DOCUMENTARIES

DOCUMENTARIES 2014 / 2015

Catherine Ann BergerManaging Director

caberger@swissfilms.chT +41 76 368 02 65

Selina WillemseHead of Festivals & Markets

swillemse@swissfilms.chT +41 79 286 51 88

Sabina BrocalInternational Relations sbrocal@swissfilms.ch

T +41 79 756 68 48

T E A M TABLE OF CONTENTS

Completed 03 – 12

Coming Soon 13 – 20

Festival Favourites 21 – 22

S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S C O M p L E T E D

3

Switzerland, 2014, 75 min.

Festivals: Festival del film Locarno 2014 (World premiere)

Duisburger Filmwoche 2014

Production: Intermezzo Films SA, Geneva

RTS Radio Télévision SuisseSRG SSR

ARTE G.E.I.E.

World Sales: Deckert Distribution GmbH, Leipzig

T +49 341 215 66 38 www.deckert-distribution.com

Stéphanie Barbey* 1972 in Geneva. She has a MA from the London

School of Economics and Political Sciences. She then studied film and became an associate at Intermezzo

Films. She has already worked with Luc Peter on their feature documentary MAGIC RADIO (2007).

Luc Peter

* 1963 in Lausanne. He has a MA in Political Science from the University of Geneva and later received

a degree in cinema from ECAL (École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne). Since 2001 he is a producer and

director at Intermezzo Films.

Seven Americans – neighbours of an immense fence, erected to control Mexican immigration – unfold how the nearby US-Mexican border transforms their lives. Out in the desert they observe the haunting traces left by the crossing migrants, people they never come face to face with. They confide their fear, defiance and at times even their compassion. “A very striking film about xenophobia and how it arises. I have never seen anything like it in such an accurate, precise and yet so straightforward form.” Herbert Spaich, SWR

Broken LandStéphanie Barbey / Luc peter

Artistic collaboration:

peter Mettler

4

Switzerland, 2014, 94 min.

Festival: Zurich Film Festival 2014 (World premiere)

Production: Envi Films AG, ZurichSRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen

World Rights: Envi Films AG, ZurichT +41 44 252 00 77 www.envifilms.com

* 1975 in Zurich. Works as an independent filmmaker based in Zurich. He directed the award-winning documentary DARWIN (2011) about an isolated community at the end of a weathered road in Death Valley, California. It screened at numerous film festivals worldwide.

At the Arctic edge of America, five Native Alas-kan teenagers strive to be both modern Ame-rican kids and the inheritors of an endangered whaling culture.

www.childrenofthearctic.com

Children Of The ArcticNick Brandestini

C O M p L E T E D S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S

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5

Switzerland, 2014, 95 min.

Festival: Zurich Film Festival 2014 (World premiere)

Production: T&C Film AG, Zurich

SRF Schweizer Radio und FernsehenSRG SSR

Lucky Film, Zurich

World Sales: T&C Edition AG, Zurich

T +41 44 208 99 55www.tcfilm.ch

* 1967 in Fribourg. Studied German, Philology and Communication Sciences.

Since 1996 she works in various positions for Swiss National Television. In 2009

she cofounds the production company Lucky Film GmbH, which produced the

award-winning documentary NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS (2012).

Who is the artist HR Giger? What kind of a per-son lies behind such terrifying and disturbing yet aesthetic forms and beings? A film with and about the internationally acclaimed and con-troversial painter, sculptor, architect, designer, Oscar winner and Alien creator.

“A film that can’t be praised enough. We’ve never got so close to Giger nor his friends or family.” Simone Meier, Watson.ch

www.darkstar-movie.com

Dark Star – HR Giger’s World

Dark Star – HR Gigers WeltChildren Of The ArcticBelinda Sallin

S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S C O M p L E T E D

6

Switzerland, 2014, 113 min.

Festival: Festival del film Locarno 2014 (World premiere)

Production: Bernard Lang AG, FreiensteinSRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen

World Rights: Bernard Lang AG, FreiensteinT +41 44 865 66 27www.langfilm.ch

* 1960 in Switzerland. Gisler has been living in Berlin since 1981, where he studied Drama and Philosophy at the Freie Universität Berlin. Since 1985 he works as producer, screenwriter and director as well as a lecturer at the DFFB Berlin, and other film schools. His latest fiction film ROSIE (2013) screened at many film festivals worldwide and received numerous awards. ELECTROBOY is Gisler’s first documentary film and was very well received in Locarno.

