Matthias Kälin

Francisco Cisco Pancho

AUTOBIOGRAPHY: The personal history of Francisco Varela as told by him on his veranda in Monte Grande, Chile, on February 17, 2001 when he was already greatly weakened by chemotherapy but still extremely present and awake, three months before he died on May 28, 2001. As very few before him have done, Francisco Varela attained levels of accomplishment in Western science as well as in Buddhist philosophy and meditation. ORAL ANTHOLOGY: Individual interviews with Francisco Varela, Amy Cohen Varela, Bruno Latour, H.H. Dalai Lama, Tsoknyi Rinpoche; and poems by Francisco Varela, read by his father, Raúl Varela Rodríguez.

Guru: Bhagwan, His Secretary & His Bodyguard

The wild Seventies. A quest for higher consciousness, spirituality and sexual freedom. In England, young Hugh Milne hears the voice of spiritual teacher Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh on an audiotape and travels to India in search of his own self. Sheela Patel, a young Indian woman, is brought to the charismatic guru by her father. At 21, she knows: all she wants is to be with this man. In his Ashram in Poona, Bhagwan urges his disciples to meditate and practise tantric sex in order to reach a higher plane of consciousness. Hugh watches the guru's ascent as his bodyguard. Sheela becomes his secretary and the powerful boss of Bhagwan's model community born in the mountains of Oregon...

Das Summen der Insekten

The incredible story of how the mummified corpse of a 40-year-old man was discovered by a hunter in one of the most remote parts of the country. The dead man's detailed notes reveal that he actually committed suicide through self-imposed starvation only the summer before. Liechti's film is a stunning rapprochement of a fictional text, which itself is based upon a true event: a cinematic manifesto for life, challenged by the main character's radical renunciation of life itself.

Max Frisch, Citoyen

Max Frisch was the last big Swiss intellectual widely respected as a “voice” in its own right – a character hardly found today. The film retells Frisch’s story as a witness of the unfolding 20th century, wondering if such “voices” are needed at all, or if we could do without them.

Bird's Nest - Herzog & de Meuron in China

Schaub and Schindelm’s documentary follows two Swiss star architects, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, on two very different projects: the national stadium for the Olympic summer games in Peking 2008 and a city area in the provincial town of Jinhua, China.

Salonica

A look at Thessaloniki which for 450 years was mainly Jewish and the predominant language was Spanish. It was populated by the Jews who were expelled from Catholic Spain in 1492 who found refuge in the Ottoman Empire.

Dutti der Riese

Documentary about Swiss grocery store pioneer Gottlieb Duttweiler

Ettore Sottsass - Der Sinn der Dinge

Documentary about one of the most important architects of the 20th century.

Hardcore Chambermusic

This documentary follows swiss improvisation musicians and tells there stories.

Riviera Cocktail

This documentary charts the life of Irish photographer Edward Quinn who shot some of the most iconic photos of 20th century glitterati. He was a fixture on the French Riviera in the 1950s and witnessed its glitz and glamour. The film recounts a dazzling era of stars, starlets, playboys, princes and artists.

Maria Bethânia: Música é Perfume

Brazilian singer Maria Bethania has a 40-year singing career. A documentary shows her concerts and famous family.

Monte Grande: What is Life?

Documentary account of a man’s life in the face of imminent death – Francisco Varela's story told affectionately and gently, touchingly and astutely. Varela spent his life building bridges: between Western science and Eastern wisdom, neurobiology and philosophy, abstract theory and practical life. This film seeks to deconstructs the prevailing division between science and art.

Ferdinand Hodler - The Heart Is My Eye

Bütler’s film is the first documentary to tell the story of the great artist Ferdinand Hodler, a huge national figure in Swiss art history. Born in 19th Century Bern, Hodler was an orphan whose painting of Wilhelm Tell has become an iconic piece of Swiss art. Prominent contributors such as writer Peter Bichsel and artist Rudolf Schindler comment on what makes Hodler’s pictures so iconic. Enlightening, moving and far removed from any clichés, the film explains the great themes of Hodler’s work – man, nature, love and death – and takes a fascinating journey into an artistic and very contemporary world.

