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"How can you prove that you are not someone?!" Arthaus Kino in Germany has revealed their first official trailer for a Swiss-German thriller titled Stiller, from the Swiss director Stefan Haupt. "I am not Stiller!" – this is how the famous novel originally titled "Stiller" by Max Frisch begins – now more than 70 years after its publication has been made into a film for the first time. Stiller is premiering soon at the 2025 Munich Film Festival starting at the end of June this summer. Director Stefan Haupt gives the literary classic a fresh new look while remaining true to the themes from the famous Swiss author. Starring Albrecht Schuch and Paula Beer in the lead roles, with Max Simonischek, Marie Leuenberger (from The Divine Order & Mother's Baby), Stefan Kurt, and Sven Schelker. During a train journey in Switzerland, American James Larkin White is arrested at the border. The accusation: he is the sculptor Anatol Stiller,...

Anton Corbijn, the renowned Dutch photographer and film director (Control, The American, Life) will head up this year’s competition jury for the 2023 Zurich Film Festival.

Joining Corbijn on the Zurich jury are two-time Oscar-nominated producer Finola Dwyer (Brooklyn, An Education), French director Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre (Mustang), Finnish filmmaker Juho Kuosmanen (Compartment No. 6), and VFX artist Bryce Nielsen (Roma, Iron Man 2). Together they will judge the competition line up at the 2023 Zff, which runs September 28 to October 8, and present the best film Golden Eye honor, which comes with a Chf 25,000 ($27,400) cash prize.

Malte Grunert, producer of 4-time Oscar winner All Quiet on the Western Front, will head up the jury for Zurich’s Focus sidebar, joined by Oscar-nominated producer Gabrielle Tana (Philomena); Katrin Renz, a producer on Margarethe von Trotta’s Ingeborg Bachmann – Journey into the Desert; editor Heike Parplies (Toni Erdmann); and Swiss actor Sven Schelker (Der Kreis...

Netherlands photographer and director Anton Corbijn has been named as president of the main feature film jury for the upcoming Zurich Film Festival.

Oscar-winning producer Malte Grunert (All Quiet On The Western Front) will be the jury president for the Focus competition, reserved for first, second and third features, while another Academy Awards winner, Last Men In Aleppo director Feras Fayyad will head up the documentary competition jury.

The juries each award a Golden Eye endowed with a $27,000.

“Anton presented his film Life about James Dean at Zff eight years ago, now we’re delighted that the world-famous director and photographer is returning to preside over the feature film jury,” said Zurich director Christian Jungen.

“Producer Malte Grunert and documentary film director Feras Fayya are also set to enrich the Zff with their wealth of experience. Our competitions are dedicated to promoting the next generation, so it’s encouraging...

Director Michael Steiner opens this year’s Zurich Film Festival with “And Tomorrow We Will Be Dead,” a timely thriller about a real-life Swiss couple captured by the Taliban while traveling through Pakistan in 2011.

The film is sure to generate headlines in view of the recent Taliban victory in Afghanistan that followed the withdrawal of U.S. forces. Yet it also offers a look at a complex geopolitical situation that not only includes the Taliban, but also Pashtun militants and the continuing impact of a century-old conflict triggered by the British-drawn border between Afghanistan and what was then British India that divided Pashtun land.

The film follows Daniela Widmer and David Och (portrayed by Morgane Ferru and Sven Schelker) as they fulfill their dream of driving the ancient Silk Road through Pakistan, where they are kidnapped and taken to the war-torn Pashtun region of Waziristan and handed over to the Taliban.

Munich-based sales agency The Playmaker has picked up international distribution rights to “And Tomorrow We Will Be Dead,” which is based on the true story of the abduction of a Swiss couple by the Taliban in Pakistan. Variety has been given access to the international trailer for the film, which opens the Zurich Film Festival. Disney will distribute the movie in Switzerland.

The film, directed by Swiss filmmaker Michael Steiner, follows the story of Daniela Widmer and David Och, who were kidnapped and handed over to the Taliban in 2011 while traveling through Pakistan. The story kept Switzerland on tenterhooks for eight months as the two were held as hostages, until they managed to escape. The pic is based on Widmer and Och’s book about their experiences, with the same title, published in 2013.

“I’m a storyteller and here I wanted to give a personal insight into the fate of...

The premiere will take place on September 23.

Michael Steiner’s And Tomorrow We Will Be Dead will be the opening film at the 17th edition of the Zurich Film Festival (Zff), which takes place from September 23 to October 3 2021.

The film will receive its world premiere on September 23 and will be the first screening in the freshly renovated Convention Center.

And Tomorrow We Will Be Dead tells the story of two real-life Swiss individuals taken hostage by the Taliban. Daniela Widmer (Morgane Ferru) and David Och (Sven Schelker) were captured in 2011 while travelling through Pakistan. Widmer and Och will be present at the premiere.

Festival

Taliban hostage drama “And Tomorrow We Will Be Dead,” by Swiss filmmaker Michael Steiner (“The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbruch”) will open the 17th Zurich Film Festival (Sept. 23 – Oct. 3).

