MOVIES - DOCUMENTARIES
SUSPEKT
by Christian LabhartBernard Rambert, one of Switzerland's best-known lawyers, talks for the first time in detail about his work as a criminal defence lawyer, places it in the historical context of the last 50 years as a contemporary witness and draws a bow to the present. What is the balance sheet of a person who has spent his entire life fighting for radical change through legal means?
EXODUS
by Kurt ReinhardMusic students and refugees adapt the biblical story of EXODUS to the present day.
THE MIRACULOUS TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORKING CLASS INTO FOREIGNERS
by SamirThe Social-Democratic Party and the trade unions shaped the Swiss working-class culture for over 100 years, but in the early 1970s many of these institutions collapsed in just a decade. Today, no one speaks of the working class anymore. And the term "worker" has become synonymous with "foreigner." How did this come about?
THE VANISHING OF BRUNO BREGUET
by Olmo CerriThe forgotten story of a young Ticino militant who came into contact with notorious participants of the armed struggle from the 1970s onwards and disappeared without trace.
OPERATION SILENCE - THE AFFAIR FLÜKIGER
by Werner SchweizerAutumn 1977: the Bernese officer trainee Flükiger is found dead. Who is to blame for his death? The RAF or the Béliers, was it an accident or intentional? The director goes in search of clues and tries to shed light on the mysterious events surrounding the vote to form the Canton Jura.
TRACES OF RESPONSIBILITY
by Anja Reiss, Jann AndereggThe interactive Roadmovie follows the trail of a convicted war criminal with ties to Switzerland. On a journey through contemporary Rwanda, the viewers decide how deeply they want to immerse themselves in the story.
JOHNNY & ME - A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME WITH JOHN HEARTFIELD
by Katrin RotheThe graphic designer Stefanie is in a creative crisis. Boring advertising assignments and a boss who does not value her work. On a visit to a museum, she is magically attracted by the satirical photomontages of the world-famous colleague and Nazi opponent John Heartfield. Then the miracle happens. She ends up in his studio, where she finally picks up scissors and paper again. An adventurous journey through Heartfield's extraordinary life 100 years ago begins.
THE MIES VAN DER ROHES
by Sabine GisigerAn female family saga from the inside of Modernism, told by the women in the haze of the iconic architect Mies van der Rohe.
THE GIACOMETTIS
by Susanna FanzunThe rugged mountain valley of Bregaglia brought forth an entire dynasty of artists: the Giacomettis. Director Susanna Fanzun traces the footsteps of this remarkable family.
ERICA JONG BREAKING THE WALL
by Kaspar KasicsSince her worldwide success of "Fear of Flying", Erica Jong has been fighting for equality, with imagination, humour and the power of her words.
DIDA
by Corina Schwingruber Ilic, Nikola IlicWhat happens when roles reverse and parents suddenly become dependent on their children? A son is forced to confront this question along with the consequences of his migration.
PUSHING BOUNDARIES
by Lesia KordonetsWith the Russian annexation of Crimea, the Ukrainian Paralympic team loses their training base overnight. Will they succeed in qualifying for the upcoming Paralympics under these difficult circumstances?
THE BRANCH I'M SITTING ON - A TAX HAVEN IN SWITZERLAND
by Luzia SchmidA film about the economic rise of the small Swiss town of Zug, which rose from a farming village to an internationally known trading center thanks to its cunning tax policy.
RADIOGRAPH OF A FAMILY
by Firouzeh KhosrovaniThe Shiite revolution creates tension within an Iranian family. The daughter of a secular father and a devout mother tells the story of how they all co-exist under one roof through photos and fictional conversations.
SHALOM ALLAH
by David VogelWhen Muslims are shown in the media, they are portrayed as the bad guys. How then is it to be explained that every year, over a hundred Swiss people convert to Islam?
CHRIS THE SWISS
by Anja KofmelCroatia, 7th of January 1992: In the middle of the Yugoslav Wars, a young journalist is found dead, dressed in the uniform of an international mercenary group. Twenty years later, his cousin Anja Kofmel investigates his story
WELCOME TO SWITZERLAND
by Sabine GisigerThe wealthy village of Oberwil-Lieli refuses to take in any refugees. Can Switzerland no longer afford its humanitarian tradition?
BEYOND THE BOLEX
by Alyssa BolseyIn the early 1920s a prolific inventor, Jacques Bolsey, put motion-picture cameras into the hands of amateur filmmakers. Decades later, the dramatic life of the mysterious Renaissance man is uncovered.
YENISH SOUNDS
by Karoline Arn, Martina RiederStephan Eicher and many folk musicians are connected by their Yenish roots and the secret of a special sound. A musical journey into the Grison mountains.
