PRESS RELEASES
Journeys of Discovery in the East: Russia, Guest of the 3rd Zurich Film Festival
The examination of other cultures, of foreign visual languages and narrative techniques, typifies the series New World View. This year, the Zurich Film Festival will introduce Russia as its guest country and impart a new image of a land that, since 1989, has been defined by its social and political upheavals. Through the works of these young directors, it is possible to deduce the questions and conflicts occupying today’s Russian society. The films differ greatly in their basic approach – both in the choice of narrative form and theme. No other movie-land in the world of late has experienced the same dynamic development in its domestic film industry as Russia has. After the crisis suffered by Russian film following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 90s, production is now booming – at least 100 films a year are currently being realised. The box office has grown accordingly by 30 – 40% in the last five years. After France, Russia is Europe’s strongest production country with the largest cinema growth worldwide. Russian cinema offers first-class art house productions in addition to the mainstream blockbusters. It is chiefly the young generation of Russian filmmakers who have enthused world audiences with their cinematic masterpieces - countless international prizes pay tribute to the quality of these new works.
Open your eyes to a new image of this huge country at the Zurich Film Festival. We will introduce the most exciting Russian filmmaking talent together with their most current works and screen numerous prize-winning films for the first time in Switzerland. The Zurich Talk ‘Contemporary Russian Cinema’ will supplement the programme. The Zurich Film Festival has been able to secure two greats of the Russian film scene: Sitora Alieva, director of the Sochi Film Festival, the most important national film event, and Andrei Plachov, leading film critic and president of the film critics’ association FIPRESCI.
The New World View series will be curated by the Russian born Nikolaj Nikitin, founder, publisher and chief editor of the German film magazine Schnitt, member of numerous organisations and bodies relating to Eastern European film and contemporary Russian film scene expert. [more]
Oliver Stone, Pavel Lungin, Jim Stark: Guests of the Zurich Master Class (October 3 – 7, 2007)
The Zurich Film Festival, in cooperation with Swiss Television, invites 25 extremely promising filmmakers to profit from the rich experience of renowned filmmakers in six intensive workshops. Enterprising producers, directors and screenplay writers from Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Italy and France who have already drawn attention to themselves by taking part in festivals and winning awards are called upon to submit their application before September 3, 2007. The workshop talks will be conducted in the German, French, Italian and English Languages. [more]
Oliver Stone in Zurich
The Zurich Film Festival is looking forward to welcoming one of the most established directors of film history to Zurich, a director who has not only reflected upon and portrayed the political domain, but has also significantlyinfluenced it through his work and the resulting discussions it generated. His films provoke and unsettle. He is considered a luminary of controversial themes and political provocation: The three-times Oscar winner and cult director Oliver Stone became known as the “Great discomforter of US cinema”(der Spiegel) with films such as Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Wall Street, JFK, Natural Born Killers and World Trade Center. We present the most famous of Stone’s films in which he critically examines and questions American society. The director will be in Zurich to accept the “Golden Eye” at the Awards Ceremony on October 6, 2007.
Variety presents „Variety’s New Talent Award“ at the Zurich Film Festival
Variety is regarded as the world’s most important and influential film and media industry magazine and the leading source of all news and background information from the entertainment industry. [more]
