Festival dei Popoli: A stage for documentary film in Florence, Italy

22.11.2004

This year, Switzerland is represented with three productions in the official program at the 45th festival dei Popoli in Florence (November 26-December 2, 2004). As part of the international competition, “Namibia Crossing” by Peter Liechti will be shown, while “Dhobigat” by Giorgio Garini, and “Corn in Parliament” by Jean-Stéphane Bron are featured in additional festival sections. The primarily Italian audience will be presented with 80 films from 56 countries (8,000 audience members in 2003).
Founded in Florence in 1956, the festival with international reputation is dedicated to documentary films on social issues, while each year, new avenues are also taken to explore filmmaking in the liberal arts and sciences, human rights, and anthropology.

“Namibia Crossing” (Production: Reck Film Zurich), is a musical road movie by Peter Liechti. It participates in the international competition, which showcases works representing new trends in contemporary filmmaking both in content and formally. The competition offers a prize sum of 5,000 Euro.

In the “Concorso italiano” section, the Italian-Swiss co-production “Dhobigat” by Giorgio Garini will be shown (Co-production: TSI). The film is about the washers, a specific cast in Mumbai.

Finally, due to its international acclaim, the film “Corn in Parliament” by Jean-Stéphane Bron (Production: Cinémanufacture, Lausanne) will also be presented.


Geneva/Zurich, November 22, 2004

For more information about the films and the festival, please visit: