IDFA 2011: prominent presence for Swiss documentary films in Amsterdam

Six film productions and coproductions from Switzerland will be screened at the 24th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).

15.11.2011

Six film productions and coproductions from Switzerland will be screened at the 24th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). The festival is the world’s leading platform for documentary films and takes place from November 16-27, 2011. Other Swiss film productions will be featured at the documentary film market and the international co-financing market, both of which run parallel to the festival.

Martin Witz's documentary film for cinema "The Substance - Albert Hofmann's LSD" will be screened in the Reflecting Images section. Witz will attend the festival in Amsterdam to present his film portraying the LSD story from its beginning stages to today. Alexandre Goetschmann's film "Carte Blanche" will also be screened in this section; the film is a portrait of a trauma surgeon who works in a clinic in Tel Aviv. In addition, Jan Czarlewski will present his 15-minute father-son story "L'Ambassadeur & moi" (Golden Leopard in Locarno 2011) in the Student Film Competition.

The biographical journey "Joschka und Herr Fischer" by German director Pepe Danquart (coproduction: Dschoint Ventschr, Zurich) will be presented in the Masters section, while the film "Raising Resistance" by Bettina Borgfeld and David Bernet (coproduction: Maximage, Zurich) will be screened in the Green Screen section. Bernet will attend the festival and present his film which addresses the problematic nature of genetic engineering in the agricultural industry, using soya production in Paraguay as an example.

Rounding off the Swiss presence at the festival is Nalia Giovanoli's 8-minute film "Signs & Vibrations," which portrays a concert performed for an audience comprised primarily of the hearing impaired.

Parallel to the IDFA is the documentary film market Docs for Sale, featuring some 500 film productions. A further 16 Swiss productions will be offered here, together with the films screened at the festival. Swiss film productions will also be presented at the IDFA international co-financing market.

Zurich, November 15, 2011

 

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