Platform in Florence for Swiss documentary films

Four films from Switzerland will be screened at the largest documentary film festival in Italy, the Popoli Festival in Florence (November 10-17, 2012). Presented in the International Competition for Feature-Length Documentary Films are the following: Manuel von Stürler’s “Hiver nomade,” which has just been released in cinemas in Switzerland; and the Swiss-Canadian director Peter Mettler’s essay film “The End Of Time,” which premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival. The winner of this years “Pardino d’oro” in Locarno, Nathan Hofstetter’s half-hour film “Radio-Actif,” will be screened in the International Competition for Short Films. The three-member international jury presents an award for Best Documentary, endowed with EUR 8,000; an award for Best Director, amounting to EUR 3,500; and an award for Best Short Film, endowed with EUR 2,500. Also screened in Florence will be Christophe Cupelin’s film “Capitaine Thomas Sankara,” which premiered by at the Visions du Réel Festival in Nyon.

Italian mecca of documentary film
The Popoli Festival was founded in Florence by a group of students of the Anthropology, Ethnology and Sociology Departments in 1959 and is still closely affiliated with the university. Countless documentary filmmakers from Italy and abroad attend the festival in Florence every year. The signature feature of the festival is its long tradition of discussing the films with the filmmakers in attendance. Manuel von Stürler and Peter Mettler will attend the festival in Florence, thanks to support from SWISS FILMS.

Zurich, November 8, 2012