Swiss films at the Venice Film Festival
Two Swiss productions will celebrate their world premieres in the official competition sections of the 73rd Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica in Venice: the Italian-Swiss documentary film “Spira mirabilis” and the short film “Ruah”.
19.08.2016
“Spira mirabilis” by the Italian directing duo Martina Parenti and Massimo D’Anolfi is one of the only two documentary films screened in the main competition Venezia 73. The film, coproduced by Lomotion in Bern, reflects on humankind’s aspirations for immortality based on the four natural elements: water, air, earth and fire.
The Swiss short film “Ruah” will be screened in the short film competition of the Orizzonti section. The film is Flurin Giger’s directorial debut. Until now, Giger, who also produced the film, has performed as an actor. The film features, among others, the actress Mona Petri and Annina Walt, the emerging talent who attracted a great deal of attention in “A Decent Man” (Nichts passiert) and “Amateur Teens” last year.
“Ghost Hunting” by Palestinian director Raed Andoni will be presented in the Final Cut in Venice Workshop, which supports the post-production of films from Africa and the Middle East. The documentary film is coproduced by Akka Films in Switzerland.
Swiss films in independent sections
The independent International Critics’ Week (Settimana Internazionale della Critica) has selected the Italian-Swiss-French coproduction “Le ultime cose” by Italian director Irena Dionisio as one of the seven debut films to be screened in the competition. The Swiss coproducer is Tiziana Soudani (Amka Films Productions, Savosa).
The animation film “Ma vie de Courgette” by Claude Barras (Rita Productions, Geneva) will be screened in the Premio Lux programme within the framework of Venice Days (Giornate degli Autori). Together with “Toni Erdmann” and “À peine j’ouvre les yeux”, it is one of the three films nominated for the Lux Film Prize by the European Parliament. The three films will be subtitled in 24 languages and tour throughout 50 European cities. “Ma vie de Courgette” is Switzerland’s official Academy Awards entry for a nomination in the category Foreign Language Film.
The Swiss producer Ivan Madeo (Contrast Film Zürich, “The Circle”) is a member of the interreligious jury, which presents the INTERFILM Award to a film screened in the official competition that promotes interreligious dialogue.
SWISS FILMS, August 23