US/No Borders
In Vienna They Put You in Jail by Cheryl Blaylock
Salesman by Albert Maysles
The Gods of Times Square by Richard Sandler
The Power of Good by Matej Minac
Above & Beneath by Rene Alberta
The Long and Short of It by Sean Astin
this is JOHN by Jay Duplass
Border by Annette Solakoglu
Strike by Mikal Portnoi Lazarev
The ErlKing by Ben Zelkowicz
The Freak by Aristomenis Tsirbas
From the 104th Floor by Serguei Bassine
Jon’s Day by Peter Ko
Natasha by Signe Baumane & Josh Rechnitz
Swiss Shorts
Ibiza by Bettina Oberli
Deux by Franz Joseph Holzer
Eventually There by Vinz Feller
The Cookie Thief by Korinna Sehringer
The Flasher from Grindelwald by Martin Guggisberg
Trivial Killer by Isabelle Vossart
Blush by Barbara Kulcsar
Exit by Benjamin Kempf
Château de sable by François Rossier
Einspruch II by Rolando Colla
Supernova by Bettina Oberli
Summertime by Ana Luif
Tous à table by Ursula Meier
Tout est bien by Vincent Pluss
La mort en exil by Ayten Mutlu Saray
Nuit de Noces by Olga Baillif
Sjeki Vatsch by Thomas Ott
Swapped by Pierre Monnard
Max by Christian Davi
Murder They Said by Micha Györik
Bad Trip to Mars by Fulvio Bernasconi
Taxi Service by Elie Khalifé, Alexandre Monnier
Reines d’un jour by Pascal Magnin
Pastry, Pain & Politics by Stina Werenfels
Babami Hirsizlar Caldi by Esen Isik
Hell for Leather by Dominik Scherrer
Hotel Belgrad by Andrea Staka
Les Electrons libres by Frédéric Mermoud
Duel by P
hi
lippe Mach
Week End Break by Jean Paul Cardinaux
Swiss Animations
La machine à écrire by Antoine Guex
Geranienfriede by Marcel Hobi
Luora by Carlo Piaget
Nosfératu Tango by Zoltán Horváth
Replay by Isabelle Favez
Grüezi by Jonas Raeber
Heidi by Alain Gsponer
La différence by Rita Küng
The Flood by Simon Piniel
La Jeune fille et les Nuages by Georges Schwizgebel
Greenfix
by Christian Rittener and M
uriel Tiberghien
Le Petit Manchot Qui Voulait Une Glace by Samuel and Frederic Guillaume
Mobile by Gabriele Finzi
Swiss Documentaries
War Photographer by Christian Frei
The Tube by Peter Entell
On a clear day, Agnes Martin by Thomas Luechinger
Martha Argerich, Evening Talks by Georges Gachot
Le Garcon s’appelait Apache by Stephane Goel
Ricardo y Fidel by Christian Fei
Juntos by Rapahelle Aellig & Norbert Wiedmer
Heidi Island by Laurence Stajic
Hirten Reise by Erich Langjahr
Chronique Vigneronne by Jacqueline Veuve
Le Jardin des Delices by Pierre Kalbfuss
Timeless by Dominique Perret
Bonne Conduite by Jean Stephane Bron
La Parade notre Histoire by Lionel Baier
Une Suisse Rebelle, Anne Marie Schwarzenbach by Carole Bonstein
Christian Marclay by Luc Peter
Pas les Flics pas les Blancs pas les Noirs by Ursula Meier
Big Mac Small World by Peter Guyer
Au Coeur du Defi by Nicolas Wadimoff
Gambling, Gods & LSD by Peter Mettler
Venus Boyz by Gabrielle Baur
Filmmaking based on reality
by Micha Schiwow, Director of the Swiss Film Center
From abroad, Switzerland is normally perceived as a peaceful, quiet country in which most are able to live a life of ease. In fact, the small alpine republic nestled in the heart of Europe has been spared catastrophes, social unrest and wars for the most part since the founding of modern-day Switzerland over 150 years ago. Is it due to this serenity and the complacency of its inhabitants that filmmaking in Switzerland does not devote itself to epic storytelling or projecting the country into a utopian future? Present-day Swiss filmmakers are much more inspired by reality, by true stories from their immediate surroundings. Even their feature films frequently exhibit a commitment to documentary aspects: they are much less concerned with leading the spectators into a dream world than with drawing attention to figures and phenomena that exist in their very surroundings but sometimes remain hidden.
In “Shepherds’ Journey into the Third Millennium”, which was awarded the Swiss Film Prize in the category of “Best Documentary” in 2003, Erich Langjahr journeys across the country with the last of the nomadic shepherds who lead a form of agricultural lifestyle on which Switzerland has long turned its back. Ursula Meier, one of the most talented filmmakers of the new generation, renders visible the field of tension between prevention, repression and racism in her film “No Cops, No Whites, No Blacks”, where neighborhood youth meet up with the police. Jonas Raeber's animated film “Grüezi” provides a closer look at the mentality of the average Swiss, while Vincent Pluss, who is also a talent among the new generation of filmmakers, reflects in an amusing manner on the complexity of family discord in his short film “Tout est bien”...
With a concise selection of films – short, animated and documentary – the Swiss American Film Festival outlines new trends in current Swiss filmmaking, trends which by means of true stories contribute to the identity of the country and, at the same time, broaden the view of the world.
