Peter Mettler is the Artist in Focus at CPH:DOX 2018

Peter Mettler currently ranks among the most sought-after international documentary filmmakers. At the end of 2017, the Canadian-Swiss director was honoured with the Peter Mettler Expanded Programme at the porto / post / doc film & media festival; the programme with the same name on the VOD platform MUBI.com was an extraordinary success with more than 10,000 views. Now as the Artist in Focus, Mettler will present his most recent film BECOMING ANIMAL at the prestigious CPH:DOX. The film was realised together with the Scottish filmmaker Emma Davie and will be screened in the festival’s main DOX: Award Competition. Mettler and Davie embark on a visionary journey with the author and cult philosopher David Abram to encounter the spaces where humans and animals meet, opening up new ways to understand our place in the world.

Screened in the Science Programme are Mettler’s most successful documentary films GAMBLING, GODS AND LSD (2002), which was honoured with the Grand Prix at Visions du Réel in Nyon and the Canadian Genie Award, among others, as well as PICTURE OF LIGHT (1994), Mettler’s first major international festival hit. In addition, he will give a Masterclass and will be present at the CPH:DOX with his improvised live performance Yoshto Yoshto, which was already performed in Porto, together with the anthropologist Jeremy Narby and the Young Gods frontman Franz Treichler. Further Peter Mettler retrospectives are planned at international documentary film festivals in 2018.

Six Swiss films will be screened in other sections of this year’s CPH:DOX: for example, the two coproductions THE VENERABLE W. by Barbet Schroeder and A SKIN SO SOFT by Denis Côté will be presented in the "Artists & Auteurs" section; and THE PARIS OPERA by Jean-Stéphane Bron was selected for "Highlights". THE CONGO TRIBUNAL by Milo Rau will be screened in the "Justice" programme, and HAIRY by Anka Schmid was selected for screening in the "Kids and School" programme. GHOST HUNTING by Raed Andoni is programmed in the "A Method to the Madness" programme. Anka Schmid will personally present her latest film to the young audience in Copenhagen.

SWISS FILMS publishes the DOCS SPRING 2018 Booklet in conjunction with the two spring documentary film festivals CPH:DOX and Visions du Réel (Nyon, April 13-21). The publication is available as e-booklet on Issuu.com as of April 14. Further information about Peter Mettler’s work can be found in the SWISS FILMS Cinéportrait, and details concerning the Mettler programme in Copenhagen here.

SWISS FILMS, March 12, 2018