Discoveries from Switzerland World Cinema

Statements from 60 to 80 year old lace-makers on looms from the Basle area about their profession.

In an island on the south of Spain, a lone man collects olives from a landscape made of water and dry branches.

When the terrible 1960 earthquake hit Agadir, the local cinema Salam was showing Ishiro Honda and Terry O. Morse’s Godzilla, King of Monsters! Weirdly enough, it was also one of the few buildings to survive the tragedy. Many years later, Gilles Aubry visits the place trying to understand how the memory of the seismic event has survived and is transmitted to the new generations. Shot inside the cinema and in the surroundings of Agadir, the film is driven by an abstract soundtrack recorded on location.

In the industrial city of Kawasaki, on the corner of the street where my grandparents used to live, bettors of keirin — a cycling race developed in post-war — gather in a tiny bar busy drinking, chatting and gambling at the velodrome nearby. Most are old men who struggle to make a living for themselves; most have lived in this town their whole lives. This film frankly captured with a fixed camera, gives voice to the lives of the elderly men who have been left behind by Japan's economy.

A collage-like work that plays with a variety of visual and auditory elements. The film combines scenes from Lausanne, Lake Geneva, and Odesa, interweaving cityscapes, stairwells, and street scenes. The images are accompanied by a mixture of distorted sound, choral singing, and marching music. Intertitles in Cyrillic script and humorous texts reinforce the film's experimental aesthetic. The film ends with a note stating that it was found in the year 3973 and dates back to 1972, with the assumption that the sound and colors were partially erased by radioactive residue.

A mouse gets lost in the archives of the league of nations in Geneva. She is going back to time, and discovers the history of this organization, which inspired much of the United Nations organization (UNO).

A video essay set in the Mexican-U.S. border town of Ciudad Juarez, where U.S. multinational corporations assemble electronic and digital equipment just across from El Paso, Texas. This imaginative, experimental work investigates the growing feminization of the global economy and its impact on Mexican women living and working in the area. Looking at the border as both a discursive and material space, the video explores the sexualization of the border region through labor division, prostitution, the expression of female desires in the entertainment industry, and sexual violence in the public sphere.

Filmed in Quintay, sent to Santiago. For Claudia Muñoz. "In the rocks by the sea there is a woman watching the sun set. We read, we talk". J.M.

An introspective cinematic journey following the thin line between transcendental inspiration and bleak visions evoked by the spirit of vodka.

A skinny, young girl spends her time alone feeding pigeons in the park. But even they fly away from her. Suddenly, she gets company. But the beanpole feels uneasy about the new companionship, so she sets about going to a specialist for parasites.

Five young dancers are obsessed with tango, far from its homeland Argentina: in the Black Forest. Helena, Susanna, Christian, Joscha and Ruben are all single. Their all-consuming passion is a dance with rigid gender roles and hierarchical rules. How does this conflict with modern, everyday life? How are relationships and the longing for a partner affected by the tango life? "Tango on a Visit" unmasks the unique subculture and the emotional conflicts which are normally hidden behind the elegant spectacle of the erotic dance.

Bobsleighing in the summer is, of course, not really a very good idea, yet Daniel Zimmerman manages to do it. On a summer Alpen meadow, he patiently constructs a track of about ten thousand wooden slats. Thanks to the stop motion technique, his camera takes us on a thundering journey through the mountain landscape. The soundtrack provides an Olympic atmosphere. With a flashy parody of the ride film to boot. And a curious example of land art.

A hand-scratched, hand-painted film, mysteriously titled.

When the Wright brothers invented the airplane in 1903, it was hard to imagine there would be over 500,000 people traveling in the air at any point in time today. In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto invented Bitcoin and the blockchain. For the first time in history, his invention made it possible to send money around the globe without banks, governments or any other intermediaries. Satoshi is a mystery character, and just like the Wright brothers, he solved an unsolvable problem. The concept of the blockchain isn't very intuitive. But still, many people believe it is a game changer.

At Villa Ventura lives a wealthy but rather unusual family. Hoping to improve the son Mirko's communication skills, a pair of actors, Simon and Lola, are hired. But their drama class is of no interest whatsoever to Mirko. His interests lie elsewhere.

Heta and her seal live in a very special house with strange rooms and endless hallways. Heta’s whole life consists of carefully planned and executed routines. When these are suddenly turned upside down, her world starts to crumble, until she is forced to make an irrevocable decision.

Movement within a painting, which begins with the savagery of a battle and comes to a halt in a rendition of a masterpiece of the 15th century – The Battle of San Romano by Paolo Uccello.

A contemplative search for traces of life in an abandoned industrial area, which once used to be the biggest and most modern coal mine in the world.

Follow the journey of two legendary triathletes, Natascha Badmann and Daniela Ryf, as they prepare to race in the IronMan World Championships. The goal of winning the most prestigious triathlon in the world is an unwavering obsession for them both.

Miss Rain lives protected by water. Her brother spends his time on a boat fetching her between the lakeside village and the meanders of the river. Whether she is swimming or moving on the water to fish, she is reassured, in harmony with her element. When the rainy season is approaching and it is time to leave the floating dwellings for terra firma, Miss Rain remains alone in her cabin among the reeds. The land sends her back to her nightmares. For her, the forest is the place where the devil hides. Over 30 years ago, under the Pol Pot regime, all of her family was killed in the woods and her spirit has never recovered from it. Her dreams are still filled with shadows and flames.

