Swiss film year 2024

Switzerland is indeed a film country and, since 2024 at the latest, it has also definitely joined the ranks as a series country. Swiss series are making headlines at home and abroad: the Swiss-German series DAVOS 1917 (Contrast Film, Letterbox Filmproduktion, SRF, ARD Degeto, Amalia Film) has set new milestones as the most expensive Swiss series coproduction to date. Since its TV premiere at the end of 2023, the espionage thriller starring Dominique Devenport in the leading role has already been sold to over 20 countries on four continents and broadcast in numerous European countries (DE, AT, IT, PT, ES, EE, PL, HU).

ENDANGERED SPECIES (Rita Productions, RTS) was the first Swiss series to be presented at the Locarno Film Festival. It is available for streaming in Switzerland and will be televised at the beginning of 2025. TSCHUGGER – THE LAST FALL, the cop series set in Valais, launched its fourth and final season at the Zurich Film Festival. The much-loved cult series opened in Swiss cinemas in autumn and has so far grossed over 90,000 cinema tickets. Starting in 2025, TSCHUGGER (Shining Nice AG, SRF) will be available on Netflix and Sky in the DACH countries.

WINTER PALACE is yet another Swiss series to have made a breakthrough on international streaming platforms. The Swiss-French Netflix production (Point Prod, Oble, RTS, Netflix) celebrated its world premiere at GIFF and will be on Swiss television starting December 26. Netflix will be offering the series in numerous European countries (including CH, FR, DE, IT, AT, ES) as of February 2025.

Festival successes at the beginning of the year

The world premiere of Klaudia Reynicke’s film QUEENS (Alva Film) in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival marked the start of a diverse and eventful festival year for Switzerland in 2024. It was also the launch of an impressive festival career for the Swiss-Peruvian-Spanish coproduction: REINAS was honoured with the Grand Prix of the Generation Kplus Competition at the Berlinale as well as the Audience Award on the Piazza in Locarno. Since autumn, REINAS has been in the running for an Oscar as Switzerland’s entry in the International Feature Film category. The coming-of-age drama has already been sold to 15 countries. The film was released in US cinemas at the end of November. 

A stellar selection of selection of 15 Swiss films was screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. These included the world premiere of Yves Netzhammer’s experimental feature-length 3D animation film JOURNEY OF SHADOWS (freihändler Filmproduktion, Liechti Filmproduktion), which was subsequently screened at leading animation film festivals such as Annecy and Ottawa, as well as the premiere of Pierre Monnard’s feature film BISONS (P.S. Productions), which garnered three Swiss Film Awards in March.

With a total of seven films and coproductions, the Berlinale also showcased a wide-ranging, multilingual selection from Switzerland. The Italian-Swiss coproduction GLORIA! by Italian director Margherita Vicario, coproduced by tellfilm, celebrated its world premiere in competition. PARADISES OF DIANE by directing duo Carmen Jaquier and Jan Gassmann (2:1 Film GmbH) celebrated its international premiere in the Panorama section and REAS by Argentinean director Lola Arias (AR/CH/DE), coproduced by Mira Film Basel, celebrated its world premiere in the Forum section. The queer musical set in a prison was invited to many other festivals in 2024, including CPH:DOX, IDFA and Festival du Nouveau Cinéma Montreal. Amos Gitai’s SHIKUN, coproduced by Elefant Films, was a highlight in the Berlinale Special section, with Irène Jacob in the leading role, among others.

Dogs and sparrows: Swiss films in Cannes and Locarno

Switzerland was in the spotlight as the Country of Honour at the Marché du Film in Cannes in 2024. At the same time, four productions from French-speaking Switzerland celebrated their world premieres at the Festival de Cannes: screened in the Un Certain Regard section were DOG ON TRIAL by and starring Laetitia Dosch (Bande à part Films) and THE SHAMELESS by Konstantin Bojanov (Akka Films), whose leading actress won the award for Best Actress. Dosch’s legal comedy about animal rights has emerged as the best-selling Swiss film internationally in 2024, with sales to over 17 territories.

The stop-motion animation film SAVAGES by Claude Barras (Nadasdy Film) was invited as a Special Screening and was soon after selected to compete in Annecy at the largest international animation film festival. The film’s formidable festival career also led to the Piazza Grande in Locarno and the BFI London Film Festival. SAUVAGES was nominated for two European Film Awards and has already generated ticket sales of more than 120,000 in France.

Elena López Riera’s SOUTHERN BRIDES was screened in the Semaine de la Critique short film programme in Cannes and was honoured with the Queer Palm for Best Short. The Spanish-Swiss coproduction (Alina film) is currently on the shortlist for Best Short Documentary Film for the French Césars 2025 and is in the running for the Spanish Goya Award.

