The Solothurn Film Festival (SFT) is the most important festival for Swiss film productions. Founded in 1966 in the Swiss city of
Solothurn
Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the Capital (political), capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the n ...
, the annual festival presents a representative selection of Swiss feature, documentary, and short film productions. In a series of public talks and panel discussions, the audience meets with members of the film industry to discuss the screened films and the culture of film in Switzerland. With over 60,000 visitors every year, the Solothurn Film Festival ranks among the most renowned cultural events in the country.
History
![44SFT Landhaus Uferbau](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/44SFT_Landhaus_Uferbau.jpg)
The Solothurn Film Festival ranks among the oldest film festivals in Switzerland and is the most important festival for Swiss film productions. In 1966 the Solothurn Film Guild organized a conference called “Swiss film today.” The aim was to generate new ideas and inspiration for young, independent Swiss filmmakers. From this evolved the association called “Schweizerische Gesellschaft Solothurner Filmtage” (SGSF), which is responsible for organizing the festival.
![Ausschnitt Plakat 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Ausschnitt_Plakat_1.jpg)
Although the Solothurn Film Festival has already existed for nearly half a century, there have only been three directors throughout its history: Stephan Portmann was the festival's first director in 1967; in 1987 he was replaced by Ivo Kummer. When Ivo Kummer accepted the position as head of the Film Department for the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (SFOC) as of August 1, 2011, Seraina Rohrer was appointed as his successor.
Between 1998 and 2008, Solothurn hosted the award ceremony of the Swiss Film Prize during the festival. In 2009 the award ceremony was relocated to the KKL Luzern (Culture and Convention Centre Lucerne). The nominees for the Swiss Film Prize are selected and announced in Solothurn during the festival.
Program
Swiss Panorama
The "Swiss Panorama" section is the centrepiece of the Solothurn Film Festival. It presents a selection of current Swiss film productions of all
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
s and lengths from all four
linguistic regions of Switzerland
The four national languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian, and Romansh. German, French, and Italian maintain equal status as official languages at the national level within the Federal Administration of the Swiss Confederation, ...
. The program reflects the diversity of filmmaking in Switzerland, encompassing documentary, fiction, experimental, short and animation films, as well as music clips.
Rencontre
Every year the special “Rencontre” program honours an individual whose work has played a significant role in Swiss filmmaking. The program presents a selection of film productions, while also enabling personal encounters. With “Rencontre,” the Solothurn Film Festival offers the opportunity to gain in-depth insight into the works of well-known Swiss cineastes and to meet with them.
Previous honoured individuals:
2014
Peter Liechti Peter Liechti (January 8, 1951 – 4 April 2014) was a Swiss movie director. He was born in St. Gallen, Switzerland.
He directed over 100 Swiss-German movies. He was nominated for many awards. Most of his movies were shown at the Berlin Interna ...
2013
Silvio Soldini
Silvio Soldini (born 1958, in Milan) is an Italian film director. Soldini has received 17 awards in his career and 32 nominations as of November 2015. His 2007 film ''Days and Clouds'' was selected for the main competition on the 30th Moscow Int ...
2012
Marthe Keller
Marthe Keller (born 28 January 1945) is a Swiss actress and opera director. She is perhaps best known for her role in the film '' Marathon Man'' (1976), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
Career
Early years
Keller studied ba ...
2011
Ruth Waldburger
2010
Niki Reiser
Niki Reiser (born 12 May 1958) is a Swiss film score composer and flautist. He is considered one of the most outstanding film composers of the German-speaking countries, winning the German Film Award five times. His debut was in 1986 the score for ...
2009
Léa Pool
Léa Pool C.M. (born 8 September 1950) is a Swiss-Canadian filmmaker who taught film at the Université du Québec à Montréal. She has directed several documentaries and feature films, many of which have won significant awards including the ...
