SWISS FILMS 2015 - the year in review: Extensive international recognition for emerging Swiss directors & top-class coproductions

The year 2015 got off to a promising start for Swiss film productions abroad. With Nicolas Steiner’s “Above and Below”, a Swiss film was screened again for the first time in ten years in the coveted Hivos Tiger Awards Competition at the International Film Festival in Rotterdam. There was a veritable shower of awards for Swiss filmmaking at the 36^th Max Ophuels Prize Film Festival in Saarbrücken. Both Simon Jaquemet’s “Chrieg” and Karim Patwa's “The Drift” won multiple awards. “Parvaneh” also created a minor sensation at the beginning of the year. Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger represented Switzerland at the 87^th Academy Awards in February 2015: the Swiss short film was nominated for an Oscar in the Live Action Short category. The promotion agency SWISS FILMS (called the “Swiss Film Center” until 2004) celebrated its 40^th anniversary this year and can look forward to further success in the future as well, thanks to its excellent international network for the Helvetic film scene.

Strong presence in Berlin and Cannes – triumphant coproductions
Switzerland was present with films in diverse sections at the 65^th Berlinale. The two Dschoint Ventschr productions – “Dora Or The Sexual Neuroses Of Our Parents” by Stina Werenfels and “Iraqi Odyssey” by Samir – were screened in the eminent Berlinale Panorama section and, with the coproduction “Sworn Virgin”, Switzerland was also present in the prestigious competition. Another coproduction, “A German Youth”, also celebrated its premiere in Panorama. Both coproductions were subsequently selected at numerous festivals and garnered numerous awards. Samir’s “Iraqi Odyssey” was also able to continue an outstanding festival career in 2015 and was submitted mid-year as Switzerland’s contender for an Oscar.
Striking coproductions with minority participation also dominated the Swiss line-up at the 68^th Festival de Cannes. Furthermore, a notably large number of Swiss film producers were present in Cannes with their works: for example, Anne Walser, C-Films, with “Youth”; Joëlle Bertossa, Close Up Films, with “In The Shadow Of Women”; Elena Tatti and Elodie Brunner, Box Productions with “Arabian Nights”; as well as Ruth Waldburger, Vega Film, with “Amnesia”. In addition, Lionel Baier drew a great deal of attention in Cannes with “La vanité” in ACID, the esteemed section for international distribution.

Young Swiss directors capture European audiences
In 2015 emerging Swiss directors in particular created a sensation on the international level: Simon Jaquemet’s award-winning debut film “Chrieg” was screened at 18 film festivals in 2015; Nicolas Steiner’s “Above and Below” at 24 festivals, and thus ranks as the Swiss film most frequently selected for international festivals. “Chrieg” and “Above and Below” will run in cinemas in Germany at the beginning of 2016, and “Above and Below” also in the USA later in the year.

At the Festival del film Locarno “Wonderland”, realised by ten young Swiss directors, celebrated its world premiere as the only Swiss film in the International Competition. The politically charged film attracted national and international attention and was recently screened at the renowned Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. Since its premiere in Locarno, the Swiss coproduction “Keeper”, starring Kacey Mottet Klein in the leading role, has also been screened at many festivals, including the 33^rd TIFF in Toronto. Mottet Klein has just been selected by an international jury as one of the ten Berlinale Shooting Stars 2016. The Swiss actor Joel Basman also came up trumps in Berlin in June: he was honoured with the German Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in the German film “Wir sind jung. Wir sind stark”.

