The Zurich Film Festival and the Zürcher Filmstiftung have joined forces to organise the very first Zurich Film Day on September 29. The event aims to make known how socially and economically important filmmaking is to the city and canton of Zurich. Various Zurich films from the ZFF programme will be shown throughout the day, including the first ever Zurich-based Tatort episode entitled ZÜRI BRÄNNT directed by Viviane Andereggen with the two actresses Anna Pieri Zuercher and Carol Schuler as investigators.
Zurich is Switzerland’s movie business capital. Around two thirds of the country’s domestic filmmaking movers and shakers share the city with a myriad of (post) production companies, distributors and cinemas. On September 29, the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) and the Zürcher Filmstiftung will focus its attention on the importance of the local filmmaking scene. “On the international stage, Zurich is at the top of the list when it comes to cinema cities: it has more theatres per 100’000 residents than say, for example, Paris or New York,” explained ZFF Artistic Director Christian Jungen. “Although people appreciate the variety on offer, they know too little about how many jobs the film industry here actually creates and the revenue it generates.”
The Zurich Film Day gives the general public an opportunity to take a peek behind the scenes of the Zurich filmmaking industry: From 10:00 until 18:00, participants can take an open-day ‘film stroll’ along the value chain of the filmmaking business by visiting several Zurich-based production companies and filmmaking enterprises that are essential to the local filmmaking scene. From financing and development to production and postproduction, the doers and makers of the Zurich film industry offer a fascinating insight into their work. “The filmmaking scene in Zurich is a very vibrant one, but the city and canton’s inhabitants see very little of it. The finished product, the film itself, is often the only visible part. I’m delighted, therefore, that Zurich’s filmmaking scene can now be explored by the general public within the framework of the Zurich Film Festival,” said Zurich’s Mayor Corine Mauch. The film stroll is free of charge. Additionally, various Zurich films from the ZFF programme will be shown throughout the day, and our honorary guest Rolf Lyssy will elucidate his work in a ZFF Masters session.
The objective of the Zurich Film Day is to make tangible to the general public the social and economic value of film production. Film as a cultural commodity and creative magnet makes a region more diversified, more attractive and more liveable, and local productions carry Zurich stories out into the wider world. Additionally, the ZFF and the Zürcher Filmstiftung aim to promote interest in local film production. The Managing Director of the Zürcher Filmstiftung, Julia Krättli, explains: “During its production, every single film is an SME with dozens of employees and countless subcontractors. It’s absolutely fascinating to take a peek behind the scenes and discover the ways in which a finished film finds its audience, both at home and abroad. This day offers the general public an opportunity to take advantage of this insight.”
The Zurich Film Day will be rounded off by a Zurich Film Night entitled „Reloaded“. The evening serves to promote exchange between politicians and film workers. Corine Mauch will give a speech on the occasion of a panel on Zurich as a film location. The world-premiere screening of the first ever Zurich-based Tatort series episode entitled ZÜRI BRÄNNT, a production by Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen and Zodiac Pictures, will bring the evening to a festive close. The evening is supported by the Film Commission Zurich and the Zürich für den Film trade association.