switzerland

13. International Screenwriters´ Workshop & Master ClassES 201313. International Screenwriters´ Workshop & Master ClassES 2013CINEMA OF SWITZERLANDCINEMA OF SWITZERLANDSwitzerland does not have a large film industry, and, like other small European countries,is heavily dependent on state support. Film support has the potential to makea decisive contribution to the cultural identity of the country. However, the subsidiesare not high enough to maintain an industry that produces films in French, Germanand Italian, and output has lagged behind that of other European countries.Swiss films are not well known around the world, except perhaps to a handful ofmovie buffs. Of course, there is the question of defining what makes a film Swiss - is aHollywood film by a Swiss director as “Swiss“ as a film set in Switzerland, using Swissactors and focussing on life in Switzerland?In the 1970s, mainly French-speaking Swiss directors such as Alain Tanner and Jean-Luc Godard helped to put Swiss films on the cinematographic map. Godard, born to aSwiss family in Paris, spent his early years in Switzerland but later returned to Franceand was very much influenced by the French cinematic tradition. Swiss film-makerssuch as Rolf Lyssy, Daniel Schmid, Fredy Murer and Yves Yersin, on the other hand,have taken Swiss life as the basis for their films.The most succesful Swiss film is Lyssy‘s DIE SCHWEIZERMACHER (THE SWISS-MAKERS), made in 1978, a satirical comedy that deals with the difficulties facingforeigners who want to become Swiss citizens. Schmid‘s Beresina, or the Last Days ofSwitzerland, which appeared in 1999, is a comedy which also did fairly well outsideSwitzerland. One of Murer‘s best-known films is HÖHENFEUER (ALPINE HEIGHTS),about incest in a remote Alpine setting. And Yersin‘s Les Petites Fugues (THE WILDOATS), made in 1979, was voted best Swiss film of all times by a panel put togetherby the national SonntagsZeitung newspaper in 2001. The film tells the story of a farmhand who buys himself a motorcycle and embarks upon a discovery of the world andhimself.JOURNEY OF HOPE, directed by Xavier Koller, won the Oscar for the best foreignlanguage film in 1991. The film tells the tale of three members of a Kurdish family insearch of a better life in Switzerland.About SWISS FILMSThe SWISS FILMS Foundation is the promotion agencyfor Swiss filmmaking. As a partner to Swiss filmmakers,it reinforces the visibility and positive awareness ofSwiss filmmaking at home and abroad. The foundation’sprimary tasks include distribution, networking andcultural promotion of Swiss filmmaking. SWISS FILMSdirects its activities towards film distributors, mediaprofessionals, special-interest groups, cultural institutionsand sectors of the general public interested infilm. The foundation has a performance-based contractwith the Federal Office of Culture. Further support isprovided by public as well as private funds.SWISS FILMS is the ambassador for Swiss film productionsand assists in creating a distinctive mark forthe film productions as regards cultural diversity andregional forms of expression. It offers film directorsand producers promotional services and facilitatesinternational distribution of their film productions. Thefoundation works together with its national and internationalnetwork and organises retrospectives and filmprogrammes all over the world. It serves as the sourceand publisher of reliable information on independentSwiss film productions. SWISS FILMS identifies currentdevelopments on the film scene and organises itsactivities accordingly.The organisation was initiated approximately fortyyears ago by the film industry. In 2004 the Swiss FilmCenter joined forces with the film service department ofPro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council and the Swiss ShortFilm Agency to form SWISS FILMS, the film promotionagency. The foundation’s board of trustees is comprisedof nine members representing the various stakeholdergroups. SWISS FILMS is a non-profit organisation basedin Zurich, with an office in Geneva as well.SWISS FILMS is one of the ten founding members ofthe European Film Promotion (EFP), the network forEuropean film promotion agencies.Festivals & MarketsSWISS FILMS supports Swiss filmmaking at major international film festivals inSwitzerland and abroad. Financial contributions and subtitled copies can be providedfor participation at the world’s most important festivals: Annecy, Amsterdam, Berlin,Cannes, Karlovy Vary, Montreal, Rotterdam, San Sebastian, Sundance, Toronto, Venice.Swiss films win over the worldSwiss film productions are regularly invited to the major A-category festivals in Venice,Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and Locarno – and these films have the best chances ofbeing screened in cinemas beyond the Swiss border and on television. In 2011/2012this proved to be true with such films as “Abrir puertas y ventanas” (Back To Stay),“Summer Games”, “Sister”, “Die Kinder vom Napf” and “The Substance.” Almost twothirds of the fiction films were coproductions with neighbouring countries, including“Der Verdingbub” (The Foster Boy), which went forth to become the most popular filmamong audiences in Swiss cinemas for the past five years. Max Hubacher, who starredin the title role of the film, was celebrated as Shooting Star 2012 in Berlin. The year’sbest film productions were awarded the Swiss Film Prize «Quartz» – which has bynow become an internationally recognised brand for films made in Switzerland. Thethree-time «Quartz» winner – “Summer Games” – was selected as the Swiss candidatefor the Oscars 2012.SWISS FILMS facilitates worldwide intermediation and promotion by providingdistribution support and compiling film programmes in collaboration with renownedfestival and event organisers. More insight into the combined film promotion providedby SWISS FILMS can be found in the essay “More film culture!“52 53