Film programmes

The film programmes provide an overview of the diversity of the Swiss film industry or focus on Swiss filmmakers. To this end, SWISS FILMS collaborates with established film institutions, festivals, cinematheques and VOD platforms, as well as with local Swiss embassies and consulates. 

Tour d’Europe

This year, the Tour d'Europe is putting the Old Continent in the spotlight in anticipation of the European Film Awards 2024, to be held in Lucerne in December. Award-winning Swiss films are travelling to a number of European cities thanks to the collaboration with local festivals. After stopping off at the Stuttgart Animation Film Festival and the Crossing Europe Festival in Linz, the Tour d'Europe continues on to FID Marseille and to fema in La Rochelle. A Franco-Swiss cinematic summer is in the making. 

FID Marseille welcomes Swiss director Cyril Schäublin as a member of the international jury. His film THOSE WHO ARE FINE will be screened in his presence. From Marseille, the Tour will head for the Atlatic coast to La Rochelle Cinéma Festival (fema), which will pay tribute to the work of Claude Barras. Among others, the festival screens his stop-motion films MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI, which was the European Animated Feature Film 2016, and SAVAGES, recently presented at Cannes and Annecy. The animation filmmaker Elie Chapuis and Claude Barras will be taking part in round-table discussions and giving a presentation on puppet animation. 

Soundtrack Cologne

On the occasion of the Tour d'Europe, SWISS FILMS, in collaboration with the European Film Academy ist hosting a round table discussion at SoundTrack Cologne with the film composers and members of the European Film Academy, Lorenz Dangel, Judit Varga and Nicolas Rabaeus. Rabaeus won two Swiss Film Awards 2024 for Best Film Music. In the company of Judit Varga (Austrian Film Award 2014 for Best film music for DEINE SCHÖNHEIT IST NICHTS WERT) and Lorenz Dangel (German Film Award for Best film musique for TIDES in 2021 and STERBEN in 2024), the discussion will explore how prestigious awards can influence a composer’s career, shape industry standards and highlight emerging talent. 

Latin America is calling

But it's not just at European festivals that Swiss cultural mediation takes place. The "Panorama do Cinema Suíço Contemporâneo" programme in Sao Paulo, initiated by the Consulate General of Switzerland, celebrated its tenth edition. The patron of this anniversary was the filmmaker Ursula Meier. In her presence, her films SISTER, HOME and THE LINE were screened for the Brazilian moviegoers. Ursula Meier was won over by the audience and the venue: “The screenings and discussions were rich and the audience very warm and interested. The SESCs, the Brazilian cultural centres, are exceptional locations, and CineSesc, where the films were screened, is a magnificent venue of very high quality”. 

Another highlight on the South American continent was the Swiss focus in Bogota and Lima at the AL ESTE Festival. BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD BLACKBERRY by Elene Naveriani won First Prize in the Official Competition. LONGING FOR THE WORLD by Jenna Hasse, BURNING FIRE by Michael Karrer and PARADISES OF DIANE by Carmen Jaquier and Jan Gasmann were also presented. 

Before the European Film Awards are handed out in December, Swiss short films will set the tone two months beforehand at the Reykjavík International Film Festival (26th September to 
6th October 2024). 

Keep up to date with the highlights of our programme - a trip across Europe and much more.