IDFA 2020: opening film and record participation of Swiss documentary films

NOTHING BUT THE SUN (APENAS EL SOL), Arami Ullón’s second feature-length documentary film, will celebrate its world premiere in the IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary. The film accompanies Mateo Sobode Chiqueno from the indigenous Ayoreo population in Paraguay as he records stories, songs and testimonies of Ayoreo natives who, like him, were stripped from the jungle and forced to abandon their livelihood and their faith. The festival wrote the following on its choice for the opening film: “Ullón’s poetic feature lays bare the raw emotions of the human condition, seen through a culture on the brink of disappearing, but not without a voice.”

Films by Thomas Imbach and Milo Rau in competition

Also screened in the Feature-Length Competition is the international premiere of Thomas Imbach’s documentary film NEMESIS (Okofilm Productions). Based on the long-term observation from the perspective of his atelier window, the filmmaker reflects on the destruction of a railway freight station in Zurich as it gives way for the construction of a new police centre. Two Swiss coproductions that celebrated their world premieres at the Venice International Film Festival have also been selected for the IDFA Competition: THE NEW GOSPEL by Milo Rau (Germany/Switzerland), coproduced by Langfilm - Bernard Lang AG, as well as the Italian-Swiss production WAR AND PEACE by Massimo D'Anolfi and Martina Parenti, coproduced by Lomotion AG Filmproduktion. Celebrating its world premiere in this competition is the Norwegian-Iranian-Swiss film RADIOGRAPH OF A FAMILY by the Iranian director Firouzeh Khosrovani, coproduced by Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion. Five of the twelve films screened in the main competition are productions from Switzerland.

Short films from Switzerland

Selected for the IDFA Competition for Short Documentary was BURNT. LAND OF FIRE by Ben Donateo (production: Ben Donateo, Jenny Covelli, Enea Zucchetti, D.R.C. Creativity Productions Associazione culturale). The film about a village in southern Italy that is dying out was already screened in the Pardi di domani national competition at the Locarno Film Festival.

TRIO by Benjamin Bucher and Agnese Làposi (Artist Collective Revolta, Quartett Production) premiered at Visions du Réel Nyon in spring and will now be screened in the IDFA Competition for Kids & Docs.

The short film NEW GODS by Loïc Hobi (Skopéô Films, Venin Films) – very recently screened in competition at the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur – will be presented in the Luminous section.

Three festival favourites in the Best of Fests

Screened in this year’s Best of Fests section, which offers a platform for film programmes from major international festivals, will be IL MIO CORPO by Michele Pennetta, produced by Close Up Films. The Swiss-Italian documentary film was screened in the ACID section in Cannes, at Encounters Film Festival in South Africa and at the Busan International Film Festival, among others. Roman Hodel’s short film THE GAME (Ensemble Films) celebrated its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival and was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, among others. The minority coproduction THEIR ALGERIA by Lina Soualem (Swiss coproduction: Akka Films) was selected for screening at Dok Leipzig and Visions du Réel.

Three Swiss producers at IDFA Forum

IDFA Forum, the international co-production and co-financing market for documentary films, has invited three projects from Switzerland to pitch their films: DIE GETRIEBENEN by Piet Baumgartner (Sarah Born, Catpics AG); LOVING HIGHSMITH by Eva Vitija (Franziska Sonder, Ensemble Film); and THE TRUE FILM by Christina Zimmermann (Susanne Guggenberger, Mira Film).

In collaboration with Visions du Réel, SWISS FILMS will host the online talk “Swiss filmmaker in conversation with Emilie Bujès”. The Artistic Director of Switzerland’s most important documentary film festival will talk with Swiss filmmakers about their films selected for the competition sections at this year’s IDFA.

SWISS FILMS, November 11, 2020