Trials and tribulations in the life and family his-tory of Florian Burkhardt who abandoned the constraints of his background to set out into the world in search of fame and recognition. His quest is a mercurial search for identity that ends in fear and disillusionment but also in a comforting return to his true self.

ElectroboyMarcel Gisler

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C O M p L E T E D S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S

7

Switzerland/Germany, 2014, 83 min.

Festival: Zurich Film Festival 2014 (World premiere)

Production: ican films gmbh, Zurich

SRF Schweizer Radio und FernsehenSRG SSR

BR Bayerischer RundfunkARTE

World Rights: ican films gmbh, Zurich

T +41 44 252 33 59 www.ican-films.com

* 1966 in Weinfelden. Worked as a free-lance journalist and as a correspondent

for Swiss national television in the US and London. In 2002 she founds the production

company ican films gmbh, with which she directed and produced several films such as BUILDING THE GHERKIN, SEED

WARRIORS and lately VIRGIN TALES, that screened at many festivals.

Two days before Herbert and Mirjam, the direc-tor of the film, became a couple, she is diag-nosed with cancer. Three months later, Herbert is dead. He was a base jumper. Why does he gamble his life away, while she fights for hers? A personal emotional film, in which the direc-tor is searching for answers in the Swiss Death Valley.

ElectroboyMirjam von Arx

Freefalling – A Love Story

Freifall – eine Liebesgeschichte

S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S C O M p L E T E D

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8

Switzerland/Germany/United Arab Emirates, 2014, 162 min, 3D

Festival: Toronto International Film Festival 2014 (World premiere)

Production: Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion AG, ZurichCoin Film, CologneSRF Schweizer Radio und FernsehenWDR Westdeutscher RundfunkSanad Fund, Abu DhabiFurat al Jamil, Baghdad

World Sales: Autlook Filmsales GmbH, ViennaT +43 720 34 69 34www.autlookfilms.com

* 1955 in Baghdad. Lives in Switzerland since 1961. In 1994 he cofounded the production company Dschoint Ventschr and has been working as independent director and producer of both fiction and documentary films. After FORGET BAGHDAD acclaimed Iraqi expatriate film-maker Samir returns with IRAQI ODYSSEY and traces in 3D the migration of his own family from the Middle East to Europe.

Bombs, bearded men, sobbing women, shat-tered cities: Iraq, as seen through the eyes of the western media these days. These images are juxtaposed with those from the fifties and seventies: films with frivolous music, unveiled women who study; elegantly dressed men in Baghdad, a modern city. Film director Samir tells the story of his globalised middle-class Iraqi family, scattered around the world. “Once again Samir builds on his origins, on his know-ledge of both east and west, on his 360 degree vision of the world, and he encourages us to overcome our fears that are expressed through a series of reassuring stereotypes that are however, extremely dangerous.”Cineuropa.org, Giorgia del Don

www.iraqiodyssey.com

Iraqi OdysseyA Global Family Saga

Samir

C O M p L E T E D S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S

9

S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S C O M p L E T E D

Switzerland, 2014, 72 min.

Festivals: Zurich Film Festival 2014 (World premiere)

DOK Leipzig 2014Duisburger Filmwoche 2014

Production: Mira Film GmbH, Zurich

SRF Schweizer Radio und FernsehenRSI Radiotelevisione svizzera

ZHdK Zürcher Hochschule der Künste

World Rights: Mira Film GmbH, Zurich

T +41 43 960 36 84 www.mirafilm.ch

* 1976 in Zurich. Worked as a secondary school teacher, then studied film. 2014 MA

in Film from Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). MASTER AND VASSAL is his first

feature-length documentary.

In a small, shabby bar in the deep south of Italy a group of older men plays their beloved drink-ing game called “Padrone e sotto”. While the beer flows like water and the feelings run high, the director tries to remember what used to confuse him about this game when he was a child: Where exactly is the line between game and reality?

Iraqi OdysseyA Global Family Saga

Michele Cirigliano

Master and Vassal Padrone e sotto

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10

Switzerland, 2014, 93 min.