1917 - THE REAL OCTOBER
by Katrin RotheThe russian revolutionary year narrated from the point of view of the involved artists.
OFFSHORE - ELMER AND THE SWISS BANK SECRECY
by Werner SchweizerWhile managers of Swiss banks in the USA ruefully apologize for their tax evasions practices and customer data is disclosed to the American authorities, Rudolf Elmer, former auditor at bank Julius Bär, is indicted for violating the Swiss banking secrecy law on the Cayman Islands. Rudolf Elmer: from insider to critic.
THE DARK GENE
by Miriam Jakobs, Gerhard SchickA sick doctor, a volatile code, the comfort of art: the search for the origins of his depression poses existential questions to the protagonist of the film, confronts him with worrying perspectives for his future and leads him into breathtaking visual and aural worlds.
IRAQI ODYSSEY
by SamirAngry bearded men, veiled women, demolished cities: Iraq, as seen through the eyes of the western media. What happened to the enlightened society of the 1950s and 1960s? How did it come to this? A globalized middle-class Iraqi family in diaspora speaks.
ULRICH SEIDL - A DIRECTOR AT WORK
by Constantin WulffA film about Ulrich Seidl and his work, taking his two most recent projects as the starting point. The documentary film «Im Keller (In the basement)« and the play «Böse Buben (Bad boys)«.
PARLER MÉTIER - A CONVERSATION WITH ALEXANDER J. SEILER
by Samuel FlückigerA conversation with Alexander J. Seiler about his lifework as a film author.
MY FATHER, THE REVOLUTION AND ME
by Ufuk EmirogluAs the daughter of a former communist, the young director visits the interfaces of revolt, where communities attempt to realise utopia in concrete terms.
JAN - CHALLENGE AT THE NET
by Benjamin Kempf Siemens, Rafael BenitoJan Guler is meant to make it to the very top in tennis. An entire family's life revolves around this dream.
ONCE I ENTERED A GARDEN
by Avi MograviAvi Mograbi's family has lived between the three countries of Lebanon, Palestine and Israel for generations and witnessed the strife since the founding of the State of Israel: immigration to Israel, espionage charges, the two Lebanon Wars in 1982 and 2006, as well as the construction of the Israeli barrier. How to carry forward when you are rooted on both sides of the wall? Avi Mograbi researches the Arab side of his family, seeking a new approach to life in the Middle East and dreaming the forbidden dream. A discussion revolving around interpretations - and not facts.
JOSCHKA AND SIR FISCHER
by Pepe DanquartHe was a student activist, an urban guerrilla, a taxi driver; Joseph Joschka Fischer emerged from the Extra-parliamentary Opposition (APO) to become Hessens trainer-clad environment minister and Germanys suited and booted foreign minister.
DAVID WANTS TO FLY
by David SievekingDavid Sieveking walks on David Lynch's path into the world of transcendental meditation (TM). He comes across the founder of this worldwide movement, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, to whom the Beatles already pilgrimed.
DIRTY PARADISE
by Daniel SchweizerOne last piece of South America belongs to Europe: French Guyana, where the native Wayna Indians live in an almost paradisiacal world. But criminal gold diggers occupy and pollute the land with mercury, through their primitive extraction techniques.
YA SHARR MOUT
by Sabine GisigerThe film tells the adventurous story of an Arab-Swiss music project, of the search for nuances in times of the clash of cultures between the orient and the occident that is cited from all sides.
QUEEN OF CONDOMS
by Silvana Ceschi, Reto StammA German student falls in love with a Cuban captain and follows him to the Caribbean. Knowing little about sex she becomes the official sex educator of Castro's revolution.
A film about potent female agitators, staunch machos and Caribbean love life.
LOST IN LIBERIA
by Luzia SchmidThe young development aid volunteer Leila is sent by order of the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) to Liberia in Western Africa. She is assigned to reunite parents with their children who got separated from their families during the war. The documentary broaches the issue of the dilemma between humanitarian help and the given power structure.
HIDDEN HEART
by Cristina Karrer, Werner SchweizerCape Town 1967. Womanizer Christian Barnard transplants the first human heart, but behind him stood an unknown black man: Hamilton Naki
SHADOW OF THE HOLY BOOK
by Arto HalonenSHADOW OF THE HOLY BOOK exposes the immorality of international companies doing business with the dictatorship of oil-and-gas-rich Turkmenistan, thus helping to hide its human rights and free speech abuses - all in the name of profit and corporate greed.
MOM'S CAPITAL
by Karoline Arn, Martina RiederRuth Seiler founded the boarding school ?Schlössli? for young people from difficult backgrounds.
