Daniel Schmid: Le Chat Qui Pense

Zen for Nothing(de)

Hidden in the wooded mountains on the west coast of Japan lies the small Zen monastery Antaiji. A young woman sets off to immerse herself through autumn, winter and spring in the adventures of monastic life. The young woman is Sabine Timoteo from Switzerland. The abbot of the monastery is Muho Noelke, born in Berlin. An interplay between the philosophy of the Japanese Zen master Kodo Sawaki and the surprises brought forth by everyday life.

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.

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.

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.

Frau Mercedes(de)

In Bern, Madame Mercedes has been working for 35 years in her car as a prostitute. An intimate and subtle portrait about ageing as a prostitute, a documentary about a vanishing chapter of habits in Switzerland.

Der Imker(de)

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

Markus Raetz(de)

Picture of Light(en)

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

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

Far from the Villages(fr)

Since the conflict in Darfur spread to the eastern border regions of Chad in 2005, some 13,000 people fled from this region to the refugee camp near the village of Gouroukoun. For them, the war is never far off. Many of these traumatised refugees have lived here for years, with little food, no work and no prospect of returning home. Zuchuat took his camera to the camp and captured their uncertain existence without providing any comment. He captures the refugees' arduous daily life in long shots, often from a single angle. They all have their own stories of how they ended up here, how they saw their families and fellow-villagers perish and no longer have any work, cattle or land. Another striking story is told by a child that uses a drawing to explain how he was chased away from his native village. Little girls sing a battle song while waiting for what comes next in this prison without bars.

Thomas Hirschhorn – Gramsci Monument(en)

Thomas Hirschhorn, one of the few Swiss artists of world renown, often touches on social wounds with his provocative works. In 2013, Hirschhorn built a monument for Italian philosopher and communist Antonio Gramsci in a public housing project in the Bronx. The contentious artist collaborated with neighborhood residents whose everyday life is impacted by poverty, unemployment and crime. Conflicts and misunderstandings are bound to arise as Hirschhorn’s absolute devotion to art is confronted with the resident’s lack of prospects and fatalistic outlooks. The «Gramsci Monument» becomes a summer-long experiment where diverse worlds collide: blacks and whites, the art elite and street kids, party people and poets, politicians and philosophers. A nuanced film about art, politics and passion.

Special Flight(fr)

Switzerland still carries out special flights, where passengers, dressed in diapers and helmets, are chained to their seats for 40 hours at worst. They are accompanied by police officers and immigration officials. The passengers are flown to their native countries, where they haven't set foot in in up to twenty years, and where their lives might be in danger. Children, wives and work are left behind in Switzerland. Near Geneva, in Frambois prison, live 25 illegal immigrants waiting for deportation. They are offered an opportunity to say goodbye to their families and return to their native countries on a regular flight, escorted by plain-clothes police officers. If they refuse this offer, the special flight is arranged fast and unexpectedly. The stories behind the locked cells are truly heartbreaking.

Brother's Body(fr)

(Re)immersing himself in body building, David Nicolas Parel endeavours to follow his younger brother as he trains for the Arnold Classic – Arnold, from the famous Austrian/American actor and politician. Convinced he is the one who inspired this passion, he worries about the risks this sport has on his brother’s health and aspires to strengthen their now strained bond. A film on the edge.

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.

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”.

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.

Magic Matterhorn(en)

A documentary about entertainment and home, filmed in Switzerland and California.

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.

Le souffle du désert(fr)

A disturbing exploration of what it means to be a man Desert Wind unveils the innermost thoughts of 13 men about their lives and male identity, making a clean sweep of clichés. Their revelations -- a glimpse of the hidden side that few men spontaneously reveal -- are of equal interest for women.

The Paris Opera(fr)

A behind-the-scenes look at the of how the Paris Opera is run under the direction of Stephane Lissner.

Super(de)

The Earth shortly before its end. The houses in the cities are deserted, the streets smashed. The sky shimmers dark gray.

Re-Existences(pt)

“Re-Existence” is a documentary about migration stories of individuals from the Brazilian queer community.

Return to Space(en)

The inspirational rise of SpaceX as well as Elon Musk's two-decade effort to resurrect America’s space travel ambitions.

