SWISS FILMS at the Virtual Cannes Film Market

At this year’s Marché du Film, SWISS FILMS will be available online to accredited representatives from the industry for information or consultation. Visitors to the virtual stand can expect exclusive film footage from selected Swiss film productions. Teasers in the form of short pitching videos have been especially developed for the online market. The SWISS FILMS CANNES 2020 e-booklet presents a selection of current Swiss productions and briefly presents recently completed films as well as films in production with screenings in the online market.

In collaboration with the Locarno Film Festival and the TorinoFilmLab, SWISS FILMS has organised two virtual events in the online market. A partnership with the renowned TorinoFilmLab for the TFL ScriptLab has existed since 2018. In an exclusive showcase on Wednesday, June 24, at 5 p.m., we will provide information on the current status of these highly anticipated projects. And on Thursday, June 25, at 11 a.m., Lili Hinstin - Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival – will announce the selection of films for The Films After Tomorrow, a Swiss and international competition. This unique competition is endowed with CHF 70,000 and supports films whose production had to be suspended due to the pandemic.

Because the Festival de Cannes was cancelled due to the Covid-19 crisis, the organisers have awarded the Cannes label to a selection of current films in order to support their cinema release in the course of this year. While the parallel sections Un Certain Regard and Quinzaine des Réalisateurs have been completely cancelled, the Semaine de la Critique and ACID sections have made a selection and will support their films with market screenings at the Marché du Film Online and at the film releases in France.

The Swiss-Italian coproduction IL MIO CORPO by Italian director Michele Pennetta was selected for the ACID Section 2020. Pennetta studied at the SUPSI Lugano and ECAL and was honoured with a Pardino d’oro at the Locarno Film Festival in 2013. IL MIO CORPO, his second documentary film – coproduced by Close Up Films in Geneva (Joëlle Bertossa, Flavia Zanon; World Sales: Sweet Spot Docs) – celebrated its premiere in the online edition of the Documentary Film Festival Visions du Réel 2020. The Marché du Film will feature market screenings of more than 20 other Swiss productions, including the two Berlinale films MY LITTLE SISTER, Vega Film; World Sales: Beta Cinema) by Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond as well as MARE by Andrea Staka (Okofilm Productions; World Sales: Be For Films), the Swiss box-office hit NEEDLE PARK BABY, C-Films; World Sales: Global Screen GmbH) by Pierre Monard as well as Bettina Oberli’s most recent film MY WONDERFUL WANDA, Zodiac Pictures; World Sales: The Match Factory GmbH), which was honoured with an award at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Thanks to the partnership between SWISS FILMS and Cannes’ Marché du Film, two Swiss producers – Marie-Lou Pahud (Bande à part Films) and Franziska Sonder (Ensemble Film) – will take part in this year’s Producers Network Events and Industry Workshops. They have the opportunity to seek out coproducers for their new projects in development as well as financing. Their mentor is Swiss producer Maja Zimmermann, based in Los Angeles. As the Producer on the Move 2020, Flavia Zanon was selected for the exclusive EFP support programme. This year’s workshops had already been held online prior to the Cannes market.

SWISS FILMS, June 17, 2020