SLAUGTHER
by Monika Borgmann, Hermann Theissen, Lokman SlimIn 1982 between 1,000 and 3,000 civilians were murdered in the two Lebanese Palestinian camps Sabra and Shatila. The perpetrators primarily originated from the ranks of the Forces Libanaises, a Christian militia affiliated to Israel.
A psycho-political study of the phenomenon of collective violence.
WHITE TERROR
by Daniel SchweizerA video about Neo-Nazis originating in Sweden provides the starting point of an investigation of extremists' networks in Europe, Russia and North America. Their propaganda is a message of hatred, war and segregation.
GAMBIT
by Sabine GisigerIn 1976 a reactor close to the north Italian town of Seveso explodes. In the aftermath highly poisonous dioxin leaks into the atmosphere. In Monza in 1983 chemist Jörg Sambeth is sentenced to five years in prison as one of the main guilty parties. A story about lies, truths and deception.
FELTRINELLI
by Alessandro RossettoHistory and present of a heretical company.A film about a great publisher,a big Italian publishing house and about the passion for books: to discovery, develop and publish literature. «To change the world with books.»
GOD'S KNIGHT
by Marcel ZwingliErnst Sieber, 78, is a well-known priest to the homeless in Switzerland. In the spring of 2005 Sieber travels to the village of Djagatu in Afghanistan, where he is met by a white donkey that was given to him three years earlier in thanks for medical aid he provided. His plan: to bring the donkey and 25 orphans from Djagatu back to Switzerland - a dangerous undertaking with an uncertain outcome.
THE LAST WALL
by Silvana CeschiA portrait of people who don't let political and social stumbling blocks upset their way to an independent and unified Republic of Cyprus.
CONQUISTADORS OF CUBA
by Arto HalonenCan a blind man bring the spirit of Che Guevara back to life? A film about the history of special old American cars, love and the man whose face shows the two side.
MURIDI - FROM ZURICH
by Silvana Ceschi, Rolf Frey, Reto StammPortrait of the 12-year old Somalian asylum seeker Muridi, who lives in Zürich. In his school he is one of the few 'Peacemaker' activists, who mediate in violent disputes. He tells stories from his life in Swiss German.
HELL ON WHEELS
by Pepe Danquart, SwissA look behind the scenes of the toughest cycling race in the world on the occasion of the 100the anniversary of the Tour de France.
SKINHEAD ATTITUDE
by Daniel SchweizerA fascinating road movie tracing history and origin of a subculture of youth that is known as one of the most radical and contradictory of our time.
TARIFA TRAFFIC - DEATH IN THE STRAITS OF GIBRALTAR
by Joakim DemmerThousands of migrants who, by dint of rubber boats, illegally cross the straits between Morocco and Spain, change a landscape and its inhabitants.
BRIDGE LANGUAGE
by SamirCulture has long been quietly influenced by globalization. Language as a harbinger, a catalyst, but also as an obstacle in multi-cultural modern society.
HOMELAND
by Sabine GisigerOn the occasion of Expo.02, Sabine Gisiger accompanies five foreigners on their journey through our homeland.
VOYAGES, VOYAGES ENGADINA PART 1
by Werner SchweizerThe Engadine off the beaten path of luxurious mass tourism, with extraordinary atmospheric pictures from the four seasons. Accompanied by an excursus on the international films that have made use of this landscape.
FORGET BAGHDAD
by SamirA filmic reflection about the stereotypes of "the Jew" and "the Arab" through one hundred years of film, linked with the biographies of four extraordinary people: Iraqi-Jewish communists.
MY SISTER MARIA
by Maximilian SchellA gentle portrait by the famous German-Swiss-Austrian Hollywood actor Maximilian Schell about his no less famous sister Maria. The film parades over 70 cinema films and pursues a biography of success, affairs, depressions, and chases through the tabloid scene.
SAILING THE SEAS
by Johannes HolzhausenThe aircraft carrier Kiev, former pride of the soviet marine, lies abandoned in a North Sea port and awaits its destiny.
CAMENISCH
by Daniel von AarburgIn the 1970's and 1980's, Marco Camenisch made national headlines. In the struggle against the destruction of his homeland, he resorted to bombs and violence, and became a legend.
PEIDEN
by Mattias CaduffThe tiny village Peiden slides down the slope. Just four dwelling houses are inhabited the whole year. The rest is unoccupied. The artist Mattias Caduff investigates in the village of his ancestors.
EUROTRAVELLING
by Stephan WickiEurope in 12 days including visits to six countries. This is a standard package offered by Japanese travel agencies. After the whistle-stop tour, the main souvenir the tourists are left with are photographs. What view do these photos reveal?
