22/08/2006

Several recent Swiss titles will be screened at the 30th Montreal World Film Festival (August 24-September 4).

In addition to the already rich Swiss programme, the festival will pay homage to Swiss actor Bruno Ganz and the legendary star of 1970s Swiss cinema, French actress Bulle Ogier.

Ultima Thule, the new feature by Hans-Ulrich Schlumpf (Der Kongress der Pinguine), shot entirely in Alaska, features in the World Competition section.

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Meanwhile, Going Private by Stina Werenfels, screened at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival, will take part in the “Focus on World Cinema” section along with two French-language features unveiled at Locarno.

First in line is My Brother is Getting Married by Jean-Stéphane Bron (Box Productions, Renens), director of the renowned documentary Mais im Bundeshuus – Le génie helvétique and the second is La vraie vie est ailleurs (lit. “Real Life is Elsewhere”), the debut feature by Frédéric Choffat, (Rita Productions , Geneva).

With Vitus [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christian Davi
interview: Fredi M. Murer
film profile] (see Focus) by Fredi M. Murer, a big hit in German-speaking Switzerland that is set for release in several countries, the homage to Ganz includes films chosen by the actor himself, including the Swiss classic The Inventor by Kurt Gloor (1980) and the Italian/Swiss co-production Bread and Tulips by Silvio Soldini (2000).

Alain Tanner’s masterpiece The Salamander (1971) features in the programme of films selected to honour French actress Ogier. Ogier also starred in two films by excellent Swiss director Daniel Schmid, who passed away recently – La Paloma (1974) and Notre Dame de la Croisette (1981) – as well as in Francis Reusser’s Seuls (lit. “Alone”; 1981).