Open Call

This marketing tool is part of the Domestic Promotion pilot project implemented by SWISS FILMS on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC). The aim is to increase the visibility of Swiss filmmaking within Switzerland, to reach additional audience segments and to generate lasting enthusiasm for new Swiss productions.

Open Call 2026

With its open call, SWISS FILMS is looking for Swiss productions with a high degree of audience potential. Two open calls will be carried out in 2026 (Feburary, August). The call is aimed at rights holders and distribution partners who would like to reach specific audiences in all language regions of Switzerland. The focus lies on a convincing marketing strategy and the targeted outreach to relevant audience groups.

The focus of the Campaign Booster 2026 is on increasing the public presence of Swiss productions through closer cooperation with partners in the media and advertising marketing. SWISS FILMS has entered into agreements with leading media companies and advertising marketers so that selected projects can benefit from additional visibility. Thanks to these partnerships, favourable conditions have been negotiated for the selected projects. Depending on the project, advertising placements from various partners can be combined and advertising packages can be tailored to meet specific needs.

We work together with the following media companies and advertising marketers:

• APG
• CH Media
• Cinergy
• Coop Magazin
• Goldbach
• Kulturpool
• Le Temps
• Media One
• Migros Magazin
• Nau.ch
• NZZ
• OutNow
• Ringier
• Zattoo

Eligibility criteria

The following formal criteria must be met for a project to be eligible for application:

• Project type: feature films, documentaries, series or animation films with Swiss certificate of origin.
• Production company: professional production company whose main activity involves filmmaking and is registered with the Swiss Commercial Register.
• Distribution partner: a professional distribution partner (e.g. a distribution company) must be confirmed for the proposed distribution.
• Project status: the project is fully financed, is in production and the distribution phase (release) is imminent.
• Release timeframe: planned release within 3 to 12 months after the submission deadline.
• Marketing budget (excluding booster share):
  • For national distribution: at least CHF 80,000
  • For regional distribution: to be decided on a case-by-case basis

Incomplete or non-compliant submissions cannot be considered.

Evaluation and selection criteria

Submitted projects will be evaluated based on the quality, plausibility and expected impact of the marketing strategy. The objective is to select projects with a high degree of audience potential whose campaigns create clear added value for the visibility of Swiss film productions in Switzerland.

A maximum of 100 points can be achieved in the evaluation by a jury of experts. Projects must score at least 75 points to qualify for the jury discussion. Projects that have attained the highest scores in the points system will be discussed in depth at the jury meeting. The evaluation is based on the following five areas:

1. Market potential: the audience potential of the project is evaluated. The focus is on whether a clear national or regional audience potential is plausibly demonstrated and whether the proposed promotion and distribution strategy is suitably designed for achieving this potential.
2. Target group definition: the clarity and coherence of the core target group definitions are evaluated, as well as whether it is conclusively demonstrated which additional or priority target groups are to be reached with the use of the Campaign Booster.
3. Media plan: the evaluation assesses whether there is a clearly structured, viable media plan that demonstrates a meaningful balance between the channels used and integrates the Campaign Booster coherently into the overall communication strategy.
4. Innovative approaches: new, creative or data-based approaches that go beyond traditional marketing measures and generate discernible added value for the project’s positioning and reach will be evaluated.
5. Partnerships and multipliers: existing or realistically planned partnerships and multipliers that make a clear contribution to increasing reach and targeting relevant target groups will be evaluated.

Selection process

There will be two open calls in 2026. This year, a maximum of eight projects will be selected.

The projects will be selected by an external three-member jury coordinated by SWISS FILMS. The jury will be comprised of an international industry expert, a domestic marketing expert and a domestic industry expert. In the event of any conflicts of interest, three independent experts from the same three specialist areas will be appointed.

When selecting projects, attention will be paid to ensuring a balance of diversity, particularly in terms of genre, forms of distribution, people involved and language regions.

Important: To ensure a well-balanced selection of projects, diversity criteria may override the solely quantitative scoring system. The decision will be final; no appeal is possible.

Requirements

• Switzerland’s “Swiss made” film label and the SWISS FILMS logo must be integrated.
• SWISS FILMS shall be given access to the relevant campaign and distribution data as well as all marketing materials so that lessons can be learned for the industry as a whole.

Application

• The rights holders must complete the application form in full and submit it by email to marketing@swissfilms.ch
• Attachments must be compiled into a single PDF file (max. 10 pages) and submitted together with the form.
• Application documents may be submitted in French, Italian, German or English.

Timeline

• Submission deadline: February 21 to March 8, 2026
• Decision: written notification of acceptance or rejection will be sent by April 6, 2026, at the latest.
• Next open call: August 8 to August 23, 2026

Contact

Nadja Scherrer, Head of Marketing & Communications
marketing@swissfilms.ch

• Informations en français
• Informazioni in italiano
• Informationen auf Deutsch