Mira's spirit floats above Mumbai. She encounters several other souls, also victims of various incidents. Suddenly, time begins to reverse, and through flashbacks, Bumbai Bird reveals what brought these wandering spirits together. Kamal Musale directs a film as free as the air, set to music by Malcolm Braff. A mosaic of destinies viewed through the prism of Indian beliefs.

Against a backdrop of disturbing images the viewer is presented with a WhatsApp conversation between two lovers in the final months of their relationship. The film was funded by the Netherlands Film Fund and premiered at the prestigious 67th “Festival del film” in Locarno.

SVP National Councillor Arthur Aebi has checked into the Parkhotel for a fling with SP secretary Anita Fröhlich. But when they go to admire the view, a dead body is found on the balcony. As nobody is allowed to know about the meeting between Aebi and Fröhlich, the body has to disappear. Aebi calls his secretary Willy Waser, who then gets involved in the whole mess, not entirely voluntarily.

Ivan meets Paolo, little Jonas meets Ida, another Jonas meets Sandra and Annina meets Jonas - in July, at a campsite by a river.

Social systems come and go, but people remain. Since Soviet times an old ukrainian bus has been running along the outermost EU border. At the junction of this geo-political construct this old bus appears as fragile as the past itself. Will the bus come? Or not? Passengers wait patiently at the bus stop: and they dream that the bus will take them - perhaps to a better future.

Octave - 76 years old, married for 50 years, 5 children, 11 grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren - has doubts. He wonders if he likes or not the taste of Brussels sprouts.

An 80-hour film being printed and shown in cycles every four years at a remote location in Greece.

Chaima, a 25-year-old woman of Maghreb origin, lives with her parents in a popular neighbourhood on the outskirts of Geneva. It's her day off, she pretends to go to work in her uniform and retrieves her bag under the stairwell. She joins her friend and accomplice Leila. Together, they go off to party.

Accompany the well known Swiss photographer Stefan Forster on his trip trough Iceland. Look how his photographs are being made, witness how much effort Forster puts into his photographs, explore the beauty of Iceland and be a part of the adventure of being a photographer.

Experimental short.

A visual journey through Ecuador

Every morning on Couleur 3, Vincent Kucholl and Vincent Veillon parody the news using swiss stereotypes. On stage we meet again with those stereotypes: Sébastien Jacquet the junkie from la Riponne, Gilles Surchat recently fired from Schaffter Pives SA, Stève Berclas singer of BlackLion Genocide from Valais and lieutenant-colonel of the swiss army Karl-Heinz Inäbnit.

A little boy, who likes reading adventure stories much more than playing outside, has to realize that he isn’t as brave as the characters in his books. Entirely by accident, he becomes a hero after all.

A human and artistic adventure for a socio-educational movie approaching several current themes, far from fairy tales, but real unfortunately. Besides the homophobia, which is a defect(tare weight) and a shame in our time, this movie approaches the family tears and its dramatic consequences. All the people can feel concerned and reflect about this scenario punch of Greg Nashvil and Benjamin Karmer, gay people as heterosexuals...

Year after year, just after the monsoon season has finished, thousands of families travel to a bleak desert in Gujerat, India, where they will stay for an endless eight months and extract salt from the earth, using the same painstaking, manual techniques as generations before them. Director Farida Pacha spent a season with one of these families, observing the very particular rhythms of their lives.

Lebanon. War is imminent. Nasri convinces his pregnant wife, Nour, to leave. The couple waits until nightfall to flee. Certain they will return soon, they take only the bare necessities. And they are unaware that they are leaving behind memories of a lost paradise.

It's about a little village in Switzerland, and about one guy who lives there since 32 years and doesn't know anyone there...

Searching the Spirit of Switzerland

The habitual criminal Roby Schmucker is sent to prison for the fourth time. He steadily begins to have confidence in his cell mate Mohammed Hiab. Together they discover the dark scheme the director has to take responsibility for. In the struggle for freedom, Roby Schmucker can bring the head of the institution to his knees.

The Gotthard is everything in one: a pass, a water castle, a bulwark, the shortest north-south connection in the heart of Europe, a sacred mountain and, since the opening of the road tunnel in 1980, a symbol of progress and independence – but also a symbol of traffic chaos and environmental problems.

There are the “beautiful” and there are the “ugly.” And then there are the “beautifully ugly.” They all evoke emotions. And it comes as no surprise that a former village doctor refers to the “Silvesterchlausen” in the hinterland of Appenzell as the “healthiest fever ever.” No one really knows where the custom comes from. But every year on December 31 and January 13, it touches the hearts of many people of all ages in the Appenzell region and beyond. The film tells of this virus, these emotions and traditions bridging the gap between several generations.

This educational film cynically explores the causes and depressive effects of tourism on the physical and social environment of the Alpine region.

The life and works of Michelangelo are presented by German actor Mathias Wieman, in the the historical context of the High Renaissance era. A much re-edited American version was released in 1950 – The Titan: Story of Michelangelo.

The film should not be shown at the beginning or end, but in the middle of a program. The film should be shown in the same way as any other film. Immediately after the previous film, the house lights should be on. The festival curator stands in front of the audience and says the following sentence in German, without further comment, in fact: "Due to time constraints, the discussion must be limited to 8 minutes." After 8 minutes, the house lights go out, and the program continues without any comment.

Master of Cheese tells the story of the world's best cheesemaker who makes his cheese in a dairy the size of a living room. He knows every cow by name, every plant in his valley and produces cheese with pure intuition. His innate talents and boundless work ethic have allowed him to produce outstanding cheese in demand across the globe.