2008
Walo Lüönd
Walo Lüönd (born 13 April 1927 in Zug, died 17 June 2012 in Locarno) was a Swiss movie actor, best known for his role in the movie '' The Swissmakers'' (''Die Schweizermacher'') along with comedian Emil Steinberger. He has had roles in 102 f ...
2007
Renato Berta
Renato Berta is a Swiss cinematographer and film director, best known for his collaborations with directors Alain Tanner and Jean-Marie Straub. Trained at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, Berta has worked as cinematographer in m ...
2006
Maximilian Schell
Maximilian Schell (8 December 1930 – 1 February 2014) was an Austrian-born Swiss actor, who also wrote, directed and produced some of his own films. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1961 American film ''Judgment at Nuremberg'', h ...
2005
Bruno Ganz
Bruno Ganz (; 22 March 1941 – 16 February 2019) was a Swiss actor whose career in German stage, television and film productions spanned nearly 60 years. He was known for his collaborations with the directors Werner Herzog, Éric Rohmer, Franc ...
2004
Jean-Luc Bideau
Jean-Luc Bideau (born 1 October 1940) is a Swiss film actor.
Personal life
Jean-Luc Bideau is married to Marcela Salivarova, a director of Czechoslovak origin. Together, they have two children: Nicolas, head of Presence Switzerland
Presence ...
2003
Pio Corradi
2002
Paul Riniker
2001 T&C Film AG,
Marcel Hoehn
2000
Jacqueline Veuve
1999
Alexander J. Seiler
1998
Claude Goretta
Claude Goretta (23 June 1929 – 20 February 2019) was a Swiss television producer and film director.
Life and Career
His 1973 film '' L'Invitation'' was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His 1981 film '' La prov ...
1997
Reni Mertens and
Walter Marti
1996
Alain Tanner
Alain Tanner (6 December 1929 – 11 September 2022) was a Swiss film director.
Early years and education
Tanner was born in Geneva, and studied economics at the University of Geneva. In 1951, he joined the film club which Claude Goretta had re ...
Focus
The Focus section addresses topical issues and was presented for the first time at the Solothurn Film Festival in 2012. In Focus 2012, ten films were screened in a program called “Beyond cinema” (Jenseits des Kinos). The films explored the boundaries of classic cinema, examining closely the current audio-visual landscape at home and abroad to discover new narrative styles as well as atypical production and distribution forms. A panel discussion and workshop were also held in conjunction with the Focus program, prompting the exchange between experts and the audience.
The Focus section evolved from the former Invitation section, which was geared to the cultural exchange and collaboration with the neighbouring regions in Europe.
Initially, in the 1960s, individual directors from abroad were invited. By the 1990s entire guest countries were presented in Solothurn.
Supporting program
The festival's supporting program offers a diverse number of information events, special screenings for children, as well as theme-specific panel discussions and workshops examining issues concerning the Swiss film culture and film industry in collaboration with various Swiss film institutions and film associations. These events address current topics in Swiss film culture and are geared directly to filmmakers and those who take an active interest in film.
One of the festival's signature features is the Film Club panel discussion: international film critics are invited to discuss current Swiss film productions.
Awards & Tributes
Numerous awards are presented at the Solothurn Film Festival. The awards not only honour filmmakers and their works but also pay tribute to individuals whose work in the Swiss film industry actively contributes to the success of national filmmaking. All award winners are listed on the official Website of the Solothurn Film Festival.
Awards & Tributes
Prix de Soleure - Jury Award
The Prix de Soleure, endowed with CHF 60,000, was awarded for the first time in 2009. It honours an outstanding Swiss film produced for the cinema with a distinctive humanistic
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "humani ...
message and impressive cinematic form. The Selection Committee of the Solothurn Film Festival nominates five to ten films every year; a jury, newly comprised every year, decides on the winner of the award.
