Prominent presence for Swiss documentary films in Amsterdam
18.11.2008
Five films from Switzerland will be screened at the 21st International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). The festival, which is devoted solely to documentary filmmaking, ranks as the largest in the world; this year’s festival runs from November 20-30, 2008. Olivier Zuchuat’s “Au loin des villages” is among the seventeen films selected for the Joris Ivens Competition. The Joris Ivens Award, amounting to 12,500 euros, will be presented on November 29. In addition, the film “Togo” by Pierre Morath and Nicholas J. Peart will be presented in the “Panorama” section.
The film “Au loin des villages” (production: Prince Film, Jura), which was shot in a refugee camp in Darfur, won an award at the Marseille Documentary Film Festival in July. The film “Togo” by the Tarantula Suisse firm in Geneva addresses the impact of an African country qualifying for the final round of the Soccer World Cup in 2006. The film was honoured with the Human Rights League Award at the Festival des Libertés in Brussels in October.
Swiss presence in the official programmes in Amsterdam is further bolstered by Anja Schwyzer’s short documentary film “Nebenlauf”, which will participate in the International Student Competition, and the Finnish-Dutch-Swiss co-production “Home Recordings” by Mari Soppela (co-production: Vega Film, Zurich), which will be presented in the “Highlands from the Lowlands” section. Furthermore, Peter Mettler’s “Gambling, Gods and LSD” will be screened in the “Top 10” programme, which was compiled by the Austrian filmmaker Nikolaus Geyrhalter.
Parallel to IDFA is the 13th edition of the “Docs for Sale” documentary film market with a total of 450 films, including further Swiss film productions as well as those screened at the festival.
Zurich, November 18, 2008
Swiss presence in the official programmes in Amsterdam is further bolstered by Anja Schwyzer’s short documentary film “Nebenlauf”, which will participate in the International Student Competition, and the Finnish-Dutch-Swiss co-production “Home Recordings” by Mari Soppela (co-production: Vega Film, Zurich), which will be presented in the “Highlands from the Lowlands” section. Furthermore, Peter Mettler’s “Gambling, Gods and LSD” will be screened in the “Top 10” programme, which was compiled by the Austrian filmmaker Nikolaus Geyrhalter.
Parallel to IDFA is the 13th edition of the “Docs for Sale” documentary film market with a total of 450 films, including further Swiss film productions as well as those screened at the festival.
Zurich, November 18, 2008