Balance 2009: Swiss films hold their ground at major international festivals

“Swiss film productions attract a great deal of international attention at festivals – even during years in which they seemed to draw less attention here at home,” explained Micha Schiwow, director of SWISS FILMS, and added, “this year’s balance underscores the fact that new works by experienced filmmakers and films with high artistic standards have the best chance of being selected for festivals.”

The 49 Swiss film productions encompassed 15 fiction, 13 documentary and 21 short films – 5 of which were animation films and 2 experimental films. The presence for fiction films was below the average recorded during the past five years, which has been 14 films per year. Pipilotti Rist’s fiction film “Pepperminta” celebrated its premiere in Venice – in the “Orizzonti” section – before being screened at festivals in Sundance and Rotterdam. Frédéric Mermoud’s “Complices” was screened in the international competition in Locarno, while Christoph Schaub’s “Giulias Verschwinden” celebrated its premiere on the Piazza Grande and won the Audience Prize. Micha Lewinsky’s “Die Standesbeamtin”, Alexandre Iordachescu’s “L’enfance d’Icare” and Séverine Cornamusaz’s “Coeur animal” were all screened in Montreal. Kit Hung’s “Soundless Wind Chime” celebrated its world premiere in the “Forum” at the Berlinale and Patricia Plattner’s “Bazar” celebrated its world premiere at the Festival International du Film Francophone in Namur.

Swiss documentary film productions lived up to their excellent reputation once again: Peter Liechti’s “The Sound of Insects”, which celebrated its world premiere in conjunction with a retrospective of his film works in Rotterdam, was screened thereafter in competitions in Nyon, Karlovy Vary and Leipzig. It is the first Swiss film to be honoured with the Prix Arte – Best European Documentary Film in Essen on December 12. Christian Frei’s “Space Tourists” was screened in the prestigious Joris Ivens Competition in Amsterdam and will be screened in January at Sundance, one of the most important international festivals. Richard Dindo’s “The Marsdreamers” was screened in Locarno in the “Filmmakers of the Present” competition. The film “sounds and silence” by Peter Guyer and Norbert Wiedmer was presented on the Piazza Grande in Locarno, Stefano Knuchel’s “Hugo en Afrique” won the Critic’s Award at the Mostra in Venice, and Vadim Jendreyko’s “Die Frau mit den 5 Elefanten” was honoured with three prizes in Nyon.

Swiss short film productions also maintained their high level of festival participation in 2009, culminating in a success d’estime with the nomination of Reto Caffi’s “Auf der Strecke” for an Academy Award. Almost all major festivals selected Swiss short films for screening: Michael Koch’s “Polar” was placed in the limelight in Berlin and received an Honourable Mention; the latest productions by Lukas Tiberio and Clemens Klopfenstein stood their ground in Rotterdam and Venice; Eileen Hofer’s “Racines” and Simon Steuri’s “Vandalen” were screened in the international competition in Clermont-Ferrand; the film “Nid hei cho” by Thais Odermatt celebrated its premiere in San Sebastian; and in Annecy the animation films “Valise” by Isabelle Favez and “Retouches” by Georges Schwizgebel participated in the international competition.

In 2009, 9 fiction films, 21 documentary films and 40 short films (14 of which were animation films) were honoured with awards at international festivals in Switzerland and abroad and won a total of CHF 466,000 in monetary prizes, which amounts to CHF 115,000 above the results recorded in 2008. Approximately CHF 203,000 was won at festivals abroad and CHF 263,000 at domestic festivals. Documentary and short films, in particular, generated monetary prizes and non-cash benefits amounting to CHF 437,000 (94% of the total amount), constituting a front-end financing which should not be underestimated.

SWISS FILMS, the film promotion agency, supported the presence of Swiss film productions at international film festivals with networking and promotional contributions amounting to a total of more than CHF 248,000, as well as with the purchase of international prints amounting to CHF 175,000.

Zurich, December 9, 2009

Table I : Compilation of Swiss film productions in the main sections of major international film festivals 2009 PDF

Table II: Awards for Swiss film productions at international festivals 2009 PDF

Table III: 2004-2009 Swiss film productions in the main sections of major international film festivals PDF

Table IV: 2007-2009 Awards and monetary prizes at film festivals and events PDF