Festival:Festival del film Locarno 2014 (World premiere)

Production and World Rights: RECK Filmproduktion GmbH, ZurichT +41 44 241 37 63www.reckfilm.ch

* 1954 in Lucerne. Studied Romance languages and literature and Philosophy in Zurich and Paris. Since 1989 he works as filmmaker in Zurich. He is known for his documentaries such as SALONICA (2008), JOURNEY TO MISTERBIANCO (2003) and ASMARA (1993).

Mulhapar – a small village in Pakistan – far re-moved from contentions and prejudices. The film immerses in the village community teeming with life, condensing the fates of families and in-dividuals, as well as tales and anecdotes to form a vibrant and poetic mosaic. Anti-dogmatically and respectfully, the film endeavours to encom-pass the entire spectrum of human existence.

“The viewer quietly observes the daily activities of various protagonists, far from the events making front-page headlines. 'Another Pakistan' is thus revealed, offering us a new take on this little-known world.”Ciné-Feuilles

paolo poloni

Mulhapar

Watch on

C O M p L E T E D S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S

11

S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S C O M p L E T E D

Switzerland, 2014, 101 min.

Festivals: Festival del film Locarno 2014

(World premiere)DOK Leipzig 2014

Jihlava Int. Documentary Film Festival 2014Festival de Cine Europeo de Sevilla 2014

RIDM Montréal 2014

Production: Climage, Lausanne

RTS Radio Télévision SuisseSRG SSR

World Sales: CAT&Docs, Paris

T +33 1 44 59 63 53 www.catndocs.com

* 1961 in Tangiers. Joint Swiss and Spanish citizenship. Melgar moved to Switzerland at the age of two. Since 1985 he works as

an independent director and producer. After his award-winning documentary

films THE FORTRESS (2008) and SPECIAL FLIGHT (2011) and now THE SHELTER, all

on the topic of foreigners and the Swiss migration system, Melgar became one of

the most renowned representatives of politically engaged cinema.

It is winter at an emergency shelter for the homeless in Lausanne. Every night at the door of this little-known basement facility the same entry ritual takes place, resulting in sometimes violent confrontations. Those on duty at the shelter have the difficult task of “triaging the poor”: women and children first, then the men. Only 50 “chosen ones” are admitted inside.

“This affecting, clear-eyed depiction of the economic crisis‘s cruel social effects was granted a high-profile competition slot at Locarno”. Neil Young, The Hollywood Reporter

www.abri-lefilm.com

Fernand Melgar

MulhaparThe Shelter

L’abri

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12

Germany/Switzerland, 2014, 86 min.

Festival:DOK Leipzig 2014 (World premiere)

Production and World Rights: Lichtblick Film- und Fernsehproduktion, Cologne2:1 Film GmbH, ZurichWDR Westdeutscher Rundfunk KölnBR Bayerischer Rundfunk

World Rights Lichtblick Film- und Fernsehproduktion, CologneT +49 221 925 75 20www.lichtblick-film.de

* 1988 in Cologne, grew up in Zurich. Studied film directing at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Works as sound designer and documentary filmmaker. In 2014 he founds the production company Maxdrux Multimedia & Film GmbH.

Gottfried Böhm is considered to be Germa-ny’s most important architect. Now aged 94, he learned his trade from his father. He still works every day on construction projects with his sons. Their Pritzker Prize-winning father’s reputation secures them attractive major com-missions, but it also prevents them from be-coming independent and fuels the competition between them. Then the family loses its emo-tional center: Elisabeth – who was also an ar-chitect – wife, mother and their most important source of inspiration.

Maurizius Staerkle-Drux

Die Böhms – Architektur einer Familie

S W I S S D O C U M E N T A R I E S – C O M I N G S O O N

C O M p L E T E D S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S

13

Die Böhms – Architektur einer Familie

S W I S S D O C U M E N T A R I E S – C O M I N G S O O N

14

CO M I N G S O O N S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S

Switzerland, 90 min.