Martha Argerich Evening Talks

Martha Argerich is the last remaining pianist of legend. A wild child and a rebel at heart, this legendary Argentinean musician is surrounded by an aura of mystery: some find her too uncompromising, others generous and beautiful, yet to all she is without doubt incredibly talented. Thanks to these "evening talks", Georges Gachot lifts a corner of the veil: Martha Argerich shares with us her memories, confides in us her doubts, and transmits to us her incredible appetite for music making. Images of Argentina, rehearsals in the concert hall or at home, excerpts of recent concerts and archival clips complete this unique film on one of the most secretive and endearing artists of our time.

Big Mac Small World

On the Hamburger Route around the world, the film gives an insight into the lives of six people who have one thing in common: They work for McDonalds.

Die Reisen des Santiago Calatrava

A documentary feature about architect Santiago Calatrava.

Underground Messengers

Documentary about three men who from 1942 tried to inform the world public about the "final solution of the Jewish question" through their various connections. The film, which focuses entirely on the faces of the eyewitnesses interviewed, reports on their efforts to bring knowledge of the Holocaust into the world and focuses on the memories of those affected.

Devils Don't Dream!

Before his journey into exile Jacobo Arbenz, the overthrown President of Guatemala, is presented to photographers stripped down to his underwear: an image seen around the world. Arbenz had led the successful 1944 revolt against the military dictatorship, a regime that had oppressed Guatemala since colonialism. Arbenz, the son of Swiss immigrants, was celebrated as a national hero. Elected President in 1950, Arbenz was not a member of any party - he didn't issue any manifestos. But he began to fulfill his promises - farmers got their own land. 'The first act of justice since colonial times,' said Arbenz. In the early 1950s, with the Cold War intensifying, then Vice President Richard Nixon said, 'Arbenz is not a Guatemalan President.' Nixon called him 'a foreigner, manipulated by foreign powers.' The young President of Guatemala was soon overthrown, declared a traitor, and chased out of the country.

Il girasole: una casa vicino a Verona

The Futurist dream of architecture in motion here becomes reality: the Casa Girasole-its name describing its project-follows the light of the sun, for it is so constructed that it is capable of completely turning on its own axis. Fictional characters, joined by the old mechanical operator of the house and the daughter of the engineer, create a connection with this work of architecture and its history (Swiss Films).

Crystal Book

This European thriller, set in Sri Lanka, attempts to expound upon the philosophical implications of life, death, and memory. JB, an academic famed for his studies of oriental culture and alcoholic who has never recovered from his wife's suicide, returns to Sri Lanka to translate a book written on glass. It is supposed to contain Buddha's discourse upon memory. While he is there, an attractive nurse, Julia asks him to assist a young boy who wants to locate his father who is now living in a Tamil-occupied area. The Tamil terrorists will kill any trespassers. Compounding JB's conflict in deciding to go is that his former home where he lived with his wife is in that area. Unbeknownst to him, the boy is really a Tamil spy.

Arnulf Rainer - Sternsucher

A short documentary on Arnulf Rainer, famous for overpainting portraiture presenting the "face farce" concept.

Ludwig 1881

In 1881 Ludwig of Bavaria goes on a cruise on a Swiss lake. He takes with him a famous actor, Josef Kainz, to act out the scenes from a story which took place on the lake, at the actual locations.

Hyenas

A now-rich woman returns to her poor desert hometown to propose a deal to the populace: her fortune, in exchange for the death of the man who years earlier abandoned her and left her with his child.

Gito the Ungrateful

Back home in Bujumbura with a Parisian diploma in his pocket and expecting to walk into a civil service job, Gito finds himself both unemployed and caught between two women: his current French girlfriend Christine and his local old flame Flora.

Lumumba: Death of a Prophet

Documentary about African political leader Patrice Lumumba, who was Prime Minister of Zaire (now Congo) when he was assassinated in 1961.

Yaaba

A small African village. The story focuses on Bila, a ten year old boy who befriends an old woman, Sana. Everybody calls her 'Witch' but Bila himself calls her 'Yaaba' (grandmother). When Bila's cousin Nopoko gets sick it is Sana's medicine that saves her.

In Search of the Equator

A film about two young women, trying to decide how to go on with their lives and loves: Marie just dumped her boyfriend, who's married and can see her just secretly twice a week. At this point Pipa invites her to join her on a visit at her home at the coast of Portugal. Only when they are arrived there, Marie learns that Pipa has come to marry Manuel, and that she too is unsure if she'll be happy with her decision.

Douleur d'amour

A documentary set in São Paulo, Brazil, about transsexuals who talk about theirs lives and problems.