Previous award-winners:
2014“L'escale” by Kaveh Bakthiari
2013 “Der Imker” by Mano Khalil
2012 “Vol special” by Fernand Melgar
2011 “Cleveland contre Wallstreet” by Jean-Stéphane Bron
2010 “Nel giardino dei suoni” by Nicola Bellucci
2009 “No more smoke signals” by Fanny Bräuning
Prix du Public - Audience Award
The Audience Award has been an integral part of the program of the Solothurn Film Festival since 2007. The audience votes on its favourite from approximately ten film productions screened in the festival's evening program are nominated. The PRIX DU PUBLIC is endowed with CHF 20,000 and awarded by the festival's principal sponsors, Swiss Post and Swiss Life, in collaboration with the Solothurn Film Festival.
Previous award-winners:
2015 ''Usfahrt Oerlike
''Usfahrt Oerlike'' (german: Ausfahrt Oerlikon) is a 2015 Swiss German-language film. It was filmed and produced at locations in Zürich in Switzerland, and is the second last film starring Mathias Gnädinger, and Jörg Schneider's last movie film ...
'' by Paul Riniker
2014 “Neuland” by Anna Thommen
2013 “More Than Honey” by Markus Imhoof
2012 “Die Wiesenberger” by Bernhard Weber and Martin Schilt
2011 “Sommervögel” by Paul Riniker
2010 “Bödälä – Dance the Rhythm” by Gitta Gsell
2009 “Maman est chez le coiffeur” by Léa Pool
2008 “Das Geheimnis von Murk” by Sabine Boss
2007 “Vitus” by Fredi M. Murer
Prizes for emerging talent
There are three competitions in conjunction with the “Upcoming” section, which was initiated in 2012 to showcase emerging filmmakers, place new talent in the spotlight and examine current trends.
Upcoming Talent: SUISSIMAGE/SSA – Newcomer Prizes: The SUISSIMAGE/SSA (Swiss Authors’ Rights Cooperative for Audiovisual Works/Society of Swiss Authors) endowed the Newcomer Prize for Best Short Film which was presented by a three-member jury, amounting to CHF 15,000, as well as the Audience Prize for Best Animation Film, amounting to a total of CHF 10,000.
Upcoming Music Clips: Jury Prize: The SUISA Foundation for Music presents an award in conjunction with the “Music Clips” program the Jury Prize, endowed with CHF 2,000, presented to the director of an outstanding clip by a jury of experts.
Upcoming Lab: In 2012 the Solothurn Film Festival and SRG SSR, together with the web portals Frischfilm.sf.tv and moncinema.ch searched for the most original 60-second remake of the classic Swiss film production “The Swissmakers.” Approximately 40 filmmakers submitted works which were uploaded on the two portals, and a jury and the audience selected two winners.
Award-winners 2012:
Upcoming Talent: “La Noyée” by Vincent Weber
Upcoming Music Clips: “Hailey Fought the Law” (Blanket) by Piet Baumgartner
Audience Prize SUISSIMAGE/SSA: “Gypaetus Helveticus” by Marcel Barelli (CHF 5,000); “Bon Voyage” by Fabio Friedli (CHF 3,000); and “Borderline “Dustin Rees” (CHF 2;000).
Upcoming Lab: “Die Schweizermacher” in 60 seconds: “Die Schafmacher” by Thaïs Odermatt (Jury Prize) and “Swiss Maker” by Raphaël Tschudi (Audience Prize).
Award-winners 2013:
Upcoming Talent: “A World for Raúl
''A World for Raúl'' ( es, Un mundo para Raúl) is a short drama film. The film's run time is 15 minutes. It was written and directed by Mauro Mueller, and produced by Laura Pino and Ivan Madeo. It won a Student Academy Awards in 2013. The fil ...
” by Mauro Mueller
Mauro Mueller is an independent Swiss-Mexican narrative filmmaker. He won in the Student Academy Awards in 2013 and is member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. He is best known for directing the short films ''Ge.hen'nah'' in ...
Night of the Nominations
→ ''Article: Swiss Film Prize
The nominations for the Swiss Film Prize QUARTZ are announced on the Night of the Nominations by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture. During the Solothurn Film Festival members of the Swiss Film Academy, founded in 2008 by the film industry associations and presided over by film director Christian Frei, view the submitted films in the Academy Lounge or in the festival cinemas and submit the names of their nominees via secret ballot. The nominees (in nine categories) are announced on the “Night of the Nominations.”
