In a year where Visions du Réel boasts 31 Swiss productions and co-productions in its main program, it is clearer than ever that the country is booming with documentary talent. Another strong proof of that claim is the yearly Swiss Films Previews, organized by the country’s national film agency Swiss Films with the goal of promoting on-the-ground partnerships with programmers, sales agents, financiers and other potential backers.
Although this year’s crop of six projects is diverse in scope, the search for identity in a world of increased displacement is a prevalent theme. Dea Gjinovci’s “The Beauty of the Donkey” sees a filmmaker return to Kosovo alongside her father, who has lived in exile for over six decades; Anne-Frédérique Widmann’s “Shewit” trails the titular refugee over a decade from the moment she first arrived in Geneva after fleeing her home country of Eritrea; and in Benjamin Bucher’s “Sweet Belonging,” an African-Chinese dancer tries to find her footing in Europe.
Elsewhere, a French doctor takes what he hopes will be his final trip to the remote island of Tristan da Cunha in Tobias Nölle and Loran Bonnardot’s “Tristan Forever”; Amélie Bargetzi and Christelle Jornod’s “The Huntresses” chronicles the hunting practices of four women living in Valais; and Jacqueline Zünd’s “Heat” investigates how the rising temperatures affect how people live.
Out of the six projects, two are feature debuts, and two are sophomore features.
Speaking with Variety ahead of the Previews, Charlotte Ducos, documentary and marketing strategies consultant at Swiss Films, says it is “incredibly important to have a spotlight on the Swiss industry within the festival.”
Swiss Films has regular updates with Swiss production companies with follow-ups throughout the year. The projects selected for the Swiss Previews are those the agency deems to have “the most international potential” and those “able to meet additional partners, financiers and world sales.” “We are also looking to start creating buzz around films because those are projects that will be ready within the next six months and are all looking for festival premieres,” she adds.
“The Beauty of the Donkey” (Courtesy of Swiss Films)
“The idea is to discover talent, particularly when it comes to first features, and also highlight experienced producers who might take risks with newcomers from all backgrounds,” she adds. “We want to open the eyes of industry participants to talent and topics you might not really expect to come out of Switzerland. Swiss storytelling doesn’t have to be all about the Alps or banking. We have so many stories to tell.”
Ducos also emphasizes how exposing Swiss projects to international guests is key to maintaining the country’s great record of co-production. Currently, 43% of films in Switzerland are co-produced. “I think we are well-financed and that we should be reaching out to a lot more partners and co-producers in different countries,” she adds. “Because we are a small country, it’s important to nurture our relationship with our European neighbors. We also have four very good film schools and the fact we can produce a lot also helps with additional financing and collaboration.”
“The Swiss Films Previews are the right moment to present this first feature project to the outside world,” says “Sweet Belonging” producer Olivier Zobrist. “We hope to arouse the interest of festivals and distributors in Nyon, to whom we will then send the final cut version, and are keen to see how the project is received, which will also be helpful for the editing process.”
Palmyre Lumina, producer of “The Beauty of the Donkey,” is also hopeful that the Preview will facilitate fruitful meetings, calling the market “a wonderful opportunity to share a glimpse of Dea’s hybrid approach on a personal and deeply emotional journey.”
Below, you will find brief descriptions of all six selected projects:
Sweet Belonging, dir. Benjamin Bucher
Joyce, a 22-year-old African-Chinese dancer, tries to find her way in Europe – torn between artistic and identity-related self-discovery and financial dependence on her mother’s TikTok business. The film explores the dilemma of choosing between self-fulfillment and familial obligations, showing how Joyce learns to embrace her mother’s modern family business and reflecting on the challenges of a globalized generation. Langfilm has world rights.
“Tristan Forever” (Courtesy of Swiss Films)
Tristan Forever, dir. Tobias Nölle & Loran Bonnardot
A French doctor has spent a quarter of a century visiting Tristan da Cunha, the world’s most isolated inhabited island. He sees Tristan da Cunha as his refuge and the friends he made over the years as his chosen family. At age 50, the doctor boards a ship to the island for what he hopes will be the last time, hoping never to return, but things aren’t as simple as they seem. In the chronicling of this search for isolation, the film trails a journey to perceived utopia. Hugofilm Features has world rights.
The Huntresses, dir. Amélie Bargetzi & Christelle Jornod
The film explores the special relationship between four women living in Valais, a canton in southern Switzerland, and nature through a chronicling of their hunting practice. “The Huntresses” goes from hunting trips to the preparation and handling of the meat to understand the intimate, sensual relationship between the women, the living creatures that surround them, and the environment they live in. Box Productions has world rights.
Heat, dir. Jacqueline Zünd
As the world keeps getting hotter due to global warming, new peak temperatures are registered every summer, but what does that actually mean for people? What does heat do to the body? How does it change us? Zünd’s film sets out to explore heat cinematically as an extreme condition, focusing on the Persian Gulf, one of the hottest regions on the planet, to paint a panorama of human stories and survival strategies. Lomotion has world rights.
Shewit, dir. Anne-Frédérique Widmann
The titular Eritrean refugee was only 15 years old when she first arrived alone in Geneva. Over the course of a decade, all captured on film, Shewit weaves in a story of exile, perseverance and emancipation. Through Shewit’s story, the director will explore issues of oppression, complex political systems, and hope. Intermezzo Films has world rights.
The Beauty of the Donkey, dir. Dea Gjinovci
The filmmaker returns to Makermal in Kosovo with her father, who has been in exile for 60 years. There, the two recreate his childhood memories with the villagers, still there despite the destruction of the village, reviving the Kosovo of the 1950s through this collective project and uncovering some shocking, hidden truths, including the mysterious disappearance of the director’s grandmother. Astrae Productions has world rights.
