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ZURICH 2016

A record number of Swiss films at the Zurich Film Festival

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- From 22 September until 2 October, the city of Zurich will host the 12th edition of the festival, a decidedly ambitious event with 172 productions from 36 countries

A record number of Swiss films at the Zurich Film Festival
Miséricorde by Fulvio Bernasconi

The Zurich Film Festival will this year open its doors to no fewer than 43 debut works and 17 world premieres in an international environment in which Swiss films will nonetheless reign king. Nadja Schildknecht and Karl Spoerri, the two directors of the Festival, presented the programme for this year’s 12th edition last Thursday, an edition which they hope will confirm the steady (‘healthy’ in the words of the directors) growth of the Festival.

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With regard to the international competition, the guiding thread this year will be family, a universal theme and point of departure for broader reflections on globalisation, religion, identity and even love. The films in the running are Aquarius [+see also:
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by Kleber Mendonça Filho (Brazil/France), A Taste of Ink [+see also:
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interview: Morgan Simon
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by Morgan Simon (France), Two Lottery Tickets [+see also:
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interview: Paul Negoescu
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by Paul Negoescu (Romania), The Winter [+see also:
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by Emiliano Torres (France/Argentina), The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki [+see also:
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interview: Juho Kuosmanen
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by Juho Kuosmanen (Finland/Germany/Sweden), Jean of the Joneses by Stella Meghie (Canada/United States), Lady Macbeth [+see also:
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interview: William Oldroyd
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by William Oldroyd (United Kingdom), Miséricorde [+see also:
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interview: Fulvio Bernasconi
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 by Fulvio Bernasconi (Switzerland/Canada), Operation Avalanche by Matt Johnson (United States), Personal Affairs by Maha Haj (Palestine/Israel), Tamara and the Ladybug [+see also:
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by Lucía Carreras (Mexico/Spain), Trespass Against Us [+see also:
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interview: Adam Smith
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by Adam Smith (United Kingdom), Welcome to Norway! [+see also:
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interview: Rune Denstad Langlo
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by Rune Denstad Langlo (Norway) and Zoology [+see also:
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interview: Ivan I Tverdovsky
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by Ivan I. Tverdovsky (Russia/France/Germany). Also featuring in the international documentary competition are A Family Affair [+see also:
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interview: Tom Fassaert
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by Tom Fassaert (the Netherlands/Belgium/Denmark), All These Sleepless Nights [+see also:
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by Michał Marczak (Poland/United Kingdom), Houston, We Have a Problem! [+see also:
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interview: Žiga Virc
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by Žiga Virc (Slovenia/Croatia/Germany/Czech Republic/Qatar), Magnus [+see also:
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by Benjamin Ree (Norway) and The Other Half of the Sky [+see also:
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by Patrik Soergel (Switzerland), among others.

Schildknecht and Spoerri highlighted the strong presence of Swiss films, selected this year in almost every section, confirming the importance of the ZFF as a launch pad for several Swiss productions. They include the highly anticipated Sketches of Lou [+see also:
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(in competition in the Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria section) by Lisa Blatter, one of the ten brains behind ensemble project Wonderland [+see also:
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interview: Carmen Jaquier and Lionel R…
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, produced by young Zurich-based production company 2:1 Film, the latest endeavour by Ticino-born director Fulvio Bernasconi Miséricorde (a co-production between Swiss company Point Prod SA and Canadian company 1976 Productions, being shown in the international competition), and Swiss-Belgian co-production (P.S. Productions Sàrl and Tarantula Belgique) The Soul Of The Tiger [+see also:
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by young director François Yang, in the Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria competitive section.

Other European films in the line-up for the Festival include American Honey [+see also:
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Q&A: Andrea Arnold
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by English director Andrea Arnold, which was screened in the official selection at Cannes and will be presented at Zurich in the Gala Premieres section, Graduation [+see also:
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Q&A: Cristian Mungiu
interview: Cristian Mungiu
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by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu, which will be screened in the same section, and Salt and Fire [+see also:
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by Werner Herzog, which will be shown in the Special Screenings section. This year’s two retrospectives will be dedicated to Marcel Hoehn and Olivier Assayas.

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(Translated from Italian)

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