The film follows the story of Daniela Widmer (Morgane Ferru) and David Och (Sven Schelker), the Swiss couple were kidnapped and handed over to the Taliban in 2011 while traveling through Pakistan. The story kept Switzerland on tenterhooks. For eight months, the two were held as hostages until they managed to escape.

“I’m a storyteller and here I wanted to give a personal insight into the fate of the two hostages Daniela Widmer and David Och, so that the audience understands the context,” said Steiner.

The world premiere of the film will take place in the presence of Swiss Federal President Guy Parmelin and the Mayor of Zurich Corine Mauch. It will be the first screening in the newly renovated Convention Center,...

Michael Steiner’s And Tomorrow We Will Be Dead, a true-life hostage drama about a Swiss couple kidnapped by the Taliban, will open this year’s Zurich International Film Festival.

Morgane Ferru and Sven Schelker star as Swiss couple Daniela Widmer and David Och who were traveling through Pakistan in 2011 when they were taken hostage by Taliban forces in the area. All of Switzerland followed the events as they were kept captive over eight months before they managed a spectacular escape.

And Tomorrow We Will be Dead will kick off the 17th Zurich Film Festival (Zff) on Sept. 23. This is the second ...

Michael Steiner’s And Tomorrow We Will Be Dead, a true-life hostage drama about a Swiss couple kidnapped by the Taliban, will open this year’s Zurich International Film Festival.

Morgane Ferru and Sven Schelker star as Swiss couple Daniela Widmer and David Och who were traveling through Pakistan in 2011 when they were taken hostage by Taliban forces in the area. All of Switzerland followed the events as they were kept captive over eight months before they managed a spectacular escape.

And Tomorrow We Will be Dead will kick off the 17th Zurich Film Festival (Zff) on Sept. 23. This is the second ...

For its 15th edition, the festival running 26 September to 6 October will place focus on ecology and on women, with the latter directing or playing lead roles in many of this year’s works. This year will see 170 films hailing from 58 countries presented during the Zurich Film Festival (26 September – 6 October), 12 in world premieres and 5 in European premieres. Opening this 15th edition of the event will be the weighty Swiss production Paradise War – The Story of Bruno Manser by Niklaus Hilber. The main actor, who plays the titular, militant Basel ecologist is the young and upcoming star of Swiss cinema Sven Schelker. It’s no coincidence that the opening film of the...

Film is based on true story of Manser’s 1984 Borneo expedition.

Denmark-based sales company TrustNordisk has added Paradise War, the based-on-a-true-story tale of environmentalist Bruno Manser’s 1984 expedition in Borneo, to its slate.

Directed by Niklaus Hilber (Amateur Teens) and starring Sven Schelker (Homeland) as Manser, the film was shot in 76 days in Switzerland, New York, Budapest and Borneo, including in the last areas of primary jungle on the island.

It is produced by Valentin Greutert for A Film Company GmbH (Switzerland) in coproduction with Philip Delaquis for Das Kollektiv GmbH (Switzerland). Ascot Elite are handling Swiss distribution for the film.

Genre market Frontières Platform (May 12-13), the co-presentation between the Fantasia International Film Festival and Cannes’ Marché du Film, will this year feature projects from Denis Côté, Ben Wheatley and Can Evrenol. The Frontières Buyers Showcase (Sunday May 13 at 4pm in Palais K) will feature 6 films, with producers screening footage for potential buyers, sales agents and festival programmers. The lineup includes Denis Côté’s (Vic + Flo Saw A Bear) Ghost Town Anthology, Jovanka Vuckovic’s (Xx) Riot Girls, which is handled by Xyz in the U.S., and Antonio Tublen’s (Lfo) Zoo, which is handled by Seville International. The proof of concept presentation on Saturday May 12 will include Girl Without A Mouth, the new film from Baskin director Can Evrenol, and Casey Walker’s UK-Canadian project Whitaker, produced by Andy Starke, Pete Tombs and Free Fire director Ben Wheatley for Rook Films alongside Jonathan Bronfman (The Witch).

Wild Bunch...

A young dad-to-be’s feelings of inadequacy lead him down the path of bodybuilding and steroids in Goliath, the impressive sophomore feature from Swiss-German director Dominik Locher. While the narrative might be quite familiar, there is a sincere and lived-in quality to the story and the characters that elevates it above similar material, with young actors Sven Schelker (The Circle) and Jasna Fritzi Bauer (Axolotl Overkill), as the working-class future parents, delivering subtle and sensitive work even when their characters are anything but. After its premiere in the international competition in Locarno, this should see interest from other major festivals as...

The Circle star to lead biopic of Swiss activist who lived in the Borneo rainforest.

Producers and cast and are rounding on a biopic of Swiss environmental activist Bruno Manser who disappeared years after living in the depths of the Borneo rainforest.

