Zurich Film Festival Kicks Off With Tighter Lineup, New Digs

The Zurich Film Festival kicks off its 20th edition Thursday with a lineup of new European discoveries, some of the most acclaimed films of the year, a new center and wide-ranging industry forum.

In addition to an impressive roster of international stars, including Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law, Richard Gere and Pamela Anderson, the event offers a deep dive into some of the most pressing issues facing the industry at its annual Zurich Summit Conference.

Opening the fest will be Justin Kurzel’s neo-Nazi thriller “The Order,” starring Law, who will receive the festival’s Golden Eye career achievement award.

Organizers this year have streamlined the festival, eliminating its German-language Focus Competition and trimming the lineup down to 107 films, 41 fewer than last year. Zurich now has just two main competitions, for feature films and documentaries, in addition to such sidebars as Gala Premieres, Signatures, Border Lines, Hashtag #BigCityLife, Sounds and ZFF for Kids.

On the industry side, the Zurich Summit Conference brings together leading international film producers, sales executives, creators, technology entrepreneurs and financiers.

This year the summit is feting CAA co-head and Zurich regular Roeg Sutherland with its Game Changer Award.

The conference will also tackle such timely topics as the impact of AI; financing indie films; the role of investors; the advantages of shooting in Europe; the changing management business and the challenges facing the theatrical sector.   

Participants at this year’s summit, which takes place Oct. 5, include Searchlight Pictures’ Rebecca Kearey; Neon’s Tom Quinn; AGC Studios’ Stuart Ford; UTA’s Alex Brunner and Theresa Peters; Fremantle’s Christian Vesper; Mediawan’s Elisabeth d’Arvieu; Film4’s Stefanie Fahrion; Anton’s Sébastien Raybaud; 30West’s Maren Olson; and Artist International Group’s David Unger.  

Zurich also boasts a best-of selection of the year’s festival hits along with world premieres, among them Ali Abbasi’s Donald Trump pic “The Apprentice”; Pedro Almodóvar’s “The Room Next Door”; Richard Gray’s western “The Unholy Trinity”; “Queer,” by Luca Guadagnino; Edward Berger’s “Conclave,” Halina Reijn’s “Babygirl”; Tim Fehlbaum’s “September 5”; Gia Coppola’s “The Last Showgirl”; Steve McQueen’s “Blitz”; and Sean Baker’s Cannes winner “Anora.”

Also unspooling is Cyrill Boss and Philipp Stennert’s epic German fantasy “Hagen,” a re-telling of the Nibelung saga.

Female directors are strongly represented, particularly in the race for the top Golden Eye award.  

“This year the female gaze dominates our competition,” says artistic director Christian Jungen. “Numerous films tell their stories through the eyes of women, for example ‘Linda’ or ‘Mother Mara.’ Eight out of 14 films are made by women, which is exciting.”

As for the Documentary Competition, it’s “more political than ever,” Jungen adds. “Many of the films, such as ‘Homegrown,’ which portrays three Proud Boys, or ‘Russians at War,’ about Russian frontline soldiers in Ukraine, deal with the fragility of democracy. Another major topic that comes into play in the film ‘The Battle of Laikipia’ [which focuses on agricultural communities in Kenya struggling with the effects of climate change] is the question of who actually owns the land and to what extent it can be commercially cultivated.”

Swiss films again play a central role in the fest’s lineup. “The ZFF takes place in Zurich, where two-thirds of Swiss distributors and production companies are based,” Jungen notes. “It is therefore important that we provide Swiss films a big stage and to bring the films into the conversation.”

Zurich this year is presenting 12 world premieres of Swiss films, including Lisa Brühlmann’s patchwork family drama “When We Were Sisters” and Jasmin Gordon’s “The Courageous,” about the struggles of an eccentric and delinquent mother in a small Swiss town.

Other Swiss films include Maria Brendle’s historic drama “Frieda’s Case”; Flavio Gerber and Alun Meyerhans’ ski documentary “Aiming High – A Race Against the Limits”; and Michael Krummenacher’s World War II spy drama “The Traitor.”

The event is also unveiling a new festival center to mark its 20-year run.  

“For our 20th anniversary, we are presenting a center that is more innovative, more open and more sustainable, both architecturally and in its spirit,” says Jungen. “The new center is primarily geared towards our audience, for our visitors to experience the stars as closely as possible. An even more open green carpet and a new outdoor deck ensure that film talents and audiences meet even more directly.”

Other stars and filmmakers feted at this year’s festival include Winslet, who will receive the Golden Icon Award as she presents her latest work, Ellen Kuras’ “Lee”; Anderson with a Golden Eye for her versatile career and role in Gia Coppola’s “The Last Showgirl”; and Berger with the A Tribute to… Award at the premiere of “Conclave.”

Likewise honored with Golden Eye awards will be Alicia Vikander, who will be on hand for the European premiere of Fleur Fortuné’s “The Assessment.” Composer Howard Shore will receive a Career Achievement Award, and Swiss cabaret artist Emil Steinberger will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.