SWISS
SCIENCE FILM ACADEMY
Program 2024
Full-length Films
Basel (Stadtkino Cinema)
Thursday 7 November, 9:30​
TICKETS: free entry
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THE HEARING
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GENRE: Documentary
COUNTRIES: Switzerland
YEAR: 2023
LENGTH: 81 min
LANGUAGES: English, Dari, French, German, Tamil
SUBTITLES: German
LISA GERIG (Director & Writer)​
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Gerig studied film in Zurich and Geneva, majoring in editing. Her thesis film ZAUNGESPRÄCHE is a radically subjective look at the situation of people held in Zurich’s deportation detention center and won several awards. 2018-2023: Diploma studies in Documentary Film Directing at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, where she won the Promotional Award for Young Students in 2019. Today she works as a freelance filmmaker in Zurich and Cologne.
PODIUM DISCUSSION
ASYL PROCESS IN SWITZERLAND
Basel
Filmmaker: Lisa Gerig (Director and Writer)
Moderator: Gesa Teigelkötter (nccr – on the move; Université de Neuchâtel) ​
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STORY
What happens when your future depends on telling your own life story? Four rejected asylum seekers relive the hearing on their reasons for fleeing their homelands thus shedding light on the core of the asylum procedure. Those who succeed in recounting the personal danger in their home country “credibly and without contradiction” have a better chance of receiving asylum. Will the interviewees be able to describe their memories of traumatic experiences in such a way that they meet the official criteria this time?
A simple swapping of roles reverses the balance of power for once, with SEM interviewers answering the questions of the asylum seekers. In this way, THE HEARING not only provides insight into the crucial yet sensitive hearing, but also questions the asylum procedure itself.
Zurich (Filmpodium Cinema)
Thursday 7 November, 9:30
Basel (Stadtkino Cinema)
Friday 8 November, 9:30​
TICKETS: Free entry
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TOO MANY PEOPLE? TOO MUCH CONSUME? MOTHER EARTH AT ITS LIMIT
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GENRE: Documentary
COUNTRIES: Germany, Italy, Ethiopia, Denmark, China
YEAR: 2024
LENGTH: 72 min
LANGUAGES: German
SUBTITLES: English
LOURDES PICARETA (Director & Writer)​
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Picareta was born in a picturesque village nestled in the lush landscape of southern Portugal, nature has always played a central role in my life. From my early childhood spent exploring the wilds of the countryside, to my later studies in Germany, my passion for the natural world has been a constant driving force. As a journalist, I have travelled the globe, reporting on a wide range of environmental issues for German television and Arte. But now, as a mother of two boys, I am driven by a sense of urgency to do more. Through my films, I aim to bring attention to the pressing need to save our planet and inspire audiences to take action in their own lives.
PODIUM DISCUSSION
HOW TO BREAK THE TRILEMMA:
"POPULATION GROWTH, INCREASING ENERGY, CONSUMPTION AND RUIN OF ECOSYSTEMS"?
ZURICH:
Filmmaker: Lourdes Picareta (Director and Writer)
Moderator: Isabella Sedivy (Plan Biodivers) ​
Basel:
Filmmaker: Lourdes Picareta (Director and Writer)
Moderator: Fanny Georgi (Swiss National Science Foundation / SNF)
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STORY
We are just under eight billion. Fifty years ago there were only half as many people. But the fact that we are too many is not only due to our numbers, but above all to the resource consumption of each individual. Before one of us in Europe, for example, wakes up, we have already consumed more commercial energy than a farming family of 28 in a country like Ethiopia or Nigeria.
There are ways out of the cycle of overpopulation combined with poverty, through education for example. But those who break out of the cycle of poverty enter the cycle of consumption. Are there ways out of the cycle of consumption? That is what the film wants to find out. Is there a way out of the trilemma: "population growth, increasing energy consumption and ruin of ecosystems"?
Zurich (Filmpodium Cinema)
Simultaneous screenings with
Swissnex China, India, Japan & Korea
Friday 8 November, 09:30
TICKETS: free entry
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AI AS A FRIEND: DOES A CHATBOT RELATIONSHIP REALLY WORK?