Production: p.s. 72 productions GmbH, ZurichSRG SSR/SRF3sat

World Rights: p.s. 72 productions GmbH, Zurich T +41 43 344 53 14 www.ps-72.com

* 1957 in Paris. Lives in Switzerland since 1961, where he first studied acting at the Theatre Academy of Zurich and worked as an actor. In 1991 Bergkraut started making documentary films. After COCA, THE DOVE FROM CHECHNYA (2005), awarded with the International Human Rights Film Award Berlin 2006, and LETTER TO ANNA (2008), a personal investigation on Anna Politkovskaja’s death, honoured with the Vaclav Havel Award 2008, CITIZEN KHODORKOVSKY is Bergkraut’s third film on Russia.

A businessman is sent to prison by President Putin. While ten years in the Russian penal colony have marked Mikhail Khodorkovsky, his spirit has not been broken. He leaves prison as a man with stronger inner freedom than ever be-fore - and he is prepared to realize his vision, an open Russia.

Eric Bergkraut

Citizen Khodorkovsky

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15

S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S C O M I N G S O O N

Switzerland/Germany, 90 min.

Production:maximage GmbH, Zurich

Flying Moon Filmproduktion, BerlinSRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen

WDR / ARTE

World Rights:maximage GmbH, Zurich

T +41 44 274 88 66 www.maximage.ch

* 1961 in Esslingen, Germany. Grew up in Switzerland. Works as producer and

director in Switzerland and Berlin. His award-winning documentaries such

as BALKAN MELODY (2012), ECHOES OF HOME (2007), ACCORDION TRIBE (2004) and THE DEVIL’S ACCORDION

(2000) mostly focus on musical topics and are being screened at prestigious

international film festivals.

In the late 80s, Bill Drummond was, with his band The KLF, at the top of the charts and got elected as the “coolest guy within the pop in-dustry”. At the zenith of his career he happened to turn his back on the music industry. His crea-tive curiosity pushed the headstrong Scot to use new ways in dealing with music. This resulted in The17, a choir project in which the artist devel-ops his vision of a polyphonic world in front of our eyes, inviting us to use our own creativity while watching the movie. A surprising journey into new musical realms.

Stefan Schwietert

IMAGINE Waking Up Tomorrow And All MUSIC Has Disappeared

Citizen Khodorkovsky

16

Switzerland, 80 min.

Festival:Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal 2014 (World premiere)

Production: Akka Films, BernexSRG SSR

World Sales:Doc & Film International, ParisT +33 1 42 77 56 87 www.docandfilm.com

* 1964 in Geneva. Studied Communications at the Université du Québec in Montreal. In 2003 he founds the production company Akka Films. Works as director and producer for both fiction and documentary films. His latest films AISHEEN (STILL ALIVE IN GAZA) (2010) and OPERATION LIBERTAD (2012) have been shown at prestigious international film festivals.

Twenty-four-year-old Yvan Sorel is a self-made man. He founded a club for mixed martial arts (MMA) in the northern suburb of Marseilles. This champion, who became a proud represen-tative of his country, without any outside help, takes the place of public institutions. By means of sport, he teaches children from the cité Belle-vue respect and tolerance.

Nicolas Wadimoff

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CO M I N G S O O N S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S

SpartansSpartiates

17

Switzerland/Finland, 90 min.

Production: ican films gmbh, Zurich

SRF Schweizer Radio und FernsehenYLE Finnish Broadcasting Company

World Rights:ican films gmbh, Zurich

T +41 44 252 33 59 www.ican-films.com

* 1972 in Japan. Joint Swiss and Japanese citizenship. Studied Ethnology, Film

Studies and Japanese at Universities in Zurich and Tokyo. Later attends the Film

and Video Department of the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Works as an editor, author and director. THE DAY

THE SUN FELL is her first feature length documentary film.

While tracing the story of her grandfather, who worked as a young doctor in a Red Cross hospi-tal in Hiroshima after the dropping of the atom-ic bomb, the director meets a former doctor and a nurse who went through something simi-lar. Throughout his life, her grandfather never spoke about what he had experienced, but her protagonists bring her closer to him. When a new nuclear disaster occurs in Fukushima on March 11, 2011, her quest takes a new turn.

Aya Domenig

The Day The Sun Fell Als die Sonne vom Himmel fiel

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S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S C O M I N G S O O N

SpartansSpartiates

18

Switzerland, 78 min.