CONVERSATION IN THE MOUNTAINS A READER'S REPORT
by Mattias CaduffAn unusual documentation of the narration «Conversation in the mountains» by Paul Celan from 1959 - at the same time an intelligent controversy on the problematic relation between film and literature.
YUGODIVAS
by Andrea StakaIn the 1990s, a group of young Serbian women living in New York City watched along with the rest of the world as the former Yugoslavia dissolved into bloody war and ethnic violence. An actress, a painter and three classically trained musicians, had come to New York to study and pursue their art, but now, not only are they expatriates, but the homeland they knew no longer exists.
FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES
by Lindsey MerrisonIn Burma, where spirit worship has survived both the triumph of Buddhism and the vagaries of a military dictatorship, a lively cult peopled by talented mediums, many of them homosexuals, makes life under one of the worlds harshest regimes more bearable.
B-52
by Hartmuth BitomskyA parable about present American culture explain The bomb airplane B-52 that symbolizes the dominance of the United States about the world.
IN THE MIRROR OF MAYA DEREN
by Martina KudlacekWith IN THE MIRROR OF MAYA DEREN, documentary filmmaker Martina Kudlácek has fashioned not only fascinating portrait of a groundbreaking and influential artist, but a pitch-perfect introduction to her strikingly beautiful and poetic body of work.
PROJECZIUNS TIBETANAS
by SamirA Tibetan family who has lived in exile in the Engadine for 35 years considers its history and its presence in the media. A portrait.
JUST MARRIED
by Jeanne BerthoudA dream wedding in a shopping mall turns into a nightmare for the managers involved. Jeanne Berthoud observes how a PR concept results in unexpected problems and cynical solutions.
ALIEN BORN
by Esther van MesselBased on the book Fragments by Binjamin Wilkomirski. Daniel Ganzfrieds inquiries later led to the uncovering of Wilkomirskis story as a shame.
CROSS OVER
by Thomas TielschVia regional music and rituals of the German speaking area's southern border, the film approaches the question of cultural identity.
NOEL FIELD - THE FICTIOUS SPY
by Werner SchweizerAmerican Noel Field was a key player in the trials following the World War Two in Eastern Europe. He was secretly imprisoned between 1949 and 1955, but remained in Hungary after his release. What was the secret of Noel Field?
TAKE OFF FROM THE SAND
by Wageh GeorgeIn Egypt in the 30' Lorna makes her dream come true. She replaces her traditional clothes with a pilot's uniform. The film follows her couragous life.
JEAN ZIEGLER, THE HAPPINESS OF BEING SWISS
by Ana Ruiz, Greta van den BemptWhen one begins to understand that social injustice, racism and hatred exist, one turns to Jean Ziegler's books. In this film he traces a double portrait: his own, and the world's.
STREETPARADE
by Michael Steiner, Pascal WalderA fictitious Japanese film team makes a documentary about the Street Parade of 1996, with a look back at how it all began.
MOTOR NASCH
by Sabine Gisiger, Marcel ZwingliSix women from four generations look back on their lives in Moscow, covering the period between the birth of the Sowjet Union and its dissolving.
FRAGMENTS FROM THE LOWER EAST SIDE
by Stina WerenfelsWhat do we know about orthodox judaism? It has become an icon in black and white.
This documentary is about the everyday life of the living people.
KAZIMIR MALEVIC
by Jutta HercherA multifaceted and personal portrait of the famous painter, who wanted the revolution to happen in art as well as society.
PALAVER, PALAVER. A SWISS AUTUMN CHRONICLE 1989
by Alexander J. SeilerAlexander J. Seiler charts the political debate about the Swiss army: from official ceremonies to the popular vote, and including all the official discussions that have taken place all over the country. Alongside, the film follows a production of Max Frisch's play Jonas und sein Veteran, directed by Benno Besson, from early rehearsals to the first performances, and gathers reactions from both the theater audience and major political personalities.
DYNAMITE AT THE SIMPLON
by Werner SchweizerA communist guerrilla commander, a Swiss railway worker, a catholic priest and the Swiss secret service successfully prevented the destruction of the tunnel.
LUDWIG HOHL
by Alexander J SeilerUntil shortly before his death, Ludwig Hohl was an outsider, at best an insider tip in Swiss literature. Alexander J. Seiler's film grew out of a long-standing friendship between the film author and the writer. Shot mainly in Hohl's flat in Geneva in the summer of 1979, it shows the most important stages in Hohl's biography with the most economical means and otherwise lets Hohl speak for himself.
SIAMO ITALIANI
by Alexander J. Seiler, Rob Gnant, June KovachThe documentary from 1964 marks the beginning of the New Swiss Cinema. For the first time, the focus is on migrants: Italian workers who were perceived as a ?problem? in Switzerland at the time.