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GENRE: Documentary
COUNTRIES: Switzerland
YEAR: 2024
LENGTH: 38 min
LANGUAGES: German with English/Chinese/Japanese/Korean subtitles
KATHRIN HÖNEGGER & TOBIAS MÜLLER (Einstein Co-Hosts)
Hönegger has been co-hosting «Einstein» since 2013 and has presented specials from Japan (robotic sciences) as well as Africa (how science supports development aid). She also works for Swiss Radio SRF3 (talk “Fokus”) as well as the art collective “Atelieer”. Hönegger studied journalism (MAZ).
Müller has co-hosted «Einstein» since 2011. His special interest is in digital transformation which has led to contributions to digital highlights with SRF in the past few years (Digitaltag, SRF Mensch-Maschine). Before starting his career in radio and TV journalism, Müller studied journalism (MAZ Luzern) as well as Multimedia Production (MSc at zhaw Chur).
PODIUM DISCUSSION
AI AS A FRIEND: DOES A CHATBOT RELATIONSHIP REALLY WORK?
Switzerland, Zurich
Einstein Co-Hosts: Kathrin Hönegger
Einstein/Science Editor: Andrea Fischli
Einstein Producer: Christian Bachmann
Moderator: Sahar El Khoury (Scientist and Public Speaking Coach)
Japan, Osaka
Expert: Tba
Japan, Tokyo
Expert: Goki Kusunoki (Samansa Inc)
China, Shanghai
Expert: Linda Sheng (MiniMax)
India, New Delhi
Expert and Filmmaker: Iram Ghufran (Shiv Nadar University):
India, Mumbai
Screening without expert
India, Bangalore
Expert: Ranjith Jaganath (National Institute of Advanced Studies, NIAS)
Korea, Seoul
Expert: Dasom Lee (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology; KAIST)
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STORY
Can we develop feelings for an artificial intelligence? And how would this affect our everyday conversations with a machine? SRF’s science program «Einstein» is conducting a unique AI experiment: Five participants let an AI chatbot into their lives for three weeks. The question: Is AI any good yet as a flatmate, relationship partner or best friend?
Will it always be a relationship between master and servant, as with digital assistants? Or will AI chatbots invade our routines and turn the conversations into something that feels pretty natural? And what if an AI suddenly challenges or deceives us? Could that even happen?
Bern (Cineclub Cinema)
Friday 8 November, 18:00
Zurich (Filmpodium Cinema)
Saturday 9 November, 11:00
Basel (Stadtkino Cinema)
Sunday 10 November, 17:15​
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ETERNAL YOU
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GENRE: Documentary
COUNTRIES: Germany, USA
YEAR: 2024
LENGTH: 87 min
LANGUAGES: English, Korean
SUBTITLES: English
HANS BLOCK & MORITZ RIESEWIECK (Directors & Writers)​
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Block and Riesewieck are directors and screenwriters in film and theater. Eternal You premiered at Sundance Film Festival as did their debut film The Cleaners which was also nominated for an Emmy Award and won the prestigious Prix Europa as well as the Grimme Audience Award.
PODIUM DISCUSSION
CAN MODERN TECHNOLOGY REALISE THE DREAM OF ETERNAL LIFE?
Bern
Filmmaker: Moritz Rieswieck (Director and Writer)
Expert: Tba
Moderator: Tba
Zurich
Filmmaker: Moritz Rieswieck (Director and Writer)
Expert: Tba
Moderator: Tba
Basel
Filmmaker: Moritz Rieswieck (Director and Writer)
Expert: Tba
Moderator: Tba
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STORY
What if you never had to say goodbye to a loved one? What if death and grief were concerns of the past? Filmmakers Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck pose these questions and more while examining one of the latest major breakthroughs in AI technology – open language models that enable realistic conversations with virtual reality avatars built using characteristics of the deceased. In essence, bringing the dead to digital life. Users, tech experts, journalists, programmers and psychologists, a broad and analytical account unfolds to reveal the far-reaching and often disturbing implications of this new technology. “A sprawling portrait of the emerging business that is digital afterlife technology,” (Rolling Stone), ETERNAL YOU both glimpses what the future of death in capitalism holds and examines what the human costs might be.
