First Ramallah Film Festival has strong Swiss participation
30.06.2004
Switzerland is represented with over 20 films and a delegation of filmmakers at the Ramallah International Film Festival, taking place from July 8-14, 2004. This participation is the first step of the cultural film exchange program “Swiss-Palestinian Encounters”, which encompasses a variety of events both in Palestine and Switzerland until spring 2005. The program was initiated by Geneva director Nicolas Wadimoff and the Culture Foreign Policy Centre (Federal Department of Foreign Affairs). Organized by Wadimoff’s film company Akka, the program also receives support from the film promotion organization SWISS FILMS, the Swiss representation to the Palestinian National Authority, and it is arranged in cooperation with the festival “Visions du réel" in Nyon, Switzerland.
The first Ramallah International Film Festival under the direction of Adam Zuabi presents a cross-section of Swiss film production over the last few years: Swiss directors Vincent Pluss, Nicolas Wadimoff, and Jean-Stéphane Bron will be in Ramallah for the showing of their films “On dirait le Sud” (2002), “Mondialito” (2000) und “La bonne conduite” (1999). Producer Ruth Waldburger accompanies her co-production “Notre musique” (2004) by Jean-Luc Godard, who is offering a copy of his film with Arabic subtitles especially for this event. The Swiss program also includes “Strähl” (2004) by Manuel Flurin Hendry, “War Photographer” (2001) by Christian Frei, and “A Social Genocide” (2004) directed by the Argentinian master Fernando E. Solanas and produced by Swiss Pierre-Alain Meier. An animated films program with “Die Mücke” (2003) by Andrey Zolotuchin, “Poldek” (2004) by Claudius Gentinetta, ”Joyeux Noël Felix!” (2004) by Izabela Rieben and Sami Ben Youssef, “Ivanko de l’ours” (2003) by Anne Baillod, as well as the a retrospective of animated films by Georges Schwizgebel round out the strong Swiss presence. A panel discussion is planned for July 11, where Swiss filmmakers will meet their Palestinian colleagues and an audience.
“Swiss-Palestinian Encounters” is organized in cooperation with the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Al-Ma’Mal in Jerusalem. Its goal is to bring Swiss and Palestinian filmmaking closer together, to support the emergence of a young generation of Palestinian cineasts, and to promote exchange between art and civil society. As there are no training opportunities in the occupied territories and filmmakers primarily work for news productions, the program, in the fall of 2004, presents workshops and screenings that are primarily geared toward the discussion of documentary expression. The festival in Nyon, which accompanies this cultural exchange, will be inviting several representatives of Palestinian filmmaking to its 11th inception of “Visions du réel".
Zurich/Geneva, June 29, 2004
For more information about the festival and the films, please visit:
“Swiss-Palestinian Encounters” is organized in cooperation with the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Al-Ma’Mal in Jerusalem. Its goal is to bring Swiss and Palestinian filmmaking closer together, to support the emergence of a young generation of Palestinian cineasts, and to promote exchange between art and civil society. As there are no training opportunities in the occupied territories and filmmakers primarily work for news productions, the program, in the fall of 2004, presents workshops and screenings that are primarily geared toward the discussion of documentary expression. The festival in Nyon, which accompanies this cultural exchange, will be inviting several representatives of Palestinian filmmaking to its 11th inception of “Visions du réel".
Zurich/Geneva, June 29, 2004
For more information about the festival and the films, please visit: