Venice, Toronto, San Sebastian present world premieres for THE INNOCENT and MIDNIGHT RUNNER, short films, coproductions and Jean-Luc Godard

ALL INCLUSIVE, the short documentary film by Corina Schwingruber Ilić about mass entertainment on the high seas was selected for the Short Film Competition in the Orizzonti section of the 75^th Venice International Film Festival (August 29 – September 8, 2018). Immediately thereafter, the film will be screened in the Short Cuts section in Toronto at TIFF (September 6-16, 2018). The film, with cinematography by Nikola Ilić, was produced by Stella Händler, Freihändler Filmproduktion. Corina Schwingruber Ilić has already worked together with Nikola Ilić on several short documentary films which were screened at international festivals and honoured with awards. 

Choreographer Gilles Jobin will present his virtual reality dance piece VR_I in the Venice Virtual Reality section (out of competition - best of VR-interactive). The project was developed by the dance company Cie Gilles Jobin and Artanim. It combines dance with immersive virtual reality.

Elsa Amiel’s PEARL selected for the Giornate degli Autori
PEARL, Elsa Amiel’s feature film debut, will celebrate its world premiere in Venice as one of the twelve films in the independent Giornate degli Autori section. The French-Swiss production was coproduced by Lionel Baier, Bande à part Films. The Swiss bodybuilder Julia Föry and the Scottish actor Peter Mullan (MY NAME IS JOE) star in the leading roles.

Also screened in the Giornate degli Autori section is the Belgian film KEEP GOING by Joachim Lafosse, featuring the Swiss Shooting Star Kacey Mottet Klein in a leading role.

BLONDE ANIMALS by Swiss director Alexia Walther and French director Maxime Matray will screen in competition in the Venice International Film Critics’ Week. The first feature was coproduced by Garidi Films in Geneva.

Celebrating its world premiere in competition in Venice is OUR TIME by Mexican director Carlos Reygadas, coproduced by Genevan producer Dan Wechsler at Bord Cadre films. OUR TIME will also screen at TIFF (Masters), as well as two more films coproduced by Bord Cadre: GIRLS OF THE SUN by Eva Husson (Contemporary World Cinema) and BIRDS OF PASSAGE by Cristina Gallego and Ciro Guerra (Special Presentations).

In addition, two films coproduced by Bord Cadre films will be presented in the Official Selection at the San Sebastian International Film Festival: the coproduction ROJO by Benjamin Naishtat, with Argentinian majority participation, and the Spanish film ENTRE DOS AGUAS by Isaki Lacuesta.

THE INNOCENT premieres in renowned Platform section at TIFF
Simon Jaquemet’s second feature film THE INNOCENT will celebrate its world premiere with a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. It is among the twelve films selected to compete in the prestigious Platform section. Thereafter it will be screened in San Sebastián (Official Selection), where Jaquemet’s award-winning debut film CHRIEG had also celebrated its premiere in the New Directors section for first and second features in 2014.

THE INNOCENT was produced by Tolga Dilsiz (8horses, Zurich), together with Augenschein Filmproduktion from Cologne. Kinology in Paris has acquired the world rights. Judith Hofmann stars in the leading role as Ruth, a devout Christian and neuroscientist whose amorphous reality falls to pieces when a former lover suddenly reappears.

TIFF Docs will present the documentary film PUTIN’S WITNESSES by Russian director Vitaly Mansky. The Latvian-Swiss-Czech coproduction (GoldenEggProduction) premiered and won the Grand Prix for Best Documentary in Karlovy Vary. And Jean-Luc Godard’s film THE IMAGE BOOK (production: Casa Azul Films), which was honoured with the Palme d'Or Spéciale in Cannes, will be screened in Toronto in the Masters section.

Wang Bing’s documentary film DEAD SOULS (coproduction: Adok Film), which premiered in Cannes, as well as the short film THOSE WHO DESIRE by Elena López Riera (production: Alina film). will be presented in the Wavelengths section. The latter was honoured with the Pardino d’oro in Locarno and is thus in the running for a European Film Award for Short Films.

Swiss actor Joel Basman will star in Thomas Vinterberg’s new film KURSK premiering at TIFF.

Flo Baumann’s project 50 MILES FROM BOOMTOWN was selected for the OMDC International Finance Forum at TIFF. in Toronto, producer Rajko Jazbec (CognitoFilms) will present the project, which is planned as a Swiss coproduction with Canada and the USA.

SWISS FILMS is present with a stand at the film market in Toronto from September 6-11.

World premiere for MIDNIGHT RUNNER in San Sebastián
Hannes Baumgartner’s MIDNIGHT RUNNER will celebrate its world premiere in the New Directors competition at the San Sebastián International Film Festival (September 21-29, 2018). In his feature-film debut based on an actual criminal case, Baumgartner, who studied at the Zurich University of the Arts, tells the moving story of a marathon runner who becomes a serial killer. Starring in the leading role is Max Hubacher, Switzerland’s emerging acting talent. The film was produced by Stefan Eichenberger and Ivan Madeo (Contrast Film), the world rights are handled by Be For Films in Brussels.

Subsequent to celebrating its world premiere, MIDNIGHT RUNNER will be screened at the Zurich Film Festival and released in cinemas in Switzerland at the beginning of October (distribution: Filmcoopi).

Elena López Riera’s THOSE WHO DESIRE and Jean-Luc Godard’s THE IMAGE BOOK will both screen in the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section in San Sebastian. After Toronto, three Swiss films, together with Simon Jaquemet’s THE INNOCENT, are thus able to advance their festival careers in San Sebastián.

The Swiss production company 8horses is additionally attending San Sebastian with a new film project: Matthias Huser’s THE JUNGLE, produced by Tolga Dilsiz, was selected for the prestigious Europe-Latin America Co-Production Forum (September 23-26). Only 16 were selected from more than 200 projects for the forum. Earlier this year, Huser had already participated in the Script Station programme of the Berlinale Talents, while producer Dilsiz was able to further develop the project in the EAVE workshop.

SWISS FILMS, August 27, 2018