Zurich (Filmpodium Cinema)
Saturday 9 November, 14:00
Basel (Stadtkino Cinema)
Saturday 9 November, 14:00​
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THE BURITI FLOWER
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GENRE: Drama/Documentary
COUNTRIES: Brazil, Portugal
YEAR: 2024
LENGTH: 124 min
LANGUAGES: Krahô, Portugese
SUBTITLES: English
JOÃO SALAVIZA & RENÉE NADER MESSORA (Directors & Writers)​
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Salaviza’s first short film ARENA was awarded the Palme d'Or at Cannes. His films were screened in the Official Competition of the Berlinale. And Venice Film Festival.
Messora worked as an assistant director on several projects in Brazil, Argentina and Portugal, including MOUNTAIN, João Salaviza's first feature film. Her films were also shown at Cannes and Berlinale Film Festivals
The Buriti Flower was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was shot over a period of fifteen months in the Krahô Indigenous Land.
PODIUM DISCUSSION
COLONIALISM LEGACY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Zurich
Filmmaker: Salaviza & Messora (Directors and Writers), online
Moderator: Tba
Basel
Filmmaker: Salaviza & Messora (Directors and Writers), online
Expert: Tba
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STORY
Through her child’s eyes, Patpro will go through three periods of the history of her indigenous people, in the heart of the Brazilian forest. Tirelessly persecuted, but guided by their ancestral rites, their love of nature and their fight to preserve their freedom, the Krahô never stop inventing new forms of resistance.
Lugano (Nielsen Auditorium)
Friday 8 November, 17:00
Zurich (Filmpodium Cinema)
Saturday 9 November, 17:20
Basel (Stadtkino Cinema)
Sunday 10 November, 14:00​
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ONCE UPON A TIME IN A FOREST
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GENRE: Documentary
COUNTRIES: Finland
YEAR: 2024
LENGTH: 93 min
LANGUAGES: Finnish
SUBTITLES: English
VIRPI SUUTARI (Director & Writer)​
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Suutari is an award-winning filmmaker known for her personal cinematic style challenging the boundaries between fact and fiction. Her films have been shown in the major festivals such as IDFA, Locarno, Leipzig, Vision du Réel and Gothenburg Film festival. The Idle Ones (2001) was nominated for the Best European Documentary (EFA award) and she has won several awards as the Best Nordic Documentary in Nordisk Panorama. Suutari has received the Finnish national Academy award, the Jussi-Award, three times. She is also the member of the European Film Academy. The previous feature documentary she directed and produced a feature documentary about architect Alvar Aalto (Aalto, 2020) received world-wide distribution.
PODIUM DISCUSSION
THE FUTURE OF ECOLOGICAL ACTIVISM
Lugano
Filmmaker: Virpi Suutari (Director and Writer), online
Experts: Christoph Küffer (Franklin University Switzerland)
Moderator: Heidi Toivonen (Franklin University Switzerland)
Zurich
Filmmaker: Virpi Suutari (Director and Writer)
Experts: Christoph Küffer (OST Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences) & Tamaki Ohmura (University of Zurich)
Moderator: Henriette Bornkamm (SRF)
Basel
Filmmaker: Virpi Suutari (Director and Writer)
Experts: Tba
Moderator: Tba
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STORY
Once Upon a Time in a Forest is a cinematic ode to a group of young radicals striving to defend Finland’s forests against the vested interests of the forestry industry and the political system, demonstrating that the outcome of this Once Upon a Time story – happily ever after or ecological disaster – rests largely on the shoulders of young activists like Minka, Ida and their comrades.
Zurich (Filmpodium Cinema)
Saturday 9 November, 20:00
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THE MIRACULOUS TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORKING CLASS INTO FOREIGNERS​​
GENRE: Documentary
COUNTRIES: Switzerland, Italy
YEAR: 2024
LENGTH: 130 min
LANGUAGES: Italian, French, German
SUBTITLES: English
SAMIR (Director & Writer)​​
After training as a cameraman, he began making his own films in the mid-1980s, which attracted attention at various festivals due to their innovative character. His list of works now includes over 40 short and feature-length films. Together with documentary filmmaker Werner Schweizer, he took over the production company Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktionin 1994, which has since made a name for itself as a talent factory for Swiss film. As a producer, Samir has been involved in a wide range of feature and documentary films such as «Dora; (2014) and «White Terror» (2005). After the documentary «Iraqi Odyssey» (2014), he is back behind the camera himself for his new feature film, the thriller «Baghdad in my Shadow», which deals with the fate of exiled Iraqis in London.