2015 Berlinale Shooting Star Sven Schelker, star of 2015 Swiss hit The Circle, is newly on board to play Manser.

Director Niklaus Hilber, whose drama Amateur Teens won the Best Film Award at the Zurich Film Festival last year, will direct. The English, German and native Penan-language script comes from Hilber and his Amatuer Teens collaborator Patrick Tonz.

Zurich-based production outfit A Film Company (Amateur Teens) will produce in collaboration with local distributor-producer Ascot Elite Entertainment Group, which in 2014 backed one of Switzerland’s biggest productions to date in the shape of Northmen: A Viking Saga.

Shoot is due to take place in Borneo and Switzerland in 2017 with the production expecting participation from the tribe with whom...

The Circle star to lead biopic of Swiss activist who lived in the Borneo rainforest.

Producers and cast and are rounding on a biopic of Swiss environmental activist Bruno Manser who disappeared years after living in the depths of the Borneo rainforest.

2015 Berlinale Shooting Star Sven Schelker, star of 2015 Swiss hit The Circle, is newly on board to play Manser.

Director Niklaus Hilber, whose drama Amateur Teens won the Best Film Award at the Zurich Film Festival last year, will direct.

Zurich-based production outfit A Film Company (Amateur Teens) will produce in collaboration with local distributor-producer Ascot Elite Entertainment Group, who in 2014 backed one of Switzerland’s biggest productions to date in the shape of Northmen: A Viking Saga.

Shoot is due to take place in Borneo and Switzerland in 2017 with the production expecting participation from the tribe with whom Manser lived. Ascot intends to open the movie in cinemas in 2018.

Activist Manser lived from 1984 to 1990 with...

Since 1998, the Swiss Film Awards -- the Quartz -- have been celebrating the Swiss film industry. The 18th ceremony took place in Geneva on the Friday 13th, with awards in 11 different categories. Stefan Haupt was certainly the big winner of the event, as his film Der Kreis won Best Film and Best Script, but also Best Actor (Sven Schelker) and Best Performance in a Supporting Role (Peter Jecklin). Mixing archive footage, interviews and fictional reconstructions, Der Kreis deals with the real lives of Ernst Ostertag and Röbi Rapp, two lovers who fought for Lgtbq rights. As the film works better in its documentary dimension rather than in its failed fictional attempts, its huge success at Quartz feels a bit paradoxical. Sven Schelker's Best...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

10 European actors to be celebrated by Efp in Berlin.

The UK’s Maisie Williams and Denmark’s Joachim Fjelstrup are among ten European acting talents to watch who have been selected for the line-up of European Film Promotion’s (Efp) Shooting Stars showcase at the 65th Berlinale (Feb 5-15).

An international jury of film professionals comprising Slovenian producer Danijel Hocevar, Polish director Malgorzata Szumowska, Swedish actress Eva Röse, UK film journalist Damon Wise, and French casting director Nathalie Cheron made its selection of six actresses and four actors from 23 nominations submitted by Efp member organisations.

The line-up for the 18th edition of Shooting Stars - with their nominated films - is as follows:

- Denmark: Joachim Fjelstrup (Itsi Bitsi)

- Finland: Emmi Parviainen (The Princess Of Egypt)

- Germany: Jannis Niewöhner (Sapphire Blue)

- Iceland: Hera Hilmer (Life In A Fishbowl)

- Ireland: Moe Dunford (Patrick’s Day)

- Lithuania: Aistė Diržiūtė (The Summer Of Sangaile)

- Spain:...

Title: The Circle (Der Kreis) Director: Stefan Haupt Starring: Ernst Ostertag, Roebi Rapp, Matthias Hungerbuhler, Sven Schelker. Switzerland has chosen the German-language ‘Der Kreis’, (The Circle) as its submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards. Director Stefan Haupt’s film takes place in the Zurich gay scene of the 1950s and 1960s and tells the true story of the relationship of Ernst Ostertag and Roebi Rapp. The film smoothly blends fiction with documentary to tell the real-life story of the couple, who met through The Circle, a Zurich gay club and magazine founded during World War II, which eventually became the first gay rights organisation in Europe. Usually [ Read More ]

The post The Circle Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Selection opens with a documentary about what motivates Somali pirates and includes the European premiere of 20,000 Days on Earth, starring Nick Cave, and 10 world premieres.Scroll down for full list

The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 6-16) has unveiled the 16 films that will make up the documentary section of its Panorama strand.

This year’s Panorama Dokumente comprises 16 films, including ten world premieres, and will open on Feb 7 with the world premiere of Dutch co-production The Last Hijack by Tommy Pallotta and Femke Wolting. The film depicts what motivates piracy in Somalia.

The topic of Africa, which is also reflected in the Ethiopian fictional feature Difret, is also central to Swedish filmmaker Göran Hugo Olsson in Concerning Violence. This commentary on Africa’s decolonisation, cites Frantz Fanon’s “The Wretched of the Earth” - and Us singer Lauryn Hill lends these texts her voice.

Olsson previously presented The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 about the Afro-American civil rights...