Zurich Film Festival 2016: Swiss Platform For Exchange
Ever since its humble beginning at the Plaza cinema twelwe years ago, ZFF has become a fixed star in Zurich’s cultural cosmos. This is not just reflected in the record number of visitors each year, but futher in the festival fever that graps the city in the weeks leading up to the opening.
‘’Festivals have always been a platform for exchange,- say ZFF Directors Nadja Schildknecht and Karl Spoerri,- A personal conversation with a filmmaker will transform a regular visit to the movies into a festival experience. A dialogue between cineastes, filmmakers, friends, family and strangers, that continues beyond the bounds of the movie theatre’’.
What were the top festival moments? First of all, Zurich Summit!!! Zurich Summit, organized with Winston/Baker, is a unique platform for film, entertainment and media financing, marketing and distribution and constitutes the biggest industry event within the framework of Zurich Film Festival. Zurich Summit brought together entrepreneurs, business leaders and creative luminaries this year on September 24-25th at The Dolder Grand Hotel. Panels and keynote speeches were flanked by a unique side programm, including the presentation of the ‘’Game Changer Award’’ and the legendary investor’s dinner as well as a charity tennis tournament.
Next top events were Hugh Grant’s presentation at the ZFF and Honorary Golden Eye Award to french director Olivier Assayas and screening twelwe of his films in a retrospective of his works as well as presentation his latest directorial work PERSONAL SHOPPER /which garnered him the award for the best director at Cannes 2016/.
‘’Our time is now’’ is Cro’s motto in Martin Schreier’s comedy UNSERE ZEIT IST JETZT, a trans-genre film about the rap phenomenon Cro. A German screenwriter and director Martin Schreier, who studied filmmaking in Berlin, Baden-Württemburg and L.A., united fictional and documentary elements to form a comedy, which was very good accepted by film fans of ZFF.
The secret behind Zurich Film Festival’s prosperity lies in its blend of glamour and artistic curiosity, cosmopolitanism and regional roots. Swiss Premiere celebrated Iranian film THE SALESMAN. Multi award-winning Iranian director and screenwriter Asghar Farhadi once again proved his credentials as a master dramatist by slowly stripping his protagonists of their security and bringing their darker side to light.
Before making his directorial debut with the short film CHRIST’S DOG, William Oldroyd worked as a successful theatre director at the Barbican Theatre in London and other famous Theatres around the world. His first feature lenght film, LADY MACBETH, was world premiered at Toronto International Film Festival. To present this film to ZFF, arrived the director live on the stage at ZFF. Grüezi UK filmmakers in Zürich with the Premiere in the German-language Realm!
As Premiere in the German-language realm was screened and PATERSON, a drama of Jim Jarmusch, one of the most influential American INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS. Jarmusch’s PATERSON - a drama of the joung bus driver, who beeing a poet in his soul has to live in the boring simple life and the daily routine.
In opposite to the Paterson’s life, the 12th ZFF has brought lots of fun, strong emotions and lasting impressions thanks around 160 Films Programm and the Swiss Quality Organisation of the whole Team of ZFF.
Text: Daiva I. Petrosiene, Mindaugas Petrosius