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.
Controversially discussed filmmaker Oliver Stone
With Oliver Stone, the Zurich Film Festival has been able to secure one of the greats of political film. The three-times Oscar winner is best known for such films as Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Wall Street, JFK, Natural Born Killers and World Trade Center. Rarely has any other contemporary director been able to provoke and unsettle his audience in such a way, jumping Skillfully between various genres and budgets in the process. Enthralling discussions about political filmmaking and the work of a director in Hollywood are guaranteed with this cult director!
Pavel Lungin on his screenplay and directing work and Jim Stark & Quirin Berg on the challenges of independent film production
In this year’s New World View series, the Zurich Film Festival presents young and innovative directors from Russia – pleasing then, that Pavel Lungin, one of the most successful Russian directors, has been secured for the Master Class. He took the Golden Palm for his Taxi Blues in 1990 and won the prize for Best Acting Ensemble at Cannes in 2000 with The Wedding. In 2006, his film The Island was the closing film at the Venice International Film Festival and wiped the film prize board in Russia. Lungin will discuss his work as a director and the development of his screenplays with the participants.
Jim Stark and Quirin Berg will conduct the workshop talk on the topic of production. Jim Stark, producer and author from New York, produced the most famous Jim Jarmusch films including Down by Law and Night on Earth. He more recently took responsibility as a producer for such European co-productions as Factotum and Love, to which he was also very strongly bound with regards content in that he co-wrote the screenplays. The questions here will surely centre on His motivation to launch co-productions in Europe and the comparison of Hollywood and European Independent Productions.
Quirin Berg studied Production and Media Economics at the HFF München. Even during his studies he produced numerous short films and became one of the youngest feature film producers in Germany with his first feature film Mädchen Nr. 1. In 2006, Das Leben der Anderen, which he produced together with Max Wiedemann, won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, 3 European film prizes, 4 Bavarian film prizes and 7 German film prizes. Quirin Berg relates his jump from film school to Oscar and further career moves following the flood of international prizes.
A workshop talk with the jury of the 3rd Zurich Film Festival will round off the Master Class talks.
The completed application form, including a filmography, CV and a maximum five-minute work sample of previous films (a synopsis or treatment for screenplay writers) can be sent to the Zurich Film Festival to reach us no later than September 3, 2007.
Full details and all necessary information can be found under www.zurichmasterclass.org and www.zurichfilmfestival.org
The Zurich Master Class will be conducted in cooperation with Swiss Television.
The following main sponsors generously support the 3rd Zurich Film Festival: Audi, Credit Suisse, jobs.ch and L’Oréal Paris.
