From Tanner to Baier – The New Swiss Cinema and its heirs celebrate in Belfort

26.11.2009

With a homage to The New Swiss Cinema and five of its heirs, EntreVues, the Belfort International Film Festival (November 28 - December 6, 2009) has created an extraordinary platform for Swiss filmmaking, enabling viewers to immerse themselves in one of its richest periods. The film series is called “Je me souviens… du Nouveau Cinéma Suisse” and will open with Alain Tanner’s “Jonas qui aura 25 ans en l’an 2000”. The programme encompasses over 35 fiction and documentary films and was by the festival in collaboration with the promotion agency, SWISS FILMS.
Showcased in Belfort together with Alain Tanner, whose films “Charles mort ou vif” (1969) or “La Salamandre” (1971) are emblematic for this period, are works by other filmmakers from the French- and German-speaking regions of Switzerland from 1964 to 1984. Films by Claude Goretta, Michel Soutter, Francis Reusser, Simon Edelstein, Jean-Louis Roy and Yves Yersin underpin Freddy Buache’s descriptions “indirectly via the backyard” or “what’s hidden behind the blessed luck”. In addition, the retrospective highlights Swiss-German independent filmmakers with works by Alexander J. Seiler, Fredi M. Murer, Daniel Schmid and Richard Dindo.



The programme also comprises works by new filmmakers who, to a certain extent, are heirs of this cinematic era: films by Lionel Baier, Jean-Stéphane Bron, Christoph Schaub, Christine Pascal and Jeanne Waltz.



A podium discussion, moderated by Patrick Ferla, film critic of the French Swiss Radios RSR, will address the question of “Did The New Swiss Cinema really exist?” on Monday, November 30. Participating in the discussion are film directors Lionel Baier and Richard Dindo, French film critic Michel Boujut and sociologist Olivier Moeschler, who wrote a dissertation o the topic: “Cinéastes indépendants, politique fédérale du cinéma et coproduction du Nouveau Cinéma Suisse / 1963-1970.”



The strong presence of Swiss filmmaking in Belfort will be rounded off with Sergio Da Costa’s documentary short film “Entretien avec Almiro Vilar da Costa”, which will participate in the festival’s international competition.



Geneva, November 26, 2009



Projects SWISS FILMS



Ciné-portrait of Lionel Baier



Ciné-portrait of Jean-Stéphane Bron



Ciné-portrait of Richard Dindo



Ciné-portrait of Claude Goretta



Ciné-portrait of Fredi M. Murer



Ciné-portrait of Christoph Schaub



Ciné-portrait of Daniel Schmid



Ciné-portrait of Alexander J. Seiler



Ciné-portrait of Alain Tanner

Newsletter