A jury with personalities from the international film scene
It is not without pride that the Zurich Film Festival discloses the names of the jury members who will award the ‘Golden Eye’ in the three competition categories. We were able to secure renowned personalities from the international film scene for just this purpose. The jury is presided over by the producer Edward R. Pressman (Wall Street, Thank You For Smoking). Further members are the German actress Jessica Schwarz (Das Parfum), the director Oliver Hirschbiegel (Der Untergang), the Swiss camera operator Ueli Steiger (The Day After Tomorrow), director Michael Steiner (Grounding) and the Arthouse Cinema executive This Brunner.
The jury president Edward R. Pressman has made a name for himself as a patron of talent. He has produced such films as Wolfgang Petersen’s Das Boot, Oliver Stone’s Wall Street and Talk Radio, Brian de Palma’s Sisters, and Badlands, the debut film from Terrence Malick. He has most recently made the headlines with Jason Reitman’s Thank You for Smoking, also a debut feature.
Jessica Schwarz is one of the rising stars of the German screen. The 28 year old gave her acting debut in Die Freunde der Freunde, for which she received the Adolf Grimme Prize. Following the berlinale hit Der rote Kakadu, she can currently be seen in Tom Tykwers adaptation of Süskind’s Das Parfum.
Oliver Hirschbiegel began his career as a TV director. He caused a furore in 2001 with his cinema debut Das Experiment. His second cinema film Der Untergang became an international sensation. He is presently working on the sc-fi thriller The Visiting with Nicole Kidman in the leading role.
The cameraman Ueli Steiger is one of the few Swiss to have made it in Hollywood. He has photographed Godzilla and Austin Powers amongst others, and painted Roland Emmerich’s drama The Day After Tomorrow with formidable expression onto the screen.
The Swiss director Michael Steiner has already celebrated two huge successes since last year. With Mein Name ist Eugen and Grounding – Die letzten Tage der Swissair, he packed cinema stalls and brought yet more attention to Swiss Film.
In his positions as a film critic, programme director, distributor, producer and artistic consultant for established film festivals, This Brunner has acquired an international reputation in the film industry. For more than 20 years now he has been director of the Arthouse Commercio Movie AG with seven cinemas in the city of Zurich.
The Zurich Film Festival is generously supported by the following main sponsors: Nokia, Audi, jobs.ch and Winterthur Insurances.