Super Furball Saves the Future(fi)

To save the world, Super Furball has to save the bees. In order to do so, the heroic guinea pig has to redeem the biggest bully in school.

For frihed og ret(da)

Return ticket(hu)

Five old men and a kid are travelling in a train's cabin without purpose. They travel because it's free and they don't have another place to stay. From their conversations we learn the tragedies of their lives. Also the hidden interlockings of their faith will out slowly.

Darkland: The Return(da)

Seven years ago, Zaid went to war against the Copenhagen underworld to avenge his dead brother. His identity as a respected doctor of cardiology and life as a family man is but a fading dream, and in prison Zaid suffers the loss of his son Noah, whom he barely knows. When a police agent approaches Zaid and offers him a deal to be released in exchange for infiltrating the Copenhagen underworld, he sees his chance to reclaim the remnants of the family life he left behind. But everything has a price, and Zaid realizes that he has now seriously endangered his son's life. After all, once you become part of the underworld, is there any way out?

Gulliver Returns(en)

World traveler and adventurer Gulliver is invited to return to Lilliput, the town he previously saved from the enemy fleet of the neighboring Blefuscu.

All Monsters Attack(ja)

Ichiro Miki is a child living in the industrial district of Kawasaki, where his parents' constant struggle to make ends meet often leaves the schoolboy alone. Constantly teased by a bully nicknamed Gabara, his only friends are toy consultant Shinpei and fellow classmate Sachiko. Ichiro turns to escapist dreams of Monster Island where he befriends the equally bullied Minilla.

There Are No Saints(en)

A man is imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. When his wife is murdered and his son kidnapped and taken to Mexico, he devises an elaborate and dangerous plan to rescue his son and avenge the murder.

King Tweety(en)

Everyone's favorite yellow canary unexpectedly becomes next in line for the crown when the queen of an island paradise disappears. His Little Highness’ entourage includes motorbike daredevil Granny and sly Sylvester, whose allegiance is tested when he uncovers a sinister plot to eliminate Tweety for good.

Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!(ja)

Shortly after the defeat of Majin Buu a mysterious Saiyan arrives on Earth warning Goku and his friends about a new, powerful enemy.

Bionic(pt)

When the progress of robotics makes Paralympic athletes the new sports stars, Maria dreams of competing against her sister. For that, she will have to enter a world of crime and violence.

J(en)

A guy locked in a room with no way out. He does not remember anything about himself, his fate is uncertain, but, the most important thing is the reason why this is happening.

Dolphin Boy(ru)

When a plane crashes at sea, dolphins rescue a little boy and raise him as family. He lives a carefree life beneath the waves until an evil monster seizes power over the underwater world. Banished to dry land, the boy is taken in by a kind-hearted captain. With his new companion's help, the boy embarks on a journey to solve the mystery of his true identity.

Afgan(kk)

A large number of drugs enter Kazakhstan from Afghanistan. To stop this, a special group must be created. The Ministry decides to send intelligence officer Oraz and two of his friends there, who participated in the war in Afghanistan and know the country well. The three veterans are joined by a young scout who despises the "old men". They will have to solve the drug problem, despite the conflict between two generations.

Kamen Rider W Returns: Kamen Rider Accel(ja)

While settling into married life with Akiko, Ryu is brought into a case involving a woman named Katsuragi Aoi, a member of a pickpocketing ring with most of her teammates murdered from unknown masked vigilantes that Ryu fought as Accel. As the details of the case begin to unravel, Ryu is framed and Akiko believes that he may not be faithful to her. As the clock ticks down, Ryu must solve the case, clear his name, and save his marriage before everything comes to an explosive end!

Beyond the Barricade(da)

Family man Poul Berg is tempted by a questionable investement offer and indebts himself to a point where suicide seems like the only way out. His widow struggles to maintain even a simple standard of living for herself and their three children, who are fatally marked by their fathers deed. (stumfilm.dk)

Tomie: Rebirth(ja)

Young art student Hideo paints an unnerving portrait of Tomie, who whispers that she loves him. Inexplicably, he reacts by stabbing her to death with a painting trowel. Two friends, Takumi and Shunichi, arrive on the scene and help him dispose of the body. To cheer him up, the boys take the unwitting murderer to the nearest bar for a party... but a mysterious girl named Tomie shows up, bearing a few odd physical resemblances to the dead girl in the ground.