Peter Mettler and Marcel Gisler in North America

The 20^th Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival in Toronto (April 25 - May 5) will pay tribute to the Swiss-Canadian director Peter Mettler with a retrospective comprising four of his films: “Eastern Avenue”; “Petropolis”; “Picture of Light”; and “Gambling, Gods and LSD.” Peter Mettler, who works as a filmmaker, musician and photographer in Switzerland and Canada, will present his films personally at the festival in Toronto. Hot Docs will showcase 205 films from 43 countries for eleven days. With its film market and numerous conferences for documentary professionals, the festival ranks among the most important meeting place for documentary filmmakers and the industry worldwide. Ciné-Portrait Peter Mettler PDF

“Rosie” in San Francisco
At the same time, Marcel Gisler’s family drama “Rosie” will celebrate its international premiere at the 56^th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 25 - May 9). The film, which premiered as the opening film at the Solothurn Film Festival in January and had six nominations for the Swiss Film Award 2013, will be released in cinemas in Switzerland at the end of May. Two Swiss short animation films, both of which are coproductions, are in the running for a Golden Gate Award: “Ceux d'en haut” (The Inn) by Izu Troin; and “Kali, le petit vampire” (Kali The Little Vampire) by Regina Pessoa. Numerous Swiss film productions have been screened at the San Francisco International Film Festival in recent years, two of which were honoured with major awards: the documentary film “Nomad’s Land” by Gaël Métroz won the Golden Gate Award in 2009; and Jeanne Waltz won the FIPRESCI Award for her fiction film “Pas douce” in 2007.

Zurich, April 24, 2013