Focus on Nicolas Steiner at Milano Film Festival

This year’s Focus programme at the 20^th Milano Film Festival, created in collaboration with SWISS FILMS, showcases a selection of earlier films by Nicolas Steiner, born in Valais in 1984: the short films “Schwitze” (2008) and “Ich bin’s Helmut” (2009), which was honoured with awards worldwide; as well as “Kampf der Königinnen” (2011). This black-and-white documentary is about the finale of the annual cow fights in Valais. Following its premiere in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino at the Berlinale, the film has since boasted a notable international festival career. The animation film “Eiskarl” (2014), co-directed by Steiner and Manuela Molin, will be screened in the Animation Marathon programme.

“Above and Below” in the International Competition
Nicolas Steiner’s most recent work, “Above and Below”, will be screened in the International Feature Film Competition. In breathtaking images the documentary portrays several individuals creating life on their own in unfamiliar worlds of the USA. The internationally acclaimed film celebrated its world premiere in Rotterdam, and has since been screened at numerous festivals around the world, garnering awards in Munich and in Warsaw among others. Variety presented “Above and Below” as one of ten European films in the distinguished Variety Critics’ Choice selection at Karlovy Vary Film Festival and praised Steiner’s film to be “among the year’s most remarkable cinematic discoveries”. The theatrical release is planed at the beginning of 2016 in Switzerland (distributor: Cineworx GmbH) and in the USA (distributor: Oscilloscope Pictures).

In Milan filmmaker Nicolas Steiner will present his films together with film editor Kaya Inan and cinematographer Markus Nestroy, both of whom had worked on his two feature films.

Also screened in the International Feature Film Competition – reserved for first and second works – will be “Une jeunesse allemande” by Jean-Gabriel Périot. The documentary film was produced by Local Films in Paris, Alina Films in Geneva and Blinker Filmproduktion in Cologne and premiered in this year’s Panorama section at the Berlinale. It chronicles the history of the RAF, based on found footage. Marcel Barelli’s animation film “Lucens” (production: Nadasdy Film, Geneva) will be screened in the Short Film Competition, devoted to films by directors under 40. At present, Barelli’s film is celebrating its premiere in the Swiss Competition at Fantoche.

SWISS FILMS, September 4, 2015