Production: Tipi‘mages Productions sàrl, GenevaRTS Radio Télévision Suisse

World Sales:CAT&Docs, ParisT + 33 1 44 59 63 53 www.catndocs.com

* 1975 in Monthey. Since 2002 works as a journalist and director in New York, specializing in documentaries and radio reportages about Central America. With his film BY MY SIDE (2012) he followed Dominga, Fabiola and Maryuri, three young women struggling to survive in the Chureca, the largest dump in Central America located in Nicaragua.

Karin‘s life drastically changed when her teen-age cousin was brutally kidnapped and mur-dered. She decided to become a lawyer. Astrid was kidnapped and raped at the age of 14. She fled to the U.S. where she overcame her fear to speak out about her past. LA PRENDA is a documentary about two women fighting to end impunity in Guatemala, where about 4’000 ab-ductions a year take place.

Jean-Cosme Delaloye

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The pawn La prenda

CO M I N G S O O N S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S

19

Switzerland, 100 min.

Production: Distant Lights GmbH, Zurich

SRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen

World Rights:Distant Lights GmbH, Zurich

T +41 44 363 82 03 www.distantlights.ch

* 1952 in Interlaken. Studied Music at the Conservatory in Basel and Zurich as

well as German and Philosophy at the University of Zurich. In 2004 he cofounds

the production company Distant Lights GmbH with Fanny Bräuning. Since 1990

he workes as an independent author, director and producer. He is known for his

own documentaries such as CLOSED COUNTRY (1999) and BLUE END (2000)

and for the renowned documentary film NO MORE SMOKE SIGNALS (2008),

which he produced.

A documentary filmmaker sets out in search of romantic love and comes across two completely different stories: one begins on the Internet, where the bookkeeper Peter Mäder met the Ukrainian Tetyana Jurijwna. In contrast, Hannah and Samuel Robertson in Portland have already been together for eleven years. Their secret lies in their mutual passion for music. But is that enough for love to survive?

Kaspar Kasics

Together Forever

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S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S C O M I N G S O O N

20

Switzerland, 96 min.

Production: RECK Filmproduktion GmbH, ZurichSRF Schweizer Radio und FernsehenSRG SSRRTS Radio Télévision Suisse

World Rights:RECK Filmproduktion GmbH, ZurichT +41 44 241 37 63 www.reckfilm.ch

* 1961 in Zurich. Attended DFFB (Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie, Berlin). Since 1990 she works as an independent filmmaker and video artist; Schmid also teaches film and animation. Her latest film AGAINST ALL ODS (2011), a long-term documentation of three teenage mothers, was screened at the Berlinale. Schmid is also known for her documentary films ISA HESSE-RABINOVITCH – DAS GROSSE SPIEL (2009), YELLOW – ELECTROPOP MADE IN SWITZERLAND (2005) and MAGIC MATTERHORN (1996).

Female animal tamers from various continents shine in the spotlight and struggle for their ex-istence behind the scenes. Between toiling and smiling, the circus artists disclose their passion for their “wild” animals and extraordinary pro-fession: a daily life full of dedication and disci-pline in the midst of mortal danger.

Anka Schmid

Wild Women – Gentle Beasts

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CO M I N G S O O N S W I S S D O C U M E N TA R I E S

My Name Is Salt

Farida pacha

Switzerland, 2013, 92 min.

Festivals (selection): IDFA Amsterdam 2013 (World premiere) DOK.fest München 2014Edinburgh Film Festival 2014

Production: Leafbird Films GmbH, ZurichT +44 554 86 67www.leafbirdfilms.com

World Sales:Magnetfilm, BerlinT +49 163 801 07 53www.magnetfilm.de

Year after year, thousands of families move to a desert in India to extract salt from the burning earth. Every monsoon their salt fields are washed away, as the desert turns into sea. And still they will return. www.mynameissalt.com

Journey To The Safest place On Earth Die Reise zum sichersten Ort der Erde

Edgar Hagen

Switzerland, 2013, 100 min.

Festivals (selection): Int. Hofer Filmtage 2013 (World premiere) DOK Leipzig 2013 Planete + Doc Film Festival, Warsaw 2014

Production: Mira Film GmbHSRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen

World Rights: Autlook Filmsales GmbH, ViennaT +43 720 34 69 34www.autlookfilms.com

The film is a divisive undertaking, leading us to the ends of the earth. It throws doubt on our established views of the world and takes us to the limits of know-ledge and social responsibility. www.journeytothesafestplaceonearth.com

21

S W I S S D O C U M E N T A R I E S – F E S T I V A L F A V O U R I T E S

Cloudy Times El tiempo nubladoArami Ullón

Switzerland / Paraguay, 2014, 91 min.