PODIUM DISCUSSION
THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORKING CLASS IN SWITZERLAND
Zurich
Filmmaker: Samir (Director and Writer)
Experts: Rosita Fibbi (nccr – on the move)
Moderator: Tba
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STORY
Samir uses private family photos, animations, music clips and unseen archive material to tell the story of migration from Switzerland’s southern neighbours in an entertaining way, from the post-war period to the present day. While the SP and trade unions led the Swiss workers' culture until the 1950s, these institutions became less and less important and a new force emerged that continues to shape our society today: Labour migration. Today, nobody talks about the «working class» anymore. And the term «worker» has become synonymous with «foreigner».
Zurich (Filmpodium Cinema)
Sunday 10 November, 11:00
Basel (Stadtkino Cinema)
Sunday 10 November, 11:00
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THE BATTLE FOR LAIKIPIA​​
GENRE: Documentary
COUNTRIES: Kenya, USA
YEAR: 2024
LENGTH: 84 min
LANGUAGES: Swahili, English
SUBTITLES: English
DAPHNE MATZIARAKI & PETER MURIMI (Directors & Writers)​
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Matziaraki directed, produced, shot and edited the New York Times Op Doc ‘4.1 Miles,’ for which she received an Academy Award nomination, as well as an Emmy nomination and a Peabody Award. The follow up Op-Doc to "4.1 Miles," "Container" premiered last winter in Palm Springs Film Festival.
Murimi is a multiple award-winning director/producer focusing on hard-hitting social issues. He has led numerous investigations for BBC Africa Eye.
The Battle for Laikipia” recently premiered at Sundance 2024.
PODIUM DISCUSSION
COLONIALISM LEGACY AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Zurich
Filmmaker: Daphne Matziaraki (Director and Writer), online
Moderator: Tba
Basel
Filmmaker: Daphne Matziaraki (Director and Writer), online​
Expert: Tba
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STORY
For centuries, Kenya's Laikipia region has been a grazing route for indigenous pastoralist communities. It is also home to white ranchers and conservationists who settled there during the British colonial era and stayed after Kenya's independence in 1963.
Since 2017, we have intimately filmed our characters as they confront a rapidly changing world. Laikipia has been feeling the ravaging effects of climate change for decades; the pastoralists, the ranchers and conservancies rely on Laikipia’s grasslands to sustain their cattle and the wildlife. When drought and elections collide, conflict erupts.
Our story goes beyond the headline grabbing conflict. Exploring identity, the complicated legacy of British colonialism, and the intersection with climate change, all while happening during the most fragile moment of our planet.
Basel (Stadtkino Cinema)
Saturday 9 November, 20:00
Zurich (Filmpodium Cinema)
Sunday 10 November, 14:00
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FOOD FOR PROFIT
GENRE: Documentary
COUNTRIES: Italy
YEAR: 2024
LENGTH: 90 min
LANGUAGES: English, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish
SUBTITLES: English
GIULIA INNOCENZI & PABLO D'AMBROSI (Directors & Writers)​
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Innocenzi is a prime-time Italian TV host and journalist also known for her investigations into factory farms. She currently works for the investigative TV program Report broadcast on national public TV Rai.
D’ambrosi has been working on music documentaries for artists such as The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Adele, and The Clash. He also has an extensive knowledge of secret filming and investigative documentaries, having worked for the prestigious BBC programs Panorama and This World, which won the Prix Europa for best Current Affairs Documentary.
PODIUM DISCUSSION
DO WE KNOW WHAT WE EAT?
Zurich
Filmmaker: Pablo D'Ambrosi (Director and Writer)
Expert: Tba
Moderator: Tba
Basel
Filmmaker: Pablo D'Ambrosi (Director and Writer)​
Expert: Tba
Moderator: Tba
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STORY
Food For Profit is the first documentary that exposes the links between the meat industry, lobbying, and the corridors of power. A five-year investigation that denounced how Europe is transferring hundreds of billions of taxpayers’ moneys into the hands of intensive farms, which mistreat animals, pollute the environment, and pose a potential danger for future pandemics. With a cinematic approach for an investigative documentary, Giulia Innocenzi and Pablo D’Ambrosi take us on an enlightening but shocking journey across Europe, where they confront farmers, corporations, and politicians. Their team of investigators infiltrated farms in many European countries, exposing the truth behind the perceived excellence of European dairy and meat production. In parallel, a lobbyist has infiltrated the high spheres of power in Brussels, gaining shocking information.
