The Solothurn Film Festival kicks off its 50th edition
- The 50th edition of the Solothurn Film Festival opened the show last Thursday with Unter der Haut, the debut feature film by young Bernese director Claudia Lorenz
What's Between Us [+see also:
trailer
film profile], opening film of the 50th edition of the Solothurn Film Festival, is a psychological drama that deals with the sensitive issue of repressed homosexuality. Franck (Dominique Jann) has been married for eighteen years to Alice (Ursina Lardi) but a terrible secret hides behind this seemingly serene family and marriage. Claudia Lorenz presents a family that must face up to a radical, sudden and upsetting change.
The choice for the opening film mirrors the festival's desire to highlight the strength and determination of emerging artists, as well as the cornerstones of Swiss cinema. This trend is underlined by the strong presence of debut works like Chrieg [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Simon Jaquemet
film profile] by Simon Jaquemet from Zurich, Pause [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by French-speaking Swiss Mathieu Urfer, both vying for the Audience Award, or even Concrete Love-The Böhm Family [+see also:
film review
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film profile]by Maurizius Staerkle-Drux in competition for the prestigious Solothurn Award. The latter, just like Chrieg was recently awarded at the Saarbrücken Max Ophüls Preis Film Festival.
The theme chosen for the “Focus” section follows the same trend by offering international and Swiss films, for the most part works by young directors working collectively, in groups or as production companies. It's an innovative way of “creating”, of bringing to the screen a cinematic vision that's often counter-current and outside of the traditional production circuits. They Chased Me Through Arizona [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Matthias Huser
film profile] by Matthias Huser from Zurich, co-produced by the collective 8Horses from Zurich or even Amour fou [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Jessica Hauser produced by Austrian production company Coop99 are among the films selected for this section.
During the opening ceremony host Seraina Rohrer (read the interview) didn't fail to highlight her concern for the future of Swiss cinema following the vote on 9 February against mass immigration that lead to the exclusion of Switzerland from the European MEDIA programme.
(Translated from Italian)
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