Naman Ramachandran The European premiere of Kristoffer Borgli‘s satire “Dream Scenario,” starring Nicolas Cage, will open the 19th Zurich Film Festival (Sept. 28-Oct. 8).
07.08.2023 - 14:29 / deadline.com
Switzerland has selected Camille Jaquier’s coming-of-age period drama Thunder (Foudre) as its entry for the Best International Film category at the 2024 Oscars.
Set in 1900, the film stars Lilith Grasmug as a 17-year-old girl on the cusp of taking vows to become a nun, whose life is set on another course following the sudden death of her older sister.
She returns to her family after five years in the convent to help on their farm in a mountain village. The mysteries surrounding her sister’s death prompt her to fight for her right to self-determination and to rebel against the strict expectations of the village community.
The drama originally world premiered in Toronto’s Platform line-up in 2022 and then played at a host of other festivals including San Sebastian, Zurich, Busan and Sydney.
“Set in an archaic mountain scenery, liberation and sisterhood are at the center of this timely feminist period film. Carmen Jaquier’s uniquely sensual first feature skillfully explores sexuality and faith and captivates with its nuanced mise-en-scène and evocative imagery,” wrote the Swiss selection committee.
Jaquier studied Film and Screenwriting at Ecal Lausanne and HEAD Geneva and has made several award-winning short films.
At this year’s Festival de Cannes, she was honored as an emerging talent as part of the Women in Motion Awards. She was selected by European Film Promotion to participate in the “Europe! Voices of Women in Film” talent program at the Sydney Film Festival in June.
Thunder is lead produced by Flavia Zanon under the banner of Close Up Films, her Geneva-based joint company with Joëlle Bertossa, who takes an associate producer credit.
The pair have made a name for themselves with high-profile feature films and
Naman Ramachandran The European premiere of Kristoffer Borgli‘s satire “Dream Scenario,” starring Nicolas Cage, will open the 19th Zurich Film Festival (Sept. 28-Oct. 8).
Chile on Wednesday named the anti-colonialist Western The Settlers from first-time feature filmmaker Felipe Gálvez as its official entry for Best International Feature at the 2024 Academy Awards.
Ilker Çatak’s drama The Teachers’ Lounge will represent Germany in the Best International Film Category at the 2024 Oscars.
Angelique Jackson Chilean filmmaker Felipe Gálvez, whose debut feature “The Settlers” premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, has signed with CAA for representation. Set in 1901, “The Settlers” centers on Segundo, a mixed-race Chilean, who rides south on an expedition led by a former Boer War English captain and an American mercenary to fence off land granted to Spanish landowner José Menéndez. Their mission soon turns into a “civilizing” raid.
Estonia has selected the Sundance prize-winning doc Smoke Sauna Sisterhood as its entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 2024 Oscars.
American hardcore punk band Turnstile have been forced to postpone a huge sold-out gig at O2 Victoria Warehouse just hours before the show was due to take place.
Nile Rodgers has called on a far-right Switzerland political party to “cease and desist” using ‘We Are Family’ in a campaign video.The singer-songwriter took to social media to condemn the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) for allegedly using a “sound-alike” version of the Sister Sledge single for a political video. Rodgers originally wrote and produced the track.He wrote: “I wrote ‘We Are Family’ to be the ultimate song about inclusion and diversity at all levels, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion or sexual orientation.“I condemn its use by the SVP (Swiss People’s Party) or anyone else not keeping with the values of the song and all decent people.
World of Wonder has announced the drag queens who will compete in season one of “Drag Race Germany,” the first German iteration of the award winning “RuPaul’s Drag Race” franchise. The show is set to premiere on Sept.
Spanish soccer club FC Barcelona has financial troubles. But it hopes to fix that with plans to list its content creation unit Barca Media on Nasdaq.
Marta Balaga The hype is real: Ali Ahmadzadeh’s “Critical Zone” (“Mantagheye bohrani”) has picked up the top Golden Leopard at Locarno. It has been a bumpy ride for the film, set in Tehran over the course of one lonely night and described by the fest as “a hymn to freedom and resistance.” As reported by Variety, Iranian authorities have been pressuring Ahmadzadeh to pull it from the Swiss festival – arguing it was shot without permission – and with the director himself banned from leaving the country. “Instead of actors, I worked with real people.
men and women. Right now, On Cloud Running Shoes are 30% off at REI.
John Bleasdale Guest Contributor Up to $20 million could be pumped into independent film production in Switzerland thanks to revisions to the country’s Film Act, which will compel streamers such as Prime Video and Netflix to invest in the local film business. A roundtable during the Locarno Film Festival titled “Swiss Film Industry – New Film Act and New Opportunities” outlined the changes that would come into force in the new year with the implementation of the revised act.
Marta Balaga You can approach old classics just like new films, argued participants during Locarno’s Heritage Monday panel. “I talked to an exhibitor in Paris and they don’t consider repertory cinema to be different from contemporary cinema. They are collapsing both models into one and it’s very interesting,” said K.J.
John Bleasdale Guest Contributor Swiss Films previewed four films to industry guests at a special event hosted by Locarno Pro, the industry section of Locarno Film Festival, showcasing generational range and genre diversity. The selection included the new film by Carmen Jaquier, the director of “Thunder,” which was announced this week as the Swiss entry in the international feature film category of the Academy Awards.
Jamie Lee Curtis is expressing her full support for the SAG-AFTRA strike after she was criticized for comments she made earlier in the week.
John Bleasdale Guest Contributor Switzerland has selected Carmen Jaquier’s standout first feature “Thunder” as its submission for the best international feature film category of the Academy Awards. The choice was announced Friday at a press conference held at the Locarno Film Festival.
Marta Balaga Alliance 4 Development – a co-development initiative for film projects from Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland hosted by Locarno Pro – is ready to embrace a “variety of genres, themes and visions,” says project manager Francesca Palleschi. Among 11 titles selected for its 8th edition, emerging filmmakers will be featured alongside their more established colleagues.
Busan International Film Festival has announced the 30 projects selected for this year’s Asian Project Market (APM), including new projects from leading Asian filmmakers such as Japan’s Koji Fukada, Indonesia’s Makbul Mubarak and India’s Rima Das.
Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Prime Video has acquired the Ancient Rome gladiator drama series “Those About to Die” in multiple European territories. The show is directed by “Independence Day” helmer Roland Emmerich and Marco Kreuzpaintner. The 10-episode first season will debut exclusively on Prime Video in Germany, the U.K., France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Poland, Turkey, Andorra, Monaco, Luxembourg and Belgium.
Michelle Yeoh and her longtime love, Jean Todt, have finally tied the knot after 19 years together.