Cannes 2019: Sereina Gabathuler is Producer on the Move
Swiss producer Sereina Gabathuler has been selected for the renowned EFP programme Producers on the Move in Cannes, on recommendation of SWISS FILMS.
24.04.2019
Sereina Gabathuler, an actress by profession, started working for Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion in 2008. Most recently she produced the Swiss-Croatian-German-Finnish co-production CHRIS THE SWISS by Anja Kofmel. She has supervised numerous projects as production manager and line producer, such as David Sieveking’s DAVID WANTS TO FLY, and was executive producer for the feature film ENNEMIES IN LOVE (2013) by Werner Schweizer and the documentary YENISH SOUNDS (2017) by Martina Rieder and Karoline Arn, which was very successful in Swiss cinemas.
CHRIS THE SWISS, national and international success
The anidoc CHRIS THE SWISS, produced by Sereina Gabathuler, in which the director investigates the circumstances of the death of her cousin Chris who died in the Yugoslav war, celebrated its world premiere last year at the Festival de Cannes in the Semaine de la Critique. Subsequently Kofmel’s debut film was selected for numerous renowned international animation and documentary film festivals, including Animafest in Zagreb, the Animation Film Festival in Annecy, DOK Leipzig and IDFA in Amsterdam. The film garnered three awards at the Swiss Film Awards 2019: Best Documentary, Best Score and Best Montage. To date, CHRIS THE SWISS has been shown in Switzerland (First Hand Films), France (Urban Distribution International) and Germany (Real Fiction Film Distribution). The film was nominated at the Prix Lumières in the category ‘Best Film from a French-speaking Country’ at the beginning of 2019. World Sales are handled by Urban Distribution International in Paris.
In Cannes, Sereina Gabathuler will also present her new project FROZEN SOIL, the second long animated film by director Anja Kofmel.
Talent development by European Film Promotion
For its networking event Producers on the Move in Cannes, European Film Promotion EFP selects 20 up-and-coming European producers each year who already have co-production experience and have been able to present one of their films at an ‘A’ festival, from among the proposals of its member organisations. For five days, the Producers on the Move have the opportunity of international networking for their co-production projects. Previous Producers on the Move from Switzerland have included Katrin Renz (2018), Ivan Madeo (2017), Joël Jent (2016), Aline Schmid (2015) and Elodie Brunner (2014).