Tremendous interest in Swiss films in Montreal

The 36th Montreal World Film Festival (August 23 - September 3, 2012) will screen the most successful film in Switzerland for the past five years in the official programme, out of competition: Markus Imboden’s drama “Der Verdingbub.” Peter Volkart’s fanciful-prankish short film “Zimmer 606” will be screened in the World Competition and thus celebrate its world premiere. 
Shortly after celebrating its premiere in Locarno, the fiction film debut “Tutti giù” by Ticinese director Niccolò Castelli has yet another prominent platform in Montreal. This is also the case for Marie-Elsa Sgualdo’s short film “On The Beach,” which premiered in the Leopards of Tomorrow section in Locarno. Sgualdo is from Neuenburg and a graduate of the film schools in Geneva and Brussels. And yet two other Swiss film productions are present in Montreal in the Focus on World Cinema section; these are the short films “Einspruch VI” by Rolando Colla and “Kavinsky” by Daniel Schraner.

Swiss documentary films strike a chord in Montreal
Manuel von Stürler’s documentary film “Hiver nomade,” highly acclaimed at the Berlinale and recently screened in the Appellations Suisse programme in Locarno, is continuing its striking festival career in Montreal. Furthermore, Hans Haldimann’s “Weiterleben” is a second film that testifies to the diversity and quality of documentary filmmaking in Switzerland. Apart from the Montreal World Film Festival, Swiss documentary film productions enjoy a regular presence at three other film festivals in the capital city of Québec: at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma in September; at the Montreal International Documentary Festival in November; and at the International Festival of Films on Art in March.

Locarno, August 7, 2012