The Locarno Film Festival set a prominent Swiss accent with a striking number of Swiss premieres. Furthermore, three world premieres were screened in the Concorso Internazionale: THE SPARROW IN THE CHIMNEY by Ramon and Silvan Zürcher (Zürcher Film), which went on to become a festival hit, as well as the minority coproductions: FIRE OF WIND (PL / CH / FR; Casa Azul Films) and TRANSAMAZONIA (FR / DE / CH /TW / BR; Point Prod). Two productions celebrated their world premieres in the Cineasti del Presente competition: HANAMI, the first feature by Denise Fernandes (Alina film), which received a Special Mention as well as the award for Best Emerging Director, and the minority coproduction SKILL ISSUE by Willy Hans (DE/CH; 8horses).

And no less than five Swiss films were in the spotlight on the Piazza Grande: in addition to the festival favourites SOUTHERN BRIDES, SAVAGES and DOG ON TRIAL, Simon Jaquemet’s ELECTRIC CHILD (8horses) celebrated its world premiere while the US-Swiss thriller SEW TORN by Freddy Macdonald (Orisono coproduction), which had previously premiered at SXSW in Austin, was screened in its late night programme.

Swiss films and coproductions at autumn festivals

With five world premieres, Swiss filmmaking also made a noteworthy appearance at the Venice International Film Festival: the Italian-Swiss documentary film BESTIARIES, HERBARIA, LAPIDARIES by Martina Parenti and Massimo D’Anolfi (Lomotion AG) and the Swiss-French coproduction WHY WAR by Amos Gitai (Elefant Films) were screened out of competition; the minority coproductions THE ANTIQUE (GE / CH / FI / DE; Cinetrain) and ALPHA. (NL / CH / SI; Lomotion AG) were screened in the independent Giornate degli Autori section and THE STORY OF FRANK AND NINA (IT / CH; Spotlight Media Productions) celebrated its world premiere in the Orizzonti Extra section.

Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival were, among others, the world premieres of Jasmin Gordon’s film THE COURAGEOUS (maximage), which garnered two awards later this year at the ZFF, as well as the minority coproduction THEY WILL BE DUST (ES / CH / IT; Alina film), which was honoured with the Platform Award at the TIFF.

Piet Baumgartner’s feature film BAGGER DRAMA (Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion) celebrated its world premiere at the San Sebastian International Film Festival and was the first Swiss film to win the New Directors Award. The Zurich Film Festival featured three high-calibre feature-film premieres from German-speaking Switzerland, including Michael Krummenacher’s THE TRAITOR (Contrast Film), Maria Brendle’s FRIEDA'S CASE (Condor Films) and Lisa Brühlmann’s WHEN WE WERE SISTERS (Zodiac Pictures).

In late autumn, the world premieres of Germinal Roaux’s COSMOS (Close Up Films) in Thessaloniki and Max Carlo Kohal’s FREIGHT (Dynamic Frame) at PÖFF in Tallinn rounded off the internationally successful festival year for Swiss filmmaking.

World-renowned quality: Swiss documentary films

Swiss documentary filmmaking also kicked off a  sensational start to this festival year: Yvann Yagchi’s documentary film THERE WAS NOTHING HERE BEFORE celebrated its world premiere in Rotterdam and was subsequently screened at CPH:DOX, Visions du Réel and DOK Leipzig. Seven documentary films were screened at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival as well as seven at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen: screened at both festivals were IMMORTALS by Maja Tschumi, which was subsequently screened at Hot Docs Toronto and at Beldocs in Belgrade, among others, and the minority coproduction STRAY BODIES by Elina Psykou (GR / CH / IT / BG; coproduced by Contrast Film), which was honoured with two awards in Thessaloniki. E.1027 - EILEEN GRAY AND THE HOUSE BY THE SEA celebrated its world premiere in the International Competition DOX:AWARD at CPH:DOX. Beatrice Minger’s first feature, co-directed with Christoph Schaub, won the ZFF Critics' Award at the Zurich Film Festival in September.

After celebrating its world premiere in Nyon and winning the Grand Prix of the International Competition, Nicole Vögele’s THE LANDSCAPE AND THE FURY was screened at festivals in Shanghai, Lisbon, Leipzig and Amsterdam, among others. The atmospheric documentary was honoured with the prestigious European Doc Alliance Award. Francesca Scalisi’s VALENTINA AND THE MUOSTERS also celebrated its world premiere at Visions du Réel, where it won the Special Jury Award in the National Competition. The film went on to win the International Film Critics Award at DOK Leipzig.