Basel (Stadtkino Cinema)
Saturday 9 November, 17:20
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THE DAYLIGHT REVOLUTION
GENRE: Documentary
COUNTRIES: Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, Guatemala
YEAR: 2023
LENGTH: 70 min
LANGUAGES: English
SANDY EVANGELISTA & ALBAN KAKULYA (Directors & Writers)​
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Evangelista worked in radio at RSR and television at RTS, where she collaborated on documentary productions and presented television news, she now works in the Media and Communication department at EPFL.
Kakulya worked as a reporter, contributing to international publications such as Intelligent Life, The Economist, Le CourrierInternational, and Libération. He has also authored books on European geopolitics and worked extensively in documentary filmmaking, particularly within the scientific community, creating films and illustrations for various projects.
PODIUM DISCUSSION
HOW TO HARNESS THE POWER OF NATURAL LIGHT?
Basel
Filmmaker: Sandy Evangelista & Alban Kakulya (Directors and Writers)
Expert: Anna Wirz-Justice (University of Basel)
Moderator: Judit Solt (editor-in-chief, TEC21)
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STORY
In "The Daylight Revolution," we embark on a captivating global journey to explore the profound impact of natural light on our environment and its innovative uses across various scientific fields. This documentary brings together leading experts in architecture, energy production, medicine, and biology to unravel the mysteries and potentials of daylight. From the cutting-edge solar energy projects in Sweden and Denmark to the innovative daylighting techniques in Swiss architecture, and the unique sunlight studies in Guatemala, we delve into the diverse ways different cultures and scientific communities harness the power of natural light.
Basel (Stadtkino Cinema)
Saturday 9 November, 11:00
Zurich (Filmpodium Cinema)
Sunday 10 November, 17:15
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STEALING GIANTS
GENRE: Documentary
COUNTRIES: Kenya, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Switzerland
YEAR: 2024
LENGTH: 88 min
LANGUAGES: English
SUBTITLES: English
KARL AMMANN & LAURIN MERZ (Directors & Writers)​​
Ammann is a wildlife photographer, conservation activist and filmmaker, based in Kenya. Ammann studied economics in St. Gallenand Ithaca (USA). He travelled to over 100 countries. He first became aware of the bushmeat trade in 1988, this was followed by the first of many research expeditions. Today he is considered one of the world's leading environmental photographers and filmmakers.
Merz is proprietor and founder of the award-winning production company HOOK Film (since 2006), based in Zurich. After studying film-studies and publishing at the universities of Bern and Zurich, he graduated 2007 in the Video specialization at Lucerne School of Art and Design. Starting in 1996, he worked as an editor for the Swiss Radio and as a editor for Swiss television. Later he became an independent filmmaker.
PODIUM DISCUSSION
WHAT CAN WE DO TO STOP ANIMAL SMUGGLING?
Zurich
Filmmakers: Karl Amman & Laurin Merz (Director and Writer)
Expert: Severin Dressen (Director Zoo Zurich)
Moderator: Simone Bucher van Ligten (ETH Zurich)
Basel
Filmmakers: Karl Amman & Laurin Merz (Director and Writer)
Expert: Tba
Moderator: Tba
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STORY
‘STEALING GIANTS’ takes an unsparing look at the world of animal smuggling, where it is even possible to fly live elephants around on a grand scale. Animal activist and filmmaker Karl Ammann has been documenting the illegal wildlife trade for decades. Accompanied by director Laurin Merz, the investigative journey takes him to Namibia, from where 22 elephants are captured and transported by cargo plane to zoos in the United Arab Emirates. Ammann and Merz also film the illegal elephant trade from Laos to China: the gigantic animals march across the green border to their doom. In the Chinese zoos, the actually proud elephants play football, darts and xylophone; an illegal business with no moral boundaries.
‘STEALING GIANTS’ shows this cruel demimonde in which corruption prevails and anything is possible with money. At the same time, the grey giants are given a voice in the film and the audience is left with a trace of hope.