Zurich raises curtains with “Splitsville”, unveils the film Finance Forum

The 21st^st The Zurich Film Festival starts on Thursday with muscle programming and filled with stars that have some of the most acclaimed films of the year and, on the industry side, a brand new film financing forum which brings together Swiss financiers and Hollywood producers for potentially fruitful matches.

Zurich opens this year with the romantic comedy of Michael Angelo Covino “Splitsville”, with Dakota Johnson, who will be there to accept the Golden Eye Award of the festival celebrating his career.

“Splitsville” bowed in the Zurich Gala section, which presents some of the most anticipated films of the year, including “After the Hunt” by Luca Guadagnino, with Julia Roberts; The Palestinian drama of Cherien Dabis “everything you have left”; “New wave” by Richard Linklater; “The Smashing Machine” by Benny Safdie, with Dwayne Johnson; And the drama of Edward Berger players “Ballad of A Small-player”, with Colin Farrell, who receives the Fest Golden Icon Award.

Yorgos Lanthimos’ “bugonia”, with Emma Stone; The French drama of Rebecca Zlotowski “A Private Life”, with Jodie Foster; “Frankenstein” by Guillermo del Toro; “The Lost Bus” by Paul Greengrass, with Matthew McConaughey; And “Nuremberg” by James Vanderbilt, featuring Russell Crowe, who is also honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The ZFF also awards Golden Eye Awards for a career production at Wagner Moura, who presents his Cannes winner “The Secret Agent”, by Kleber Mendonca Filho, and Benedict Cumberbatch, at hand with “The Thing With Feathers by Dylan Southern”. He is also the director and screenwriter of Feting Noah Baumbach with his tribute to … the prize during the premiere of “Jay Kelly”, with George Clooney.

James Sweeney’s famous comedy drama “Twinless” is one of the 14 international works in the running for the Golden Eye in the competition of feature films, while the Gaza tragedy of Kaouther Ben Hania, dedicated to works that deal with human rights and political conflicts “.

As part of its industry program, the brand new film Finance Forum will bring international producers for the first time and Swiss investors this year.

“Zurich is still a financial capital and it is the world capital of wealth management,” said ZFF director Christian Jungen. “We have more than 100 private banks and hundreds of wealth management stores. And the producers are looking for serious and boring money again without any condition. They are therefore impatient to meet financiers. ”

The film Finance Forum will allow us and other international producers to meet and discuss the possibilities with around thirty Swiss financiers, he adds. This is an opportunity for American producers to explain to investors “why it is always worth investing in films”.

The state of the international film industry will once again be highlighted the Summit Zurich of this year, which analyzes both the current challenges and successes.

The event is proud Tom Quinn, founder and CEO of distribution and production house Neon, with its game changer price.

“Tom, for me, is really a game changer because in a world where the Indies shrink, as far as everyone is concerned, a round of layoffs follows the next, Tom is the example that the system still works, that you can make smart films, author films and still reach a general public. He is a visionary entrepreneur, ”says Jungen.

“Look at the history. If you win six palm of ORs in a row, you must understand something on the seventh art. And that is why we want to celebrate it. We want to explain its impact, and as a festival, say thank you, because we need Tom Quinns these days more.”

The Zurich summit will also examine timely questions such as the way in which the enrollment shows and film festivals maintain their relevance; Navigate political disorders; the growing importance of European and international production centers and incentives; And find the right release strategies for independent films.

Participants include the director of the Berlin Film Festival, Tricia Tuttle; Toronto Head Cameron Bailey; Helen Hoehne, head of the Golden Globes; David Unger of the international artist Group; And Abduljalil Al-Nasser de la Saudi Film Commission, which will discuss the booming film industry in Saudi Arabia.

The president of Row K Entertainment, Megan Colligan, will also be the president of Row K Entertainment; Patrick Wachsberger, head of 193; Michael Barker from Sony Pictures Classics; Daniel Steinman of 30West; And Roeg Sutherland, CAA Media Finance & International Film Group.

The Zurich summit offers a more relaxed and targeted event to analyze the overview, notes Jungen. Unlike other major festivals, “in Zurich, the atmosphere is easy to live and we have time. Most offers are concluded after Tiff, and we want to talk about the state of our industry. ”

The panel of navigation on political disorders is particularly appropriate, he adds, as American president Donald Trump has an impact on the industry and there is a lot of interest in discussing the benefits.

“It is really urgent to think, can we still make critical films? Last year, we had the film” The Apprentice “-that did not obtain a mass distribution in the United States,” he noted. “Of course, the President in office has an impact on how the films are published or not, and on which films are produced.”

Likewise on the agenda is the role of Youtube as a dominant force in entertainment and its position in the film industry, and the growing impact of artificial intelligence and IA companies. YouTubers and young representatives of the AI ​​industry will participate in the summit to discuss their work.

A special AI presentation is in store for the public, adds Jungen. “It will be surprising, because what happens and have an impact on the film industry is enormous. The pace and speed of progress are unknown.

“Whether political disorders or AI, there is more emergency with regard to these subjects than in recent years, because these are subjects that change the situation.”

The ZFF, which attracted 140,000 visitors last year, embarked on a new era after Jungen led a management of its former owner, the NZZ Media Group. The new team seeks to position the ZFF as one of the first European cinematographic events presenting the favorites of the Oscars.

“We are increasingly becoming the place of the first European women with important American films that the world first in Toronto. And we are becoming more and more a place where studios, banners and Indies can position their films for the season of awards”, adds the jungen, noting films like “Ballad of a Small Player” and “Nuremberg” and the frequentation of problems with Contentors Oscar Farrell and Crowe “.

“This is the role for us to play.”