Social & External
The Salecine meeting place, founded near Maloja in 1971 by Zurich communist bookseller Theo Pinkus, quickly became a socio-cultural and political Mecca for the left-wing intelligentsia. The film provides an overview of the chronicle of this Alpine melting pot of ideas, and also shows the changes in the zeitgeist since 1968. It is also a gentle, sentimental (sometimes self-ironic) tribute to the men and women of three generations of Salecina, who, at 1800 above sea level, are creating utopias for a fairer world.
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.
In 1996, Kalashnikovs were publicly burnt in Timbuktu. At the time, the "Flame of Peace" symbolized the end of the Touareg rebellion, which had been suppressed in bloody massacres. That year, the rebels laid down their arms. That year, with the government having made promises, the families who had fled abroad left Mauritania, Algeria and Burkina Faso to return home. In the fight for rights and survival waged by this people, who for centuries had found their freedom in one of the world's most inhospitable regions, the Sahara, culture and arms have been in direct competition ever since.
Thirty female prisoners share the convicts’ ward of Tuilière Prison at Lonay. More than half of them have one or more children being raised elsewhere: with a sister, in a foster family, or – further away still – in their countries of origin. In portraying some of these women, the film sheds light on these mothers and the bond that ties them to their children.
Radios echo across Niger, connecting lives through news, music, and debate. This gripping doc explores how this everyday device becomes a lifeline in a changing nation.
The Jean Tinguely Museum in Basel, Switzerland, designed by Mario Botta, opened in 1996, five years after the Swiss sculptor's death. META MECANO is a poetic depiction of the genesis of this mono-graphic museum, from the builders' first plans and Mario Botta's designs to its construction and the assembly of Tinguely's fragile mobile sculptures. In interviews with Mario Botta, Tinguely's wife Niki de Saint Phalle, museum director Pontus Hultén and Tinguely himself, the film goes on to explore the mission of museums and of art in general today. META MECANO is a unique document on the significance of the artist Jean Tinguely and on the role that museums play in our day and age.
She was a muse, model and performer – a star, dazzling and intense. Lady Shiva managed to rise from street prostitution to the top. She lived in the fast lane and died tragically young. Her dream was to become a singer. With her companions, we trace her life during a vibrant time that kindles a yearning and provokes until today. The story of a woman’s meteoric fate and a great dream. An irrepressible desire for freedom in all its beauty and destructive force - and a stirring friendship and love.
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.
A touching and delicate portrait of four remarkable Ethiopian women, struggling with the poverty and insecurity of urban life in Addis Ababa.
The film is the story of a musical encounter between drummers Pierre Favre, Fritz Hauser, Daniel Humair and Fredy Studer. The filmmaker brought them together in Zurich on January 6, 1997, and followed them over four days of rehearsals. The confrontation between these very different artists culminates in a concert.
The real place where the penguin congress takes place is also the most fictional place on this planet where you can stand on your own two legs. Here, even the animals can talk. This land of dreams and nightmares is called Antarctica. In this desert of ice surrounded by a stormy sea, a few dozen human beings also live. Using sophisticated instruments, they observe the worrying changes affecting our world: the hole in the ozone layer, climate change, and so on.
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