The third annual 2008

Zurich Film Festival Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) is an annual film festival that has been held in Zürich, Switzerland, since 2005. The festival's main focus is to promote emerging filmmakers from all over the world. In three competition categories only first, second ...

ran from September 25 to October 5, 2008. Actor

Peter Fonda Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor. He was the son of Henry Fonda, younger brother of Jane Fonda, and father of Bridget Fonda. He was a prominent figure in the counterculture of the 1960s. Fond ...

will act as prexy of the feature film jury.Peter Fonda rides to Zurich, Variety, Sep. 11, 2008
/ref> The festival introduced a new section this year, Panorama D, dedicated to German-language film from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The showcase opened with the

Nicolette Krebitz Nicolette Krebitz is a German director, actress, model, and singer. She is often credited as Coco in her creative works. Life and work Nicolette Krebitz made her film debut at age eleven. Later, she hosted television and radio shows for childr ...

-directed psychological drama '.Peter Fonda rides to Zurich, Variety, Sep. 11, 2008
/ref> Highlights of the festival included

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

hits such as the Coen brothers' ''

Burn After Reading ''Burn After Reading'' is a 2008 black comedy spy film written, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It follows a recently jobless CIA analyst, Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) whose misplaced memoirs are found by a pair of dimwitte ...

'', and the psychological Iraq war thriller, ''

The Hurt Locker ''The Hurt Locker'' is a 2008 American war thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal. It stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Christian Camargo, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, and Guy Pearce. The film follo ...

'' directed by Kathryn Bigelow, as well as '' Religulous'', featuring

Bill Maher William Maher (; born January 20, 1956) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is known for the HBO political talk show ''Real Time with Bill Maher'' (2003–present) and the similar la ...

and lensed by

Larry Charles Larry Charles (born ) is an American comedian, screenwriter, director, actor, and producer. He was a staff writer for the sitcom ''Seinfeld'' for its first five seasons. He has also directed the documentary film ''Religulous'' and the mockument ...

. Also screening is a documentary about filmmaker

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...

directed by

Marina Zenovich Marina Zenovich is an American filmmaker known for her biographical documentaries. Her films include ''LANCE'', '' Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind'', '' Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic'' and '' Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired'', which won tw ...

, '' Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired''. Peter Fonda rides to Zurich, Variety, Sep. 11, 2008
/ref> Two films at the festival featured the work of actor Ben Kingsley, '' Elegy'' directed by

Isabel Coixet Isabel Coixet Castillo (; born 9 April 1960 ) is a Spanish film director. She is one of the most prolific film directors of contemporary Spain, having directed twelve feature-length films since the beginning of her film career in 1988, in additio ...

and '' The Wackness'' helmed by Jonathan Levine.

Festival Hits & Features: Out of Competition

*''

Blindness Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

'' - directed by

Fernando Meirelles Fernando Ferreira Meirelles (; born 9 November 1955) is a Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for co-directing the film '' City of God'', released in 2002 in Brazil and in 2003 in the U.S. by Miramax Films, which ...

*'' The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas '' - directed by

Mark Herman Mark Herman (born 1954) is an English film director and screenwriter, best known for writing and directing the 2008 film ''The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas''. Life and career Herman was born in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. He ...

*''

'' - directed by the Coen brothers *''Cloud 9'' - directed by Andreas Dresen *''

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ''Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon'' is a 2000 wuxia film directed by Ang Lee and written for the screen by Wang Hui-ling, James Schamus, and Tsai Kuo-jung . The film features a cast of actors of Chinese people, Chinese ethnicity, including Ch ...

'' (2000) directed by Ang Lee *''

Eagle Eye ''Eagle Eye'' is a 2008 American action-thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and with a screenplay by John Glenn (screenwriter), John Glenn, Travis Adam Wright, Hillary Seitz and Dan McDermott from a story by McDermott. The film stars Shia LaB ...

'' - directed by

D.J. Caruso Daniel John Caruso Jr. (; born January 17, 1965) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His work encompasses a variety of genres, including Thriller film, thriller (''Disturbia (film), Disturbia, Taking Lives (film), Taking Liv ...

*'' Elegy'' - directed by

*''

'' - directed by Kathryn Bigelow *''

Nights in Rodanthe ''Nights in Rodanthe'' is a 2008 American romantic drama film. It is an adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' 2002 novel of the same name. The film stars Richard Gere and Diane Lane in their third screen collaboration after '' The Cotton Club'' (1984 ...

'' - directed by

George C. Wolfe George Costello Wolfe (born September 23, 1954) is an American playwright and director of theater and film. He won a Tony Award in 1993 for directing '' Angels in America: Millennium Approaches'' and another Tony Award in 1996 for his direction o ...

*''Paris, Paris'' - directed by

Christophe Barratier Christophe Barratier (born 17 June 1963) is a French film producer, director and screenwriter, and lyricist. Early life and education Barratier is the son of the actress Eva Simonet and M. Barratier. He is the nephew of the film director Jacques ...

*'' Religulous'' - directed by

In Competition: Fiction

*'' Ballast'' directed by Lance Hammer *''Before the Fall'' directed by F. Javier Gutierrez *''Blood Appears'' - directed by Pablo Fendrik *''Boogie'' - directed by Radu Muntean *'' Boy of Pigs'' directed by William Sten Olsson *' - directed by Tom Schreiber *'' Dunya & Desie'' - directed by Dana Nechushtan *''For a Moment, Freedom'' directed by Arash T. Riahi *''Jerusalema'' - directed by Ralph Ziman *''The Man Who Loved Yngve'' directed by Stian Kristiansen *''

Moscow, Belgium ''Moscow, Belgium'' ( nl, Aanrijding in Moscou, literally ''Collision in Moscou'') is a 2008 in film, 2008 Belgium, Belgian film directed by Christophe Van Rompaey and written by Jean-Claude Van Rijckeghem and Pat van Beirs. Moscou (Ghent), Moscou ...

'' directed by Christophe van Rompaey *''Sell Out!'' directed by Yeo Joon Han *''A Thousand Oceans'' - directed by Luki Frieden *''Tulpan'' directed by Sergey Dvortsevoy *'' The Wackness'' - directed by Jonathan Levine *'' The World Is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner'' directed by Stephan Komandarev

In Competition: Documentary

*''Brides of Allah'' - directed by Natalie Assouline *''My Life Inside'' - directed by Lucia Gaja *''The Flower Bridge'' - directed by Thomas Ciulei *'' Suddenly, Last Winter'' - directed by Gustav Hofer & Luca Ragazzi *''Blind Loves'' - directed by Juraj Lehotsky *''The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins'' - directed by Pietra Brettkelly *'' Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired'' - directed by

*
Mr. Rakowski
' - directed b
Jan Diederen

Jury

*Peter Fonda - head jurist * Michael Dougherty *Stephen Nemeth *Claudia Puig *Herve Schneid * Dror Shaul * Andrea Staka Documentary Jury: *

Christian Frei Christian Frei (born 1959 in Schönenwerd, Solothurn) is a Swiss filmmaker and film producer. He is mostly known for his films ''War Photographer'' (2001), '' The Giant Buddhas'' (2005) and ''Space Tourists'' (2009). Frei has been an associate lec ...

*Walter Huegli *Lorna Tee

References

External links

Zurich Film Festival web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zurich Film Festival 2008 Film festivals in Switzerland 2008 film festivals 2008 festivals in Europe