San Sebastian
Films and producers from Switzerland at SSIFF
18.09.2023
Two Swiss films – ANTIER NOCHE as well as AND THE WIND WEEPS – have been selected to compete in the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera and Nest section, respectively, at the San Sebastian International Film Festival (September 22-30, 2023). In addition, three producers from Switzerland will participate in the MEET THEM! programme with support provided by SWISS FILMS.
The Zabaltegi-Tabakalera Competition will open with Jean-Luc Godard’s posthumous short film TRAILER OF THE FILM THAT WILL NEVER EXIST: ‘PHONY WARS’ – one year after the passing of the legendary Swiss-French director. The film celebrated its premiere in Cannes in May and was coproduced by Fabrice Aragno at L’Atelier in Switzerland.
Alberto Martín Menacho’s first feature ANTIER NOCHE will celebrate its Spanish premiere in the same section. The director developed the Swiss-Spanish coproduction by Lomotion AG Filmproduktion as part of Ikusmira Berriak, the prestigious talent programme in San Sebastian. The documentary film presents a collective portrait of Spanish youth in the southern province who navigate modernity and the oldest of traditions.
World premiere of ZHdK short film
The International Nest Competition is dedicated to short works by film students. Aulona Selmani graduate of the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) will celebrate the world premiere of her graduation film AND THE WIND WEEPS. The director obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Film and Television in Prishtina and graduated this summer from the ZHdK with her Master’s degree in Directing Fiction Film. Her 25-minute short film tells the story of a survivor of a war massacre in Kosovo whose son was killed. For the past 20 years he has been writing a letter to be able to testify in The Hague about what happened that day.
Swiss delegation at the MEET THEM! programme
SWISS FILMS is supporting the participation of three producers from Switzerland in the industry event MEET THEM!, all of whom who would like to pursue coproductions with Latin America or Spain.
Producer Agnieszka Ramu at Bande à part Films is working on the development of director Roman Hüben’s first feature-length film. The melodrama plans to be shot in Switzerland and Chile.
Benjamin Poumey at C-Side Productions is currently planning NEGRA NOCHE, the second collaboration with Argentine-Swiss director Pablo Briones. The two had made BARACOA together and would like to accompany the same, now adult, main characters in Cuba for NEGRA NOCHE.
Yan Decoppet, producer at GoldenEggProduction, will present two coproduction projects: Jorge Cadena’s first feature-length film, MALESTAR TROPICAL, currently being written in collaboration with French-Columbian screenwriter Jacques Toulemonde and set in Columbia. Furthermore, Naomi Pacifique participated in the prestigious Ikusmira Berriak residency with her first feature film project AFTER THE NIGHT, THE NIGHT in April and will pitch her film during the festival as the programme’s closing event.
In partnership with the Swiss Embassy in Spain, SWISS FILMS will host a reception in honour of the Swiss festival participants in San Sebastian.