Swiss presence at 60th International Film Festival Locarno

In the international competition, the fiction film debut “Fuori dalle corde” by Fulvio Bernasconi will be shown. It presents a drama taking place in the boxer milieu and was produced by Ticino company Ventura Film with Italian co-production. Two additional works produced by Ventura Film are the documentary films “Vogliamo anche le rose” by Alina Marazzi (August 4th on the Piazza Grande) and “Dutti der Riese”, the portrait of Migros founder Gottlieb Duttweiler by Martin Witz. “1 Journée” by Jacob Berger (Production: Vega Film, Zurich), which tells the story of a family’ s fateful day from the perspectives of the father, the mother, and the son, will be presented on Europe’s largest open-air movie screen on August 7th and represents the highlight of the Swiss Film Day, which takes place for the second time this year.



In the “Ici et ailleurs” section, Peter Entell, who is an American director who lives in Switzerland, presents his film “Shake the Devil Off”, an uncompromising report on the political and church-related conditions in New Orleans, a city that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In the “Semaine de la critique” section, two additional Swiss films will be shown: “Zu Fuss nach Santiago de Compostella” by Bruno Moll (Production: PS Film, Zurich), and “La reina del condòn” by Silvana Ceschi and Reto Stamm (Production: Dschoint Ventschr, Zurich). In the Pardi di domani section, which is solely dedicated to documentary film, 23 Swiss films will be screened, while in a special program as part of the “Ici et ailleurs” section, short films by experienced directors will be shown: “Le créneau” by Frédéric Mermoud, “Einspruch V” by Rolando Colla, and “Agora tu” by Jeanne Waltz.



In the “Appellations Suisse” series, the promotion agency SWISS FILMS presents 10 Swiss movies that have international potential, have made an impact on the Swiss cinema landscape, or have stood out at international film festivals since last year’s event in Locarno. The five selected fiction films are of innovative nature, feature excellent actors – such as Nils Althaus in “Breakout”, Natacha Koutchoumov in “Comme des voleurs (À l'Est)“, and Anatole Taubman in “Marmorera” – and have already received international acclaim. “Comme des voleurs” for example won the jury prize in Mannheim-Heidelberg. “I Was A Swiss Banker” screened in the official program at the International Film Festival in Berlin and “Wir werden uns wiederseh’n” was shown at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. The documentary films shown as part of “Appellations Suisse” series convince through their thematic treatments, have had successful cinema runs – such as currently “Someone Beside You” and “Bruno Manser – Laki Penan” – and have potential for international careers, which already holds true for “A Song for Argyris”, “Sieben Mulden und eine Leiche”, and “Retour à Gorée”.



Part of this year’s international jury will be two well-known Swiss actors who both reside in France: Irène Jacob (“La double vie de Véronique”), and Bruno Todeschini (“1 Journée”). In the Cinéastes du présent jury, Marc-Olivier Walher will participate, who, as the director of the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, represents another Swiss living abroad. Last year’s winner of the Golden Leopard, Andrea Staka, will be a Leopards of Tomorrow jury member.



Zurich, July 11, 2007



Appellations Suisse 2007– The selection of films in alphabetical order