Le Film de mon père

23JunFriday July 28th, 2023 By First Hand Films

Filmmaker Jules Guarneri grew up in Villars among his adopted siblings in a chalet that is regularly haunted by the ghost of his mother. His father, head and guardian of the family chalets, films himself daily and hands over his cinematic legacy to Jules with the instruction that he should make his first film from it. Thus begins a tricky, intimate and at times pleasurable journey into Jules’ independence.

LE FILM DE MON PÈRE ultimately becomes a very different film from the one his father imagined. Jules Guarneri takes an empathetic and reflexive look at this somewhat neurotic family material and humorously performs a symbolic patricide on the cutting board. The resulting family portrait celebrated its world premiere at the Vision du Réel, where it was awarded the Jury Prize.

Je Suis Noires

16JunTuesday May 7th, 2024 By First Hand Films

SWISS FILM PRIZE

In Switzerland, a country of neutrality, new, unfamiliar voices are being heard. Voices of women who fight for the recognition of structural racism, deconstruct stereotypes and confess their double identity as Swiss and Black. It is in this context that Rachel M’Bon begins her own search for identity. On her way to liberation, she questions her past, her present and holds up a mirror to her country and her peers.

The strength and determination with which Rachel M’Bon confronts her past is the strength of this film, which represents an important step towards opening up a discourse that has been suppressed for too long. Together with filmmaker Juliana Fanjul, the Swiss-Congolese journalist interrogates her country and portrays six protagonists. Each of them tells a story that reflects her own personal path to liberation.

We show the film in combination with the short film ETHEREALITY by Kantarama Gahigiri.
Stranded in space for 30 years. How does it feel to finally come home? A reflection on migration and the sense of belonging.

Kantarama Gahigiri is a Rwandan-Swiss filmmaker. In 2004 she won the prestigious Fullbright Award and moved to New York where she completed her Masters in Film. Her first feature film TAPIS ROUGE was screened and awarded worldwide.

Mediterranean Fever

09JunMonday July 8th, 2024 By First Hand Films

Waleed (40) lives in Haifa with his wife and children and dreams of a writing career while suffering from chronic depression. He develops a close relationship with his neighbor (a small-time crook) with an ulterior plot in mind. While the scheme turns into an unexpected friendship between the two men, it leads them into a journey of dark encounters.

In this humorous thriller-drama, Maha Haj draws a delicate portrait of the Palestinian existence. She takes the fictional character Waleed to extremes and thus reflects on the state of an entire society.

Press review
A delicate balance between comedy and darker drama throughout.
The Hollywood Reporter

A mixture of comedy, thriller and character study.
In Haifa, an unlikely friendship between two neighbours is the basis of a new exploration of masculinity and mental illness.
Screendaily

A black comedy full of surprises.
Cineuropa

A E I O U – A Quick Alphabet of Love

02JunWednesday July 10th, 2024 By First Hand Films

She thought it would never happen to her again.
He didn’t even know such a thing existed.
A woman, a boy and another impossible love story.

Anna (Sophie Rois) is 60, lives alone in West Berlin and has left her career as a celebrated acting star long behind her. Adrian (Milan Herms) is 17 years old and has stolen Anna’s handbag on the open street. Normally, two such different people would probably not meet a second time, but fate has other plans. Anna, who apart from her neighbour Michel (Udo Kier) has virtually no social contacts, is persuaded to become a voice coach and give lessons to a young man with a speech impediment. And as chances would have it, her new student is none other than Adrian.

In AEIOU, Nicolette Krebitz designs a relationship that not only surprises with a lot of tenderness and a wild, poetic hand stroke, but also turns both characters into individuals of integrity, self-empowered with each other, learning. Neither feels guilt, neither feels shame, both feel love and yet remain completely with themselves, lonely together, but not in the discouragement usually inherent in that phrase. On the contrary, it is a wild, unpredictable courage that stands above everything and leads the character development. Axel Timo Purr, Artechock

Becoming Giulia

13MayThursday December 12th, 2024 By First Hand Films

Giulia Tonelli, principal dancer at the Zurich Opera House, returns from maternity leave. She has to fight to find her place and a new balance, between the competitive and extremely demanding world of an elite ballet company and her new family life. The documentary is an unprecedented immersion in the microcosm of a great opera house from 2019-2021, an intimate and committed look at the journey of a woman who reclaims her own body and herself to be back on stage.

Tom Medina

17JanWednesday September 21st, 2022 By First Hand Films

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Ein Western ohne Waffen

Tom Medina wird von einem Jugendrichter in die Camargue zu Ulysses geschickt, einem Mann mit einem grossen Herzen, der mit der Natur im Einklang steht. Von Stieren und Pferden fasziniert und von Visionen geleitet, lernt Tom an der Seite von Ulysses den Beruf des Naturwächters. Er stiehlt nicht mehr, ist wissensdurstig und sehnt sich danach, ein anderer Mensch zu werden. Aufgebracht über die unveränderte Feindseligkeit, die ihm entgegenschlägt, kämpft er um sein Schicksal und kreuzt dabei den Weg der Aktivistin Suzanne.

