Berlinale Talents 2023

With 13 film productions and coproductions featured on the festival programme, two of which will be screened in the Competition, Swiss filmmaking can look forward to a promising festival edition. Actors, directors, producers and other players in the Swiss film industry are prominently represented in the film programmes and juries as well as at the film market.

A Shooting Star and other talents from Switzerland

Geneva-based actress and performance artist Kayije Kagame is one of the ten actors selected by a jury for the European Shooting Stars talent programme of the European Film Promotion during the Berlinale 2023. On Monday, February 20, the Shooting Stars will be honoured at an awards ceremony at the Berlinale Palast.

Two former Swiss Shooting Stars can be seen again in current films screened at the Berlinale: Luna Wedler stars in INGEBORG BACHMANN – JOURNEY INTO THE DESERT, the Swiss film screened in the Competition; as well as Sven Schelker in the German film DER VERMESSENE MENSCH by Lars Kraume (Berlinale Special). Further Swiss acting talents are making an international appearance at the Berlinale: Basil Eidenbenz, who can also be seen in INGEBORG BACHMANN, as well as Sophie Hutter and Stefan Kurt, who star in the German-Swiss-Austrian coproduction SISI & I.

There are also a number of familiar faces from Switzerland on various competition juries: director Cyril Schäublin, who was honoured with the award for Best Director in the Encounters section last year for his film UNREST, is a member of the First Feature Jury. Emilie Bujès, director of Visions du Réel Nyon, is a jury member for the Berlinale Documentary Award and Paolo Moretti, head of the ECAL Cinema Department in Lausanne, is a member of the Encounters jury.

The international talent promotion programme Berlinale Talents offers filmmakers from all genres the opportunity to present new projects and to network with experienced industry representatives. With the support of SWISS FILMS, producer Chantal Scheiner, producer/director Laura Coppens and director Corina Schwingruber Ilić will take part this year.

Swiss director Fabiana Fragale, a graduate of the Academy of the Media Arts in Cologne, will present her documentary debut LONELY OAKS as the film’s co-director in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino section. This section presents debut and second films produced in Germany with universal, international stories.   

SWISS FILMS expands market activities to include Swiss series

In order to increase the visibility of high-profile series from Switzerland on the international market, SWISS FILMS and SRG SSR are launching a new showcase for Swiss series: Swiss Series Previews. Four producers will present their series projects to an  international audience of industry professionals at the Berlinale Series Market (February 20-22, 2023).

SRF is also coproducer of the German-Belgian series DER SCHWARM (THE SWARM), which will celebrate its world premiere with a screening in the Berlinale Series programme.

After two years with a virtual presence, SWISS FILMS is at the festival again this year with a stand at the European Film Market EFM. The aim of the market presence is to draw attention to new Swiss productions and to provide networking opportunities for filmmakers from Switzerland and international professionals. SWISS FILMS is hosting its traditional Industry Get-together for the attending filmmakers and international industry guests to meet and network.

Five Swiss producers will attend the Berlinale Co-Production Market thanks to the support of the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC) in collaboration with SWISS FILMS: Dea Gjinovci (Astrae Productions), Jessica Hefti (Zodiac Pictures), Davide Marangoni (Lakeside Pictures), Liliane Ott (Emilia Productions) and Valentin Merz (Andrea Film). Merz will also be presenting his debut film DE NOCHE LOS GATOS SON PARDOS in the Independent Critics’ Week programme.

In order to strengthen the market opportunities for Swiss films abroad, the Federal Office of Culture provides support for the presence of Swiss films at international film festivals. SWISS FILMS is responsible for implementing this promotional measure.

More information on the Swiss line-up:

• Berlinale Booklet  
• Webnews