International success for short from the Romandy
Short film productions from French-speaking Switzerland dominated in 2015. Among the Top 5 festival hits were four films from the Romandy, led by “Discipline” by Christophe M. Saber. The ECAL production was screened at 66 Festivals this year and honoured with approximately 40 awards. Mauro Carraro’s animation film “Aubade” was screened at 59 festivals and won nine awards. Furthermore, Ursula Meier’s “Kacey Mottet Klein, Birth Of An Actor” (24 festivals, 4 awards) and Georges Schwizgebel’s “Erlking” (13 festivals, 6 awards) were popular around the globe. Isabelle Favez’s “Air-Mail” was also screened at 33 festivals this year.
With her short film “The Offer”, a HEAD production, the Genevan film director Moïra Pitteloud was selected as one of the ten promising European filmmakers in the new promotional programme of European Film Promotion EFP Future Frames at the 50^th International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary.

Swiss documentary filmmaking remains strong
Documentary films also received a great deal of recognition in 2015. No less than four Swiss entries were among the remaining 15 works recommended for a nomination in the EFA Documentary Selection: Nicola Bellucci’s “Grozny Blues”; Marcel Gisler’s “Electroboy”; Nicolas Steiner’s “Above and Below” and the coproduction “La buena vida – The Good Life” by the German director Jens Schanze. Ranking among the most successful documentary films this year, together with “Above and Below” and “Iraqi Odyssey”, is also Fernand Melgar’s “The Shelter”, which was screened at 17 festivals. Several Swiss productions enjoyed a strong presence at the renowned festivals in Leipzig, Copenhagen and Amsterdam in autumn. The coproduction “Sonita” was honoured with the Audience Award and the youth jury’s DOC U Award at the IDFA International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.

International cinema releases of films with Swiss participation
Approximately 50 Swiss (co-)productions were released in cinemas in the neighbouring countries of Germany, Austria, Italy and France in 2015. Paolo Sorrentino’s “Youth” recorded the greatest success with ticket sales of roughly 1 million in Italy, 380,000 in France and 130,000 in Germany until now, followed by “The Wonders”, with about 140,000 viewers in France and 180,000 in Italy. Despite tougher competition due to the discontinuation of the automatic MEDIA distribution support, SWISS FILMS has noticed only a slight decline in the number of applications from international distributors for export subsidies.
The box-office figures for Sabine Gisiger’s “Yalom’s Cure” were also positive with 86,000 viewers in Germany and over 20,000 in France, as well as ticket sales in Germany for Jonas Frei’s “Camino de Santiago” (approx. 25,000), “Concrete Love – The Böhm Family” by the young Swiss director Maurizius Staerkle Drux (approx. 25,000), “Giovanni Segantini - Magic Of Light” by Christian Labhart (over 18,000) and “Unknown Territory” by Anna Thommen (over 13,000). With sales in 54 countries, “Northmen – A Viking Saga” was Switzerland’s most successful cinema film on the international level, screened in cinemas in 20 countries worldwide so far (status 20.12.2015/ source: Rentrak / for “Northmen – A Viking Saga”, Ascote Elite).

“Youth” wins European Film Award
The film year concluded with the major success for “Youth” at the European Film Awards. The film coproduced by Anne Walser (C-Films) and primarily shot in the Swiss Alps featuring numerous Swiss actors in supporting roles, was honoured with no less than three awards from its five nominations in Berlin in December: the European Film Award; the European Director Award for Paolo Sorrentino; and the European Actor Award for Michael Caine.

Outlook 2016
Following an eventful year, SWISS FILMS can look ahead into the future with confidence. With the successful three-county cinema release of “Heidi” in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on December 10 and a total of more than half a million viewers to date (status 22.12.2015, source: Zodiac Pictures), the remake of the Swiss classic children’s book promises to flourish as the new export hit for Swiss filmmaking in 2016.
In spring 2016, Switzerland will be featured as the guest of honour at the 31^st International Film Festival Guadalajara (FICG). It will present a high-quality programme comprised of current films and a delegation of well-known Swiss filmmakers at the most important film festival and film market in Latin America from March 3-13.
Eagerly awaited is also Markus Imhoof’s latest documentary film “Eldorado”, which deals with refugee issues in North Africa. It is expected to celebrate its world premiere in the second half of 2016.

SWISS FILMS, December 28, 2015