TOM MEDINA ist ein Spielfilm, der sich an Tony Gatlifs Leben vor seiner Zeit als Filmemacher orientiert, als er über das Meer nach Frankreich kam. Gatlif verwebt seine Biografie mit Metaphern, verlegt die Geschichte in die Gegenwart und schildert mit grossem Einfühlungsvermögen, wie Tom trotz seiner Heimatlosigkeit nie die Würde und Kraft für sein Leben verliert. Der in der mystischen Landschaft der Camargue angesiedelte Film lebt von Naturbildern, einer intensiven Tonebene und viel Musik. Und die Zuschauer:innen werden mit einem poetischen Ende entlassen, welches eine Wohltat für das Herz ist.

Tony Gatlif wurde 1948 im damals zu Frankreich gehörenden Algerien geboren. Sein Vater war Kabyle, seine Mutter Romni. Beide Kulturen beeinflussten ihn stark und inspirierten ihn zu einem Grossteil seiner Filme. Anfang der 1960er Jahre verliess Gatlif Algerien und wanderte nach Frankreich aus. Über die Schauspielerei und das Theater gelangte Gatlif schliesslich zum Film und legte mit LA RAGE AU POING sein erstes Drehbuch vor. 1975 drehte er LA TETE EN RUINE, sein Erstlingswerk als Regisseur. Mit LES PRINCES (1983), LATCHO DROM (1993) und GADJO DILO (1997) schuf Tony Gatlif eine Trilogie, die als ein seltenes Beispiel für die Selbstrepräsentation von Roma im Film viel Anerkennung erntete. Mit seinem Film EXILS gewann er bei den Internationalen Filmfestspielen von Cannes 2004 den Regiepreis.

Indes Galantes

17JanFriday July 28th, 2023 By First Hand Films

Can a new generation of artists conquer the Bastille today? For the very first time, 30 dancers reinvent Rameau’s baroque masterpiece “Les Indes Galantes”. None of them has a classical training, they are all masters of krump, break, popping and voguing. It is a premiere for director Clément Cogitore and choreographer Bintou Dembélé. And it’s a premiere for the Paris Opera itself, bringing urban dance and lyrical song together in a lively, colourful dialogue. From rehearsals to the premiere, we follow the dancing adventure and its challenges.

INDES GALANTES is a vibrant film, artistic, human and politically gripping. The film tells the collective dimension of this inspiring project, while the camera gives the individual protagonists space to express their feelings and shows how they put their heart and soul into this work. In INDES GALANTES we can see how they overcome the barriers between these different worlds. And we learn through them how we can all admire each other.

Robust

17SepMonday July 18th, 2022 By First Hand Films

Paris, today.
George is an aging film star in decay. Aïssa, a semi-pro wrestler who earns a living as a security officer, has a hard time handling her love life. When Georges right-arm man and only friend takes a leave of absence for several weeks, Aïssa is immediately appointed as his replacement. Between this pragmatic young lady bodyguard and our disenchanted renowned actor, a singular bond begins to take root. Despite their individual differences, life has shaped them in ways more similar than they thought.

Les nouvelles Èves – Heldinnen des Alltags

04AugMonday December 19th, 2022 By First Hand Films

2021: Die Schweiz feiert 50 Jahre Frauenstimmrecht. Wie sieht die Alltagsrealität der Frauen in der Schweiz heute aus? Ein Kollektiv aus preisgekrönten Regisseurinnen, Produzentinnen und Kamerafrauen widmen sich dieser Frage, indem sie sechs Protagonistinnen in ihrem Alltag begleiten.

Die pensionierte Valeria Kepner in Lugano (64) haushaltet mit ihrer knappen Pension und verliebt sich neu. Die Baslerin Naima Cuica (44), ursprünglich aus Venezuela, kämpft sich von der Kantinenmitarbeiterin zur Pflegefachfrau hoch. Sophie Swaton (42), Professorin in Lausanne, jongliert ihre Karriere und die Erziehung ihrer drei Kinder. Die Opernsängerin Sela Bieri in Zürich wird in ihrer Berufswelt mit stereotypen Genderrollen konfrontiert, während ihr Partner zu Hause den Haushalt der 4-köpfigen Familie führt. Delphine Rozmuski (18), Studentin in Genf, spürt ihrer Geschlechtsidentität nach und Cosima Scheck (9) aus Bolligen begegnen in ihrem kindlichen Alltag stereotype Bilder, die sie hinterfragt. Wir sehen ihre Kämpfe, ihre Träume und erleben wie die Portraitierten, die sich aktiv gegen Rollenzuschreibungen wehren, über Hindernisse stolpern und trotzdem immer wieder aufstehen.

Getragen vom Echo des Frauenstreiks 2019, sind sie LES NOUVELLES ÈVES, die Heldinnen des Alltags, welche die immer noch aktuellen Geschlechterungleichheiten in der Schweiz herausfordern.

Ein grosses Dankeschön an:
migros kulturprozent
migros magazin

My Sunny Maad

03AugFriday July 28th, 2023 By First Hand Films

When Herra, a young Czech woman, falls in love with Nazir, an Afghan, she has no idea what kind of life awaits her in post-Taliban Afghanistan, nor of the family she is about to integrate into. A liberal grandfather, an adopted child who is highly intelligent and Freshta, who would do anything to escape her husband’s violent grip.

The best films for swiss cinemas

Author: First Hand Films