Zurich Film Festival Team Favourite Films
The 17th Zurich Film Festival will start in just one week. 164 films from 53 countries will be shown. 25 are world or international premieres and 5 are European premieres. 38 are debut features.
Do you have your tickets yet? Ticket sales can be bought on ZFF website and at the ticket booth on Paradeplatz in Zurich. The entire ZFF programme is now available on the festival website.
The festival’s team recommends 5 films:
LA ROYA / THE RUST
Director: Juan Sebastián Mesa/ Drama/France Columbia
Window: San Sebastián
27-year-old Jorge looks anxiously over his coffee plantation: La roya, coffee rust, has already attacked the first bushes. The upcoming grand village festival seems to offer the perfect distraction, especially since Jorge’s friends and his first great love will return from the city to attend. Set against the background of the lonely coffee plantations of Antioquia and with a great, hypnotic sound design, LA ROYA addresses the contrast between city and countryside through the story of a man who is the only one of his generation not to migrate to the city. A delight for the eyes and ears!
Sept 24th at 9.30pm Kosmos 4
Sept 27th at 9.15pm Kosmos 5 with film director
Oct 2nd 6.30pm Kosmos 5
CONTAINER
Director: Alexei Lyapichev
Series / Thriller
Sasha earns her living as a professional surrogate mother. For her, therefore, she is doing nothing more than her job when she is carrying the child of the high government official Vadim and his wife, Marina. What is unusual, however, is the couple’s request that Sasha live in their villa for the duration of the pregnancy. Contrary to usual practice, Sasha agrees and shortly thereafter moves into the luxurious mansion, where she is meticulously cared for. But the longer she stays in the house, the more dark secrets come to the seemingly immaculate surface. ZFF screens the first two episodes of this suspenseful thriller series from Russia.
Sat 25th at 2 pm Kosmos / Sat 30th 3.15pm Kosmos 5
BOILING POINT
Director: Philip Barantini/Drama/UK
Feature Film Competition
Chef Andy is under stress: his luxury restaurant has just been stripped of two stars, all the tables are overbooked because of the holiday season, and his former mentor, a culinary icon, has shown up unannounced accompanied by a respected food critic. If that wasn’t enough, the mounting pressure is slowly but surely bringing the mood of his team members to the boil. How long will Andy manage to keep it all together? Director Philip Barantini takes us on a breathless journey through the fascinating hustle and bustle of a gourmet kitchen where different minds collide. Shot in one single impressive sequence that condenses an evening at the restaurant into 94 minutes, BOILING POINT casts its inevitable spell.
Sept 26th at 5.pm Corso 2 Philip Barantini (Director), James A. Cummings (Screenplay), Hester Ruoff (Producer), Sara Sehdev (Producer), Vinette Robinson (Cast), Ray Panthaki (Cast)
Sept 27th 6.30pm Corso 2 with Philip Barantini (Director), James A. Cummings (Screenplay), Hester Ruoff (Producer), Sara Sehdev (Producer), Vinette Robinson (Cast), Ray Panthaki (Cast)
Sept 29th at 2.45pm Kosmos 6
Oct 1st at 1.15pm at Kosmos 6
THE INNOCENTS
Director: Eskil Vogt
Special Screenings
9-year-old Ida moves with her family into a high-rise complex on the edge of the forest somewhere in Norway. With her older autistic sister, Anna, trapped in her own world, everyday life is far from easy. While looking for new playmates, Ida meets the neighbour’s boy Ben, who reveals her a secret: he can move objects with his thoughts. The girl Aisha, in turn, has the gift of hearing the thoughts of others – even those of Anna. As the four children begin to meet more often and experiment with their gifts, Ben’s powers begin to get out of hand. THE INNOCENTS is Scandinavian arthouse horror at its best!
Sept 29th at Kosmos 1 with Eskil Vogt (Director
Oct 1st at 3.45pm Kosmos 4
Oct 3rd 9.15pm Kosmos 5
DEATH OF A VIRGIN, AND THE SIN OF NOT LIVING
Director: George Peter Barbari/Lebanon/Coming of Age
Hashtag #letSEXplore
The teenagers Etienne and Adnan briefly watch a porn scene on their cell phones before getting serious: today, they and their buddies want to become real men. They have scraped together the last of their money and arranged to meet a sex worker. On the way there, the four young men brag about being macho and fantasise about their first time. Inner monologues, however, reveal how nervous and vulnerable they really are. Filmmaker George Peter Barbari sensitively exposes the desires and fears of his characters, who are growing up between modern and conservative ideas in Lebanon.
Sept 23rd at 8.30pm Kosmos with George Peter Barbari (Director), Christelle Younes (Producer), Reine Semaan (Producer)
Sept 25th at 9.30pm Kosmos 4 with George Peter Barbari (Director), Christelle Younes (Producer), Reine Semaan (Producer)
Sept 29th at 3.45pm at Corso 3
The 17th Zurich Film Festival takes place from September 23 to October 3.
Credit photos ZFF
