17th Zurich Film Festival: Strong Comeback Of Hollywood and 38 Debut Works From Around the Globe

Cinema regains its old strength at the 17th Zurich Film Festival: star directors from Hollywood demonstrate the uninterrupted appeal of American movies and the year’s most highly anticipated production, NO TIME TO DIE, is presented. Academy members such as auteur filmmakers Paolo Sorrentino and Paul Schrader are expected in Zurich as well as acting icon Sharon Stone. They will set the stage for 164 films from 53 countries, of which three dozen competition films are in the race for a Golden Eye Award. A regional focus on young Tunisian cinema and a thematic series on sexuality complete the diverse programme.

The programme team sifted through 3,500 entries before settling on 164 films from 53 countries for the 17th Zurich Film Festival (ZFF). Among them are 25 world or international premieres and five European premieres. Thirty-eight of the films are debut features.

“We’re celebrating the comeback of Hollywood,” notes Artistic Director Christian Jungen. “Last year, studios held back many productions because of the pandemic. We can now present several of these highly anticipated titles to audiences, including NO TIME TO DIE, the latest James Bond adventure starring Daniel Craig as 007, directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, who was already at ZFF with his first feature SIN NOMBRE.”

The Zurich Film Festival is able to screen the film to Swiss audiences shortly after the start of its world premiere in London. The perfect setting for this extraordinary premiere is provided by the newly refurbished Zurich Convention Centre and its up to 1,300 seats, 16 m x 6.7 m screen and over 40 speakers. “The ZFF strengthens its position at the heart of the city with this venue and its panoramic location,” says Elke Mayer, Managing Director of Spoundation Motion Picture AG.

Another highlight is Paul Schrader’s thriller THE CARD COUNTER. The legendary Hollywood writer, who penned the screenplays for Scorsese’s masterpieces TAXI DRIVER and RAGING BULL, will receive an honorary award for his life’s work. Sharon Stone has also worked with Scorsese: her role in his gangster epic CASINO earned her a Golden Globe and an Oscar Nomination. Stone will now receive the Golden Icon Award at ZFF.

Jungen is delighted with the large number of big American titles, which includes Ridley Scott’s THE LAST DUEL and Wes Anderson’s THE FRENCH DISPATCH. “The fact that we were able to secure so many high-profile Gala Premieres is no coincidence: Hollywood producers have recognised that ZFF, the largest autumn festival in the German-speaking world, offers the perfect platform to position films for the Oscars. Five of the last ten Best Picture winners screened at ZFF.”

Prestigious Gala Titles

The programme also includes numerous other prestigious productions, highlighting the fact that in its 17th year, ZFF has grown into a major player on the international festival scene. “We celebrate cinéma d’auteur grand public,” says Jungen, who promises a “great mix of intelligent mainstream and cinematic discoveries” for this festival edition. The 35-title “Gala” programme selection includes directorial works by such masters as Jane Campion (THE POWER OF THE DOG), Asghar Farhadi (A HERO), Pablo Larraín (SPENCER), Paolo Sorrentino (È STATA LA MANO DI DIO/THE HAND OF GOD) and Todd Haynes (THE VELVET UNDERGROUND). The directorial debut of star actress Maggie Gyllenhaal (THE LOST DAUGHTER) is also eagerly awaited.

“Because ZFF is the biggest festival in the German-speaking world after the Berlinale, more and more filmmakers from Germany want to be part of it,” adds Jungen, while thinking of Florian Gallenberger, whose comedy ES IST NUR EINE PHASE, HASE will have its world premiere at ZFF.

From Tunisia to Switzerland

Furthermore, the ZFF is pleased to welcome Tunisia as its first African guest country and, ten years after the beginning of the “Arab Spring” in the Maghreb state, to give a voice to a young generation of filmmakers in the section “New World View”.

Swiss filmmaking is also well represented with no fewer than 22 titles: blockbuster director Michael Steiner presents his highly topical thriller UND MORGEN SEID IHR TOT about two Swiss Taliban hostages – his second ZFF Opening Film. Two works are dedicated to Swiss art scene personalities: Erich Schmid paints a portrait of one of Switzerland’s most important writers in ADOLF MUSCHG – DER ANDERE, while Nathalie David approaches the man with the notorious stick figures in HARALD NAEGELI – DER SPRAYER VON ZÜRICH.

The ZFF also offers a platform for feature films of emerging home-grown filmmaking talent, with three directors from French-speaking Switzerland standing out: Andreas Fontana (AZOR), Frédéric Baillif (LA MIF) and 24-year-old wunderkind Edwin Charmillot (MOMENTUM, world premiere) present their works in the Focus Competition. There, Dennis Stormer (YOUTH TOPIA) and documentary filmmaker Julia Furer (LOVE WILL COME LATER) also garner attention with their world-premieres. The collective documentary film LES NOUVELLES ÈVES, which world premieres in the “Special Screenings” section, underscores the great shape that Swiss cinema currently finds itself in.

Additionally, local filmmaking will be honoured in the presence of the Mayor of Zurich Corine Mauch when the Zurich Film Day (“Tag des Zürcher Films”) gets underway on September 28 for the second time.

Excitement in the Competition and Sex in the Sidebar Programme

The most exciting new movies from around the world can be seen at ZFF, many of them by up-and-coming filmmakers: more than 100 works screened at ZFF are first, second or third directorial works. 38 competition films are in the race for a Golden Eye awarded in each of the three categories Focus, Feature Film and Documentary Film. The European premiere of the documentary THE REAL CHARLIE CHAPLIN in the presence of Charlie Chaplin’s daughter Geraldine Chaplin promises to be a celebratory event, as well. In the Feature Film Competition, where the ratio of male to female directors is perfectly balanced, the celebrated young director Jonas Carpignano also presents his third film at the ZFF, the mafia drama A CHIARA.

“The competition shines a spotlight on filmmakers who explore and refine the formal means of cinema,” explains ZFF Programme Director Georg Bütler. “They delve, in terms of content, into specific milieus, yet tell of experiences that everybody can relate to. For example, in the Russian entry UNCLENCHING THE FISTS, we are introduced to the life of a young woman in the North Caucasus who tries to free herself from the clutches of her dysfunctional family. We travel on vacation to Italy with a Polish couple in the debut feature SILENT LAND, which sees a migrant worker’s accident upset the balance of a seemingly perfect relationship. Or follow a chef through an eventful evening shift in the one-shot British drama BOILING POINT.

The line-up is complimented by various sidebars, including the “Hashtag” section with an eight-film programme under the heading #letSEXplore: with its five feature and three documentary films, this is where ZFF dedicates itself explicitly to desire on the silver screen.

In addition, five films that bring scientifically relevant topics to a general public in an attractive and entertaining way are in the running for the “Science Film Award”, which is presented by the Eye On Science association. And a jury of critics will present an “Emerging Swiss Talent Award” for a Swiss film debut. Finally, Florian Keller of the weekly newspaper “Wochenzeitung” (WOZ) can already count himself among the list of prize winners. He receives the “Prix Pathé” endowed with a CHF 10,000 cash prize for his review of Thomas Imbach’s essay film NEMESIS. The “Prix Pathé” is given for exceptional journalistic work in the field of filmmaking.

The 17th Zurich Film Festival takes place from September 23 to October 3. Ticket sales start on Monday, September 13, at 12 noon on the ZFF website and at the ticket booth on Paradeplatz in Zurich. For the first time, ZFF is using the innovative ticketing system of the Thun-based company NextEvent.

The entire ZFF programme  is now available on the festival website.