The award ceremony was held in Solothurn until 2009. Since then it has been held, about two months after the Solothurn Film Festival, in the KKL Luzern (Culture and Convention Centre Lucerne) in collaboration with SRG SSR, the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, SWISS FILMS and the Swiss Film Academy.
Prix Pathé - Film Critic Prize
The “Prix Pathé - Film Critic Prize” honours film critics for outstanding contributions to current Swiss film productions. Since 2010 the Prix Pathé has been awarded in both the “Print Media” category and in the “Electronic Media” category, each of which are endowed with CHF 10,000. Benefactors of the prize are Pathé Schweiz and Pathé Films AG.
Previous prize-winners – Print Media
2014 Mathieu Loewer for his dossier on the film "L'expérience Blocher" by Jean-Stéphane Bron
Jean-Stéphane Bron (1969-) is a Switzerland, Swiss film director.
Born in 1969 in Lausanne, Jean-Stéphane Bron graduated from the École cantonale d'art de Lausanne (ECAL). After ''Known to Our Departments'' and ''The Way I Look at You'', he dir ...
(Le Courrier, 14.8.2013).
2013 Florian Keller for his contribution "Ein Land von Schissfilmern" (Das Magazin, 14.1.2012).
2012 Flurin Fischer for his film critique “Godards göttliche Komödie” on the film “Film Socialisme” by Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran ...
(Bündner Tagblatt, 3.12 2010).
2011 Christian Jungen for his critique “Bitte mehr Mut und Haltung” (NZZ am Sonntag, 17.1.2010).
2010 Christoph Egger for his film critique “Ein kurzer Sommer der Anarchie” on the film “Home” by Ursula Meier
Ursula Meier (born 24 June 1971) is a French- Swiss film director and screenwriter.
Career
A native of Besançon, the capital of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France, near the Swiss border, Ursula Meier graduated from Belgium's Institu ...
(NZZ, 19.2.2009).
2009 Martin Walder for his film critique “Szenen einer Ehe” on the film “Giorni e nuvole” by Silvio Soldini (NZZ am Sonntag, 30.3.2008).
2008 Matthias Lerf for his film critique “Jenseits und todlustig” on the film “Sieben Mulden und eine Leiche” by Thomas Haemmerli (Sonntags Zeitung, 25.3.2007).
2007 Alexandra Stäheli for her Filmbesprechung “Edelmiezen erstarren im Design” on the film “Nachbeben” by Stina Werenfels Stina is a feminine given name, common in the Nordic countries, and may refer to:
*Stina Aronson (1892–1956), Swedish writer
* Stina Berg (1869–1930), Swedish actress
*Stina Bergman (1888–1976), Swedish writer, translator, and screenwriter
*S ...
(NZZ, 3.3.2006).
2006 Antoine Duplan for his article “Regarder la mort en face” on the film “Exit” by Fernand Melgar
Fernand Melgar (born 1961 in Tangier) is a Swiss actor, producer, director and film editor. The son of Spanish immigrants, Melgar has lived in Lausanne since 1963. Melgar's documentary ''The Fortress (french: La forteresse)'' garnered eleven inter ...
(L’Hebdo, 1.9.2005).
Previous prize-winners - Electronic Media:
2014 Vincent Kucholl and Vincent Veillon for their satiric contribution on Swiss films ("120 secondes
''26 minutes'' (''26’'') was a humorous weekly French-language Swiss television programme starring Vincent Kucholl and Vincent Veillon. It was broadcast between 2015 and 2017 on RTS Un, following their daily radio programme ''120 secondes'' (' ...
", Couleur 3
Couleur 3 is the third radio station operated by RTS Radio Télévision Suisse. The station was launched in 1982.
