PRESS RELEASES
Peter Fonda is Jury President at the 4th Zurich Film Festival
*Festival Programme announcement: 2 World Premieres in the International Competition
The festival administration announced the programme and the members of this year’s jury at their press conference on September 11, 2008. The 4th Zurich Film Festival will present selected films by young filmmakers from around the world in the cinemas corso and Le Paris. In order to encourage the creation of new films, The Zurich Film Festival will present only first, second or third works by directors in their competition and film series. The festival will screen a total of 70 Swiss, European and World Premieres between September 25 and October 5, 2008. The 4th Zurich Film Festival will include two World Premieres in its International Competition: The American debut feature Boy of Pigs by William Olsson and the Swiss drama Tausend Ozeane by Luki Frieden. This year’s Feature Film Jury consists of seven members headed by Jury President Peter Fonda. An additional selection of three experts will evaluate the documentary films.
European Film Promotion presenting Shooting Stars at the 4th Zurich Film Festival
Touring Shooting Stars Film Programme bringing young acting talents and their films
to Switzerland (3. – 5.10.08)
European Film Promotion (EFP) will be bringing Shooting Stars to the Zurich Film Festival (25.09. - 5.10.08) for the first time. Joel Basman (Switzerland), and Maryam Hassouni (The Netherlands) will be representing their countries’ cinematographies in Zurich and are being integrated into exclusive events at the Swiss festival. The project is being supported financially by the MEDIA Programme of the EU.
EFP developed the Touring Shooting Stars Film Programme in 2002 with the aim of making European films and young acting talents known beyond their national borders as well as increasing the chances of international sales. The young and ambitious Zurich Film Festival has already made its mark with the audience and industry after only three years and offers the selected international actors many opportunities to generate discussion about themselves and their films. Two of 2008’s nine Shooting Stars are being involved in the promotion of their films and events of the Zurich Film Festival between 3 – 5 October.
“Baader Meinhof Komplex” to open 4th Zurich Film Festival on September 25, 2008
On September 25, 2008, the opening of the 4th Zurich Film Festival will be celebrated at the cinema corso with the Swiss premiere of “Der Baader Meinhof Komplex” and in presence of director Uli Edel (“Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo”, “Letzte Ausfahrt Brooklyn”), screenplay writer and producer Bernd Eichinger (“Das Parfum – die Geschichte eines Mörders”, “Der Untergang”), journalist and author Stefan Aust, on whose novel the film is based, and leading actor Moritz Bleibtreu (“Lola rennt”, “Das Experiment”, “Chiko”).
Germany in the Seventies. The Nazi generation’s radicalised children, lead by Andreas Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu), the former star columnist Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck) and Gudrun Eisslin (Johanna Wokalek), fight against what they see as the new face of fascism: the US politics in Vietnam, in the Middle East and in the third world, which is also supported by leading heads of the German politics, judiciary and industry. The Red Army Faction, founded by Baader, Meinhof and Ensslin, declared war to the Federal Republic of Germany. There are dead and wounded people, the situation escalates, and the still young democracy is shaken to its core. The man who tries to understand the terrorists’ motives (although he doesn’t approve of them) also turns into their chaser: Horst Herald (Bruno Ganz), head of the Federal Criminal Police Office. Although his tracing is very successful, he knows that the Police cannot stop the spiral of violence on their own.
Producer and screenplay writer Bernd Eichinger (“Das Parfum – die Geschichte eines Mörders”, “Der Untergang”) adapts Stefan Aust’s bestselling novel “Der Baader Meinhof Komplex” for the screen. Director Uli Edel (“Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo”, “Letzte Ausfahrt Brooklyn”) stages the dramatic events which unhinged the democratic foundation pillars of the Federal Republic of Germany.
New World View: young and powerful filmmaking from Israel - crossing mental boundaries
With the series „New World View“ the Zurich Film Festival sets the focus on different cultures and presents each year a country whose current filmmaking stands out in a global comparison, opens new perspectives and broadens the cinematic horizon. At the 4th Zurich Film Festival, the series will be dedicated to Israel. From September 25 to October 5, 2008, the festival will, in the presence of several directors, showcase young and powerful film works from Israel.
Not only the celebrations marking 60 years of independence for the State of Israel, but also - and most importantly - the high quality of the films offered a perfect occasion to put the emphasis on young Israeli filmmaking. For some years now Israeli filmmaking has distinguished itself with an incomparable thematic diversity, a narrative and visual density and a pronounced sensibility for the multi-ethnic state’s history and its current social, cultural and political issues. The film series “New World View” will, beyond the stereotypes conveyed by the media, present a different face of Israel and draws a vital, partly self-ironic picture of the country. Despite being a small production country, the Middle-eastern state has generated a remarkable output of high-quality and independent works, which have during the last years caused quite a stir at international film festivals. Young Israeli filmmaking currently represents an exceptional phenomenon on the international scene and hardly any renowned film festival can do without an Israeli contribution. Eran Kolirin’s “The Band’s visit”, for example, last year convinced the jury of the 3rd Zurich Film Festival’s international competition and was awarded the “Golden Eye” for Best Fiction.