Two Swiss world premieres were screened in the Semaine de la Critique in Locarno in 2024: A SISTERS’ TALE by Leila Amini (CH / FR / IR; coproduced by Mira Film), which was also screened at TIFF and at IDFA; as well as Simon Baumann’s documentary film WE, THE INHERITORS, which won the Grand Prix in Locarno. Director Jean-Cosme Delaloye’s music documentary DESIRE: THE CARL CRAIG STORY (Bord Cadre films) premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

With ten Swiss films and coproductions, this year’s International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam showcased a diverse selection of Swiss documentary filmmaking in November. Among others, Eleonora Camizzi’s debut film PICTURES IN MIND celebrated its world premiere in the renowned Envision Competition; the Polish-Swiss coproduction THE LAST EXPEDITION (Tilt Production) celebrated its international premiere in the Luminous section. The Italian-Swiss coproduction BESTIARIES, HERBARIA, LAPIDARIES by Martina Parenti and Massimo D'Anolfi (coproduced by Lomotion AG) received the Envision Award for Best Directing.

Swiss box-office hits

Swiss documentary films have also captivated audiences in cinemas: Claude Baechtold’s RIVERBOOM (Intermezzo Films), which won awards at the festivals in Angers, Biarritz and Montreal, has recorded notable success at the box office in France with roughly 40,000 admissions. The portrait of Dalai Lama, WISDOM OF HAPPINESS – A HEART-TO-HEART WITH THE DALAI LAMA by Barbara Miller and Phillip Delaquis (Das Kollektiv für audiovisuelle Werke), has already been seen by over 34,000 people in Germany and Austria since its release in cinemas in November.

DOG ON TRIAL has been a major success in the cinema: so far, the feature film has been seen by more than 130,000 in France. Moreover, ticket sales for numerous Swiss coproductions have grossed over 100,000 worldwide in 2024: LA CHIMERA (245,000 – Amka Films Productions), SIDONIE IN JAPAN (241,000 – Box Productions), GLORIA! (215,000 – tellfilm), MARGUERITE’S THEOREM (134,000 – Beauvoir Films) and STELLA. A LIFE (127,000 – Contrast Film).

Solid as ever: Swiss short films

Short films from Switzerland can look back on an impressive festival year with many international successes, including a considerable number of animation films. The Sundance Film Festival selected two shorts from Switzerland: Kantarama Gahigiri’s TERRA MATER and the multi-award-winning animation film MATTA AND MATTO by Bianca Caderas and Kerstin Zemp (YK Animation Studio), both of which rank among this year’s festival hits. With multiple awards, the animation films THE CAR THAT CAME BACK FROM THE SEA by Jadwiga Kowalska (Jadwiga Kowalska Animation & Illustration), CANARD by Elie Chapuis (Hélium Films) and the minority coproduction BAKING WITH BORIS by Maša Avramović (Nadasdy Film) can also look back on an extremely successful festival career. Samuel Patthey’s animation film VOICELESS (DOK MOBILE) premiered in Locarno and was honoured with the Pardino d’Oro in the National Competition.

Furthermore, two short documentary films were honoured at the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur: MOM DANCES by Mégane Brügger (ECAL, Association Climage) with the award for Best Documentary Film; 2MM by Mona Jelić for Best Swiss Film. In addition, Basil da Cunha’s short fiction film 2720 was nominated for a European Film Award as Best European Short Film.

Award season: Swiss talents in the spotlight 

Swiss actress Ella Rumpf was honoured with the 2024 César Award for Best Female Discovery (Révélation féminine) for her leading role in MARGUERITE’S THEOREM by Frédéric Mermoud. Two Swiss acting talents, Melodie Simina and Souheila Yacoub, have been shortlisted for the 2025 “Révélations feminines”. 

Several Swiss talents have good reason to hope for an Oscar in the coming days thanks to their contributions to international productions: Swiss producer Karl Spoerri and his team at Zurich Avenue coproduced the feature film THELMA, which celebrated its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. And, if nominated for an Oscar, the 95-year-old lead actress June Squibb is poised to make film history as the oldest person ever nominated.

The sibling composer trio Diego, Lionel and Nora Baldenweg have a real chance of being nominated in the category of Original Score with their soundtrack for the Irish film IN THE LAND OF SAINTS AND SINNERS, featuring Liam Neeson in the leading role.

Swiss director Tim Fehlbaum (TIDES) is in the running for an Oscar in several categories as director, co-author and coproducer of his film SEPTEMBER 5, a German production. The film has recently been nominated for a Golden Globe.

The presentation of the European Film Awards in Lucerne on December 7 marked a festive end to the 2024 film year. SWISS FILMS hosted a number of industry-related activities at this prestigious event, as well as a Tour d’Europe in partnership with European film festivals.

SWISS FILMS is the national agency for the promotion of Swiss filmmaking. With consultations, support measures and publications, SWISS FILMS strengthens the international presence of Swiss filmmaking on behalf of the Federal Office of Culture.

Source of box office figures: ComScore (as of December 5, 2024)
Festival participation: SWISS FILMS database