Tibetan Warrior

Blindsight(en)

Six blind Tibetan teenagers climb the Lhakpa-Ri peak of Mount Everest, led by seven-summit blind mountain-climber Erik Weihenmayer.

Der Imker(de)

A documentary about Ibrahim Gezer, who escaped from war in Kurdistan to Switzerland. All is lost, except his love for beekeeping.

August(zh)

The documentary marks the directorial debut of Chinese actor Zhang Zhehan, it documents his deeply personal journey of self-healing in the aftermath of a devastating cyber media storm in August 2021 that abruptly halted his acting career.

Là-Haut, Un supplément d'âme(fr)

Daughters of Wisdom(en)

An intimate portrait of the nuns of Kala Rongo, a rare and exceptional Buddhist Monastery exclusively for women situated in Nangchen, in remote and rural northeastern Tibet. These nuns are receiving religious and educational training previously unavailable to women, and playing an unprecedented role in preserving their rich cultural heritage even as they slowly reshape it. They graciously allow the camera a never-before-seen glimpse into their vibrant spiritual community and insight into their extraordinary lives. Some shy, some outspoken, all are committed to the often difficult life they have chosen, away from the yak farms and herding families of their birth. It is the story of their spiritual community, one that couldn't have existed 20 years ago but is thriving today.

Like Stone Lions in the Gateway into Night(fr)

Between 1947 and 1951, more than 80 000 Greek men, women and children were deported to the isle of Makronissos (Greece) in reeducation camps created to ‘fight the spread of Communism’. Among those exiles were a number of writers and poets, including Yannis Ritsos and Tassos Livaditis. Despite the deprivation and torture, they managed to write poems which describe the struggle for survival in this world of internment. These texts, some of them buried in the camps, were later found. «Like Lions of stone at the gateway of night» blends these poetic writings with the reeducation propaganda speeches constantly piped through the camps’ loudspeakers. Long tracking shots take us on a trance-like journey through the camp ruins, interrupted along the way by segments from photographic archives. A cinematic essay, which revives the memory of forgotten ruins and a battle lost.

Gyrischachen - von Sünden, Sofas und Cervelats(en)

A high-rise apartment built in the 1960s provides housing for 2500 people from 42 nations. Separated from the city by a river and bounded by towering sandstone cliffs, everyone attempts to live and survive in their own way. Foreigners who have a go at being Swiss, and Swiss who observe with scepticism. They meet in the corner shop run by an Iraqi living in exile, send their kids to a children’s club managed by a missionary, and old drinking mates meet regularly over a beer in the neighbourhood’s only bar. Despite all the differences, they are rather proud of the fact that they come from here.

Picture of Light(en)

A documentary of an expedition to Churchill, Manitoba to film the Northern Lights.

The Laundry Room(fr)

The key to the communal laundry room in the block of flats on the Rue de Genève 85 in Lausanne serves a much greater function than merely unlocking the door. This encounter between a symbol of typical Swiss mentality with a penchant for order and the tenants who have been housed here by the city’s social services department is not something to be taken for granted. Although the laundry room is normally located in the cellar, the tenants in this building share a tiny laundry room off the entrance hall because the cellar is reserved for prostitution. To maintain order and cleanliness, the landlord hires Claudina, a new “laundry woman”.

Journey to the Safest Place on Earth(de)

Over 350,000 tons of highly radioactive waste and spent fuel rods are in temporary storage on site at nuclear power complexes and at intermediate storage sites all over the world. More than 10,000 additional tons join them every year. It is the most dangerous waste man has ever produced. Waste that requires storage in a safe final repository for hundreds of thousands of years. Out of reach of humanity and other living creatures. The question is, where? Together with Swiss-British nuclear physicist Charles McCombie, who has been searching for a safe final storage site for highly radioactive nuclear waste for thirty-five years, director Edgar Hagen investigates the limitations and contradictions involved in this project of global significance. Supporters and opponents of nuclear energy struggle for solutions whilst dogmatic worldviews are assailed by doubt

Into Great Silence(de)

An intimate portrayal of the everyday lives of Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, high in the French Alps (Chartreuse Mountains). The idea for the film was proposed to the monks in 1984, but the Carthusians said they wanted time to think about it. The Carthusians finally contacted Gröning 16 years later to say they were now willing to permit Gröning to shoot the movie, if he was still interested.

Jean Ziegler: The Optimism of Willpower(fr)

In 1964, Che Guevara asked the young Jean Ziegler to stay in Switzerland to fight in the "Monster brain" capitalist. Since then, Jean Ziegler nerve stops fighting against injustices as a public writer, a speaker and as a Kofi Annan collaborator. During a trip to Cuba, his ideas are challenged by what he discover on the island.

Lucie et Maintenant(fr)

In May of 1982 Julio Cortázar, the Argentinean writer and his companion in life, Carol Dunlop set out in their VW bus on a journey along the highway from Paris to Marseille that, for each of them, was to be their final one. Twenty-five years later, Océane Madelaine and Jocelyn Bonnerave set out to undertake the journey again.

Queen of Condoms(es)

Ceschi and Stamm's documentary tells the incredible story of Monika Krause, a former East German citizen, who became Fidel Castro's Sexual Education Minister. After 20 years in Cuba, Krause set the Cuban sexual revolution in motion: in favor of a woman's right to sexual fulfillment and legal abortion, and against exclusion of homosexuals, she acquired the title "Queen of Condoms". A film about potent female agitators, staunch macho men and Caribbean love lives.

Markus Raetz(de)

Compassion in Exile: The Story of the 14th Dalai Lama(en)

A portrait of His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama, which includes historical footage of China's repression of Tibetan Buddhism in 1959.

