators since it was launched by the film industry five years ago. At the 58th Locarno International Film Festival, SWISS FILMS will be presenting ten Swiss films produced for the cinema: five fiction and five documentary films. Due to the increasing popularity of the “Appellations Suisse” sector, the films will be screened this year in the “La Sala” cinema which, with seating for an audience of 960, is almost twice the size of the previous cinema (a second screening of the films is scheduled in “Cinema Rialto 1”). Prior to the screening on Wednesday, August 10th, the SSA/Suissimage Screenplay Award and the SUISA Film Music Prize will be presented this year for the first time within the context of “Appellations Suisse”.
Films accepted for the “Appellations Suisse” series are those which have been either screened in the cinema or attracted attention at a major film festival since the previous Locarno Film Festival. This year there were 27 cinema films to choose from for the sixth edition of the “Appellations Suisse”. New talent will be presented with “One Long Winter Without Fire” by Greg Zglinski, “North Wind” by Bettina Oberli and “Nocturne” by Riccardo Signorell. Current fiction and documentary film productions by well-known and established filmmakers are represented by “St. Francis Bird Tour” (Clemens Klopfenstein), “Ricordare Anna” (Walo Deuber) and “The Heart's Nebula” (Jacqueline Veuve). Works which have already gained international recognition with awards and their presence at international festivals are those by Veronika Minder (“Feline Masquerade”), Greg Zglinski and Bettina Oberli. The documentary films “Klingenhof” (Beatrice Michel), “The Heart's Nebula” (Jacqueline Veuve), “Nicolas Bouvier, 22 Hospital Street” (Christoph Kühn), “Feline Masquerade” (Veronika Minder) and “Maria Bethânia, música é perfume” (Georges Gachot) — which will also be screened within the framework of a local preview on the Piazza Grande on August 2nd prior to the official opening of the festival — demonstrate the broad scope of Swiss documentary filmmaking, as well as its strength in terms of form and context.
The screenings are open to the public, but are primarily aimed at the international professional sector. The films are scheduled to be screened daily at 11 a.m. from 4 to 13 August in the “La Sala” cinema and then again on the following day in the “Cinema Rialto 1” at 10 p.m.
“Appellations Suisse” contributes to a broader distribution of Swiss films with international potential, while highlighting the quality Swiss filmmaking as well. In addition to the numerous Swiss films making their premiere in various sectors of the festival’s program (e.g. in competitions, Critic’s Week, Filmmakers of the Present), the growing potential of Swiss filmmaking will be clearly evident in Locarno.
Appellations Suisse 2005 – The selection of films
The screenings are open to the public, but are primarily aimed at the international professional sector. The films are scheduled to be screened daily at 11 a.m. from 4 to 13 August in the “La Sala” cinema and then again on the following day in the “Cinema Rialto 1” at 10 p.m.
“Appellations Suisse” contributes to a broader distribution of Swiss films with international potential, while highlighting the quality Swiss filmmaking as well. In addition to the numerous Swiss films making their premiere in various sectors of the festival’s program (e.g. in competitions, Critic’s Week, Filmmakers of the Present), the growing potential of Swiss filmmaking will be clearly evident in Locarno.
Appellations Suisse 2005 – The selection of films