Country Focus: Switzerland

Six Swiss films get export funding

by  Françoise Deriaz

02/11/2009 - With support from the Federal Office for Culture, film promotion agency Swiss Films has granted a total of €81,400 for the foreign distribution of six Swiss films.

Sums totalling €25,000 and €12,500, respectively, have been allocated for the German release of Micha Lewinsky’s Will You Marry Us? [trailer] (distributed by Schwarzweiss Filmverleih) and Oliver Paulus’ Tandoori Love [trailer] (Arsenal Filmverleih).

Lorber Digital has obtained €25,000 for the US release of Ursula Meier’s Home [trailer, film focus].

Meanwhile, €15,000 has been granted for the French launch of the documentaries Letter to Anna [trailer] by Eric Bergkraut (Nour Films) and Far from the Villages by Olivier Zuchuat (Hevadis Films).

Finally, Against Gravity has received €3,900 for Polish distribution of Peter Liechti’s The Sound of Insects: Record of a Mummy.

With an annual sum of €270,000, Swiss Films has since 2007 been promoting the export of Swiss films and majority co-productions to boost their theatrical exhibition abroad. A maximum of €25,000 is granted per film and per territory, with preference given to distributors from member countries of the MEDIA programme.