Hansueli Schenkel

It's there, it's been Irène Schweizer's faithful companion for over 40 years, sharing her joys and sorrows, inspiring her and allowing her to live her dreams: her piano.

Subotika, a little-known island on the other side of the globe. An enchanting country with extraordinary sights, grand visions and a couple of minor problems.

Claudia is a talented girl who is about to embark on a career as an opera singer. However, an incident of purse theft will change everything, because it will bring Paul back to a life that the young woman had planned for.

The film portrays people with different time consciousness. A computer scientist works non-stop. Only when she gets home can she relax. A young employee suffers from sleep disorders and stress at work, and sinks into a state of decompensation. Ski trainer Didier Plaschy looks at the effects of slowing down and speeding up. Time historian Karlheinz Geissler takes a piquantly humorous look at our fast-paced society.

Two women and a man suffering from severe depression are accompanied by a camera for a year and a half. The acute phase of their depression is the starting point for this filmed account. How do they cope with their illness and their stay in hospital? How does their professional and family situation evolve after this major crisis? When do they feel cured again?

The film traces the mysterious story of the Indian elephant RAJA, who was sent on an adventurous journey from the forests of Kerala to Vienna around 1550, via Lisbon. Gandhi activist P. V. Rajagopal's explorations along the route uncover surprising facts and awaken fascinating associations. We witness the capture of the little elephant, its training, its work in the forest and its performances at temple festivals - until it is chosen as a status symbol by European rulers. A story of appropriation that continues to this day.

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Successful actress returns to her family home in rural Austria to visit her ailing father and her sister who spent her whole life taking care of him and her family. The reunion is marked by jealousy, introspection and a secret.

Two dissimilar types – the earnest impassive Bede and the easy-going Luki – suddenly find themselves thrown together. Their difficulties with women, the world, each other and themselves force them to search together for their own way. Hesitant and somewhat helpless, they turn to each other. Thus begins an obstacle race that is not without ist amusing side.

The travelling salesman Jonathan Fisch peddles glass eyes. His journey takes him to the edge of the province, where he checks in to a run-down hotel. The attic room number 606 has its pitfalls. Something rather peculiar is happening beyond the wall. Jonathan Fisch can expect a very turbulent night. A night that begins one evening in late autumn and doesn’t end until spring.

The film interweaves the stories of two generations of Palestinians. It tells the story of Elias Jubran, a music teacher and oud maker from Al Jaleel (Galilee), and his children, who live in a totally different way in Israel... or who have left the country in search of a more open way of life. The film shows what it takes for a culture - mired in the threatening environment of the State of Israel - to continue to thrive.

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The revealing life story of Güli Dogan conveys impressively and in exemplary pictures the long and difficult path of a successful integration. Between the Worlds is the portrait of a woman who is very well integrated professionally and socially in Switzerland, but who is emotionally strongly connected to her village, which hardly exists anymore.

Engaging with objects from everyday culture is a hallmark of Peter Volkart, both in his art objects and in his films. Volkart stages mysterious journeys that venture into unknown territory and penetrate the consciousness like will-o'-the-wisps, as in "Terra incognita." His short films have a magical appeal: they have been shown at numerous film festivals in Switzerland and abroad and have won many awards.

They came to Switzerland in the hope of a better life when they returned home. Thirty or forty years later, they're still here. Now in their retirement years, three couples who once came from Turkey and the Balkans are at a crossroads: to return or to stay? The question has been with these migrants all their lives in Switzerland. It's now urgent to find an answer, and the families of their children must also make a decision. Will the older generation return home? Who will look after old parents here or there?

Two musicians whose biographies could not be more different. And yet, they are not only linked by a passion for music that they share with their spouses. All three have enjoyed successful careers in their home countries, and now need to find new bearings in Switzerland. Parallel to her concerts, pianist Tamriko Kordzaia, originally from Georgia, gives lessons at a music school, composer and singer Samir Essahbi, who is Moroccan, performs regularly with his band, and Turkish singer Ülkü Fazilet Bozkurt is starting to perform again.

For a month, filmmaker Dieter Gränicher lives in an institution, in the village community of the deaf. As an attentive and increasingly familiar observer, he gets closer and closer to the village's inhabitants, who often suffer from a variety of handicaps, as they go about their daily lives. The film tells the story of the nuances and vivacity of sign language. It portrays human beings who, with great expressive power, overcome the limitations imposed on them by their disability, deeply touching the person opposite.