Swiss documentary and animated films at 2005 Leipzig Festival

29.09.2005

“The Giant Buddhas” by Christian Frei is the opening film for the 48th Leipzig International Film Festival, “DOK Leipzig” (October 3-9, 2005). It will compete for the Golden Dove along with 18 documentary films in the international competition. In addition, Switzerland is represented in the festival competition with the co-production “Into Great Silence” by German Philip Groening, co-produced by Ventura Film. “Maria Bethânia, música é perfume”by Georges Gachot is also a Swiss production shown in the International festival program. In the animated films competition, “Une nuit blanche” Maja Gehrig and “Neviss-Kings on the Run” by Giordano Canova, Felix Fassbinder and Elio Lüthi will be competing for a Golden Dove. “DOK Leipzig”, a festival dedicated to documentary and animated film, gives away award money totaling 54,000 Euro. Christian Frei, Georges Gachot, Maja Gehrig, Ted Sieger, and Alexandra Schatz will be present inLeipzig.
With “The Giant Buddhas” screening as the opening film, it has received yet another official acknowledgement after its premieres in Locarno and Toronto. Similarly, “Maria Bethânia, música é perfume”, which was given a label of “highly recommended” in the festival program, has also begun a remarkable festival career.

In addition to two movies in the competition section, 10 Swiss animation films can be viewed in the “New Swiss Animation” series. This yearly overview “underscores the artistic determination of our neighboring country Switzerland”, as stated by the festival organizers. Among them are “The Ark Job“ by Titus Fehr, “The Collector” by Marco Zizzi, “La dernière heure” by Antoine Guex, “Der Kussdieb” by Elena Madrid, “Gib mer” by Ingo Giezendanner, “Hang Over” by Rolf Brönnimann, “Herr Würfel” by Rafael Sommerhalder, “Immer wenn ich nicht hinsehe, zieht meine Katze ihr Superfisch Tricot an” by Sabina Speich, “Wolkenbruch” by Simon Etz, and “Un’altra città” by Carlo Ippolito.

In the “Animation for Children” program, “Die kleine Monsterin” by Ted Sieger and Alexandra Schatz will be presented. “Der Liebesfilm” by Simone Oberli as well as “L’altra metá – Metamorfosi II” by Francesca Molo are shown in the special program “HerzFlimmern.”

New at the festival is a documentary film market, with German-speaking productions – among them many Swiss films – and contemporary productions from Asia, Middle and Eastern Europe at its center. With this addition, the festival is expanding the distribution market and increases its traditional uniting function between Middle and Eastern Europe.

Zürich, 29. September 2005
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