It can be received in French-speaking Switzerland and in the canton of Bern on FM. The literal translation of the name is ‘Colo ...
, 25.01.2013 und 24.05.2013).
2013 Lisa Röösli for her TV-Beitrag "Thorberg" on the film "Thorberg" by Dieter Fahrer ("Kulturplatz", SRF1, 29.8.2012).
2012 Brigitte Häring for her Radio-Beitrag “Filmischer Einblick ins Teenie-Dasein” on the films “Romans d’ados” by Béatrice Bakhti and “Mit dem Bauch durch die Wand” by Anka Schmid (“Reflexe” program on DRS2, 1.2.2011).
2011 Daniel Hürlimann (1968 – 2011) for his Radio-Beitrag on the filming of “Lionel” by Mohammed Soudani (“Geronimo” program on Radio Svizzera Rete Due, 11.12.2009).
2010 Michael Sennhauser for his film critique “Maman est chez le coiffeur” by Léa Pool (DRS2 aktuell, 8.4.2009).
Prix d'honneur
The «Prix d'honneur» (founded by the Wasseramt Communities) honours a Swiss professional in the industry whose achievements have made an outstanding contribution to the Swiss film culture. The prize has been awarded since 2002 and is endowed with CHF 10,000. The decision is based on a proposal submitted by the Selection Committee of the Solothurn Film Festival.
Previous prize-winners:
2014 Martine Felber, makeup artist
2013 Beki Probst, Bernese cinema operator and head of European Film Markets, Berlinale
2012 Christian Schocher, director and cinema operator
2011 Françoise Deriaz, editor-in-chief Ciné-Bulletin
2010 Carlo Varini, cinematographer
2009 Ilona Stamm, distributor Stamm Film
2008 Mathias Kälin, cinematographer
2007 David Streiff, cultural administration
2006 Renato Berta, cinematographer
2005 Freddy Buache, intermediary of Swiss films as filmmaker and critic
2004 Hugues Ryffel, cinematographer
2003 Erich Langjahr, screenwriter, director, cinematographer, producer and distributor
Swiss Television Award
The Swiss Television Award honours Swiss actors for the Best Leading Role and the Best Supporting Role in a Swiss television production. The award in each of the four categories is endowed with CHF 10,000. The award is endowed by SWISSPERFORM and presented by a jury of representatives from SWISSPERFORM and the Solothurn Film Festival.
The Swiss Television Award was established in 2001 and awarded at the Solothurn Film Festival for the second time in 2012.
Previous award-winners:
2012
Lea Hadorn (leading female role in “Liebe und andere Unfälle”)
Roland Vouilloz (leading male role in the CROM series)
Marina Golovine (supporting female role in the CROM series)
Peter Wyssbrod (supporting male role in “Mord hinterm Vorhang”)
2011
Markus Fischer (Snakefilm GmbH) and Stefan Jäger for the film “Hunkeler und der Fall Livius”
Organisation
Schweizerische Gesellschaft Solothurner Filmtage SGSF
The "Schweizerische Gesellschaft Solothurner Filmtage" (SGSF) is the sponsoring organisation of the Solothurn Film Festival. This non-profit, politically and denominationally neutral association was founded in 1967 and is based in Solothurn. It is responsible for organising the Solothurn Film Festival and increasing public awareness of Swiss film productions. Some 580 members belong to the “Schweizerische Gesellschaft Solothurner Filmtage.”
Selection committee
The selection committee has four representatives from the Solothurn Film Festival and four external experts from the film industry. The latter are newly appointed every two years and, when possible, come from all four linguistic regions of Switzerland. The selection committee is presided over by the director of the Solothurn Film Festival and is responsible for selecting the films screened in the Swiss Panorama programme.
References
External links
Website Solothurn Film Festival
Facebook-Page of the Solothurn Film Festival
Twitter-Channel of the Solothurn Film Festival
{{Authority control
Film festivals in Switzerland
Solothurn
Tourist attractions in the canton of Solothurn
Film festivals established in 1966