Balifilm(en)

Balifilm was originally commissioned as a stage performance, created from diary images and sounds collected in 1990 and 1992 by Peter Mettler on the island of Bali. The soundtrack is a live recording of eight Gamelan musicians playing the bronze and wooden instruments of Indonesia during the projection of the film. balifilm is a personal, lyrical observation and expression of the creative pulse of an extraordinary culture.

Exit: The Right to Die(fr)

Switzerland is presently the only country in the world where suicide assistance is legal. Exit: The Right to Die profiles that nation's EXIT organization, which for over twenty years has provided volunteers who counsel and accompany the terminally-ill and severely handicapped towards a death of their choice.

Max Frisch, Citoyen(de)

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.

Iraqi Odyssey(en)

Tracing the emigrations of his family over more than half a century, this riveting documentary epic from acclaimed expatriate Iraqi filmmaker Samir pays moving homage to the frustrated democratic dreams of a people successively plagued by the horrors of dictatorship, war and foreign occupation of Iraq.

Fire Under the Snow(en)

Palden Gyatso, a Buddhist monk since childhood, was arrested by the Chinese Communist Army in 1959. He spent the next 33 years in prison for the "crimes" of peaceful demonstration and refusal to denounce his apolitical teacher as an Indian spy. He was tortured, starved and sentenced to hard labor. He watched his nation and culture destroyed, his teachers, friends and family displaced, jailed or killed under Chinese occupation. Fire Under the Snow reaches back to Palden's birth in 1933 and follows him through the Orwellian nightmare that began with the Chinese invasion. We cut back and forth between the past and Palden's present as an activist, living in exile. Our P.O.V. becomes a "third eye" hovering over Palden’s current life, haunted by his memories of the past. We explore the escalating cycle of interrogation and physical violation during his years in prison that ended decades later with Palden's escape from Tibet and a cathartic meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Tujhe Dekhne Se Pehle(en)

Tujhe Dekhne Se Pehle tells the heartfelt journey of two friends, Vicky and Katrina, living in the United Kingdom. Katrina has secretly loved Vicky for a long time, but he remains unaware of her feelings. One day, Katrina invites Vicky to meet her at Tower Bridge in London. Over coffee and romantic conversations, their connection begins to deepen. Katrina takes Vicky on a memorable tour of the city, showing him iconic landmarks like Waterloo Underground Station, London Bridge, and the Parliament building. Their day ends with a car ride to Birmingham, where they stay overnight at a cozy hotel. The next morning, they visit Brean Down, a scenic coastal area. At the highest point of the walk, Katrina gathers her courage and proposes marriage. Touched and realizing his own feelings, Vicky accepts, and their bond blossoms into deep love. The music video delivers a heartfelt message: friendships can evolve into beautiful relationships, and life's unexpected turns often lead to love.

The War on Kids(en)

Shows how American public schools have failed in their mission to provide education, erode the country's democratic foundation by denying the most basic civil rights to youth, and often resemble prisons.

Mouse(de)

A man and a mouse move to a village by the sea where everyone has a pet. Their first morning in town, the man puts the mouse in his shirt-front pocket and sets out on a walk. People with parrots on their heads or leading a cow, a camel, or a whale all shun him once they see the mouse. So, the man returns home, puts the mouse in a box, closes the lid, and builds himself a new animal companion. He takes it for a walk. Is the mouse forgotten?

The Iland's Devil(ar)

A man breaks into Nagy's house and burns classified documents. Ali Baba, Nagy's friend, tells him about the incident, and then Nagy dies in mysterious circumstances. However, all fingers point to Ali Baba as the main suspect. Meanwhile Laila arrives to uncover her cousin's murder.

Nine Lives(en)

Lust and dysfuntion come full circle in this collection of nine steamy scenes exploring gay life, sex, addition, drugs and HIV/AIDS as revealed by a latino pool boy, a television writer, a meth dealer and others. As one affair leads into another, the connections betwen the characters reveal the secrets each one holds.

Roumanie, les derniers charbonniers(fr)

Zama Arman(ps)

The Life Zone(en)

Kidnapped by a mysterious figure, three women find themselves trapped in an abandoned hospital. Held against their will for months, the prisoners are faced with life-transforming decisions and must struggle for their lives.

It Is Just The Night Winds Waving The Tree Branches(en)

Leave a trail of bread crumbs. Part of Brain Dead’s Mutant Sequencer Vol. 1

Liberation: The Last Assault(ru)

In Berlin, Lieutenant Yartsev's infantry and Tzvetaev's battery fight their way in the U-Bahn. Captain Neustroev's company is selected to hoist the Victory Banner atop the Reichstag.

The Strange Case of Mr. Donnybrook's Boredom(en)

Animated version of the Ogden Nash poem.

А дома лучше(ru)

Divorț... din dragoste(ro)

Last Summer Of A Small Town Girl(en)

Ella is about to commence the next chapter of her life. Within three months her world will change, whether she can persevere and deal with whatever is thrown at her is yet to be seen.

Scream of the Wolf(en)

A big-game hunter comes out of retirement to help track down a killer wolf, and begins to suspect that it isn't a wolf but an animal that can take human form.

Climax Together(ja)

Live footage of the japanese rock band BUCK-TICK, filmed on September 10 and 11, 1992 at Yokohama Arena in Kanagawa. Unlike their previous live video, Sabbat, Climax Together does not employ camera effects and cutting to stock footage during the performance. This is a much more straight-laced presentation of their live show. The gig was specifically given for the purpose of filming.

Por activa y por pasiva(es)

NoTodoFilm Fest 2013