Festivals (selection): Visions du Réel Nyon 2014 (World premiere)Karlovy Vary 2014Festival del Film Locarno 2014

Production: Cineworx Filmproduktion GmbH, ZurichArami Ullón, AsunciónSRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen

World Rights:Film Republic, LondonT +44 7835 99 91 12 www.filmrepublic.biz

Switzerland based director Arami Ullón returns home to Paraguay to take care of her mother, suffering from epilepsy and Parkinson.www.eltiemponublado.com

22

S W I S S D O C U M E N T A R I E S – F E S T I V A L F A V O U R I T E S

Sleepless In New York

Christian Frei

Switzerland, 2014, 92 min.

Festivals (selection):Visions du Réel Nyon 2014 (World premiere) Hot Docs Toronto 2014Planete + Doc Film Festival, Warsaw 2014

Production:Christian Frei Filmproduktion GmbH, ZurichSRF Schweizer Radio und FernsehenSRG SSRZDF/ARTE

World Sales:Films Transit International Inc., Montreal T +1 514 844 33 58www.filmstransit.com

The film explores the difficult path out of self-destructive obsessive behaviour, toward a new self. And it wonders about the unwavering desire – despite it all – for love.www.sleepless-in-new-york.com

ThuleTuvalu

Matthias von Gunten

Switzerland, 2014, 96 min.

Festivals (selection): Visions du Réel Nyon 2014 (World premiere)Hot Docs Toronto 2014DOK.fest München 2014

Production: HesseGreutert Film, ZurichOdysseefilm, ZurichSRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen

World Sales:Accent Films International Ltd., Montreux T +41 21 963 93 00www.accent-films.com

The warming of the planet is changing the entire existence for the inhabitants of Thule and Tuvalu. The film portrays how they are forced to abandon their tradi-tional way of life as they move towards an unknown future.www.thuletuvalu.com

Neuland

Anna Thomen

Switzerland, 2013, 93 min.

Festivals (selection):Zurich Film Festival 2013 (World premiere)Berlinale 2014DOK.fest München 2014

Production:Fama Film, ZurichSRF Schweizer Radio und FernsehenZürcher Hochschule der Künste ZHdK

World Sales:Rise and Shine World Sales, Kloos & Co. Medien GmbH, Berlin, T +49 30 47 37 29 80www.riseandshine-berlin.com

The new pupils of the integration class Ba-sel have a long journey behind them. Young, and with dreams of a better future, they travelled to Switzerland. A difficult and rocky road awaits them.www.neuland-film.ch

23

Switzerland, Docufiction, 2014, 101 min.

World premiere: Berlinale Panorama 2014

Cast:Matthias Hungerbühler / Sven Schelker / Marianne Sägebrecht Anatole Taubman / Antoine Monot Jr.And Ernst Ostertag & Röbi Rapp as themselves

Production: Contrast Film Zurich GmbH, Zurich SRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen

World Sales: Wide House, Paris, T +33 1 53 95 04 64, www.widehouse.org

Stefan Haupt’s docudrama THE CIRCLE is Switzerland’s Official Submis-sion for Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards®. The film cel-ebrated its world premiere in the Panorama section at the Berlinale 2014 and won both the Teddy Award and the Audience Award. This remarkable docu-fiction is set in Zurich’s gay underground movement during the post-war years. Based on a true love story.

A watershed moment in Swiss and European gay history is finally given the feature treatment in “The Circle”. The Hollywood Reporter, Boyd van Hoeij

The drama’s urgency gives “The Circle” the feel of a bombshell. Screen International, David D’Arcy

The documentary interludes prevent “The Circle” from playing entirely as a period piece, which makes sense given the still burning political currency of its subject mater … The testimonials of the elderly lovers are touching. Variety, Guy Lodge

www.thecircle-movie.com

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SWISS FILMSNeugasse 6 | Postfach | CH-8031 Zurich T +41 43 211 40 50info @ swissfilms.ch www.swissfilms.ch

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