“The Wound of Indecision” and “Hollywood Gate” were named winners at the Zurich Film Festival to mark the end of the 19th edition of the Swiss festival.
Selman Nakar’s drama “The Wound of Indecision” impressed the jury of the feature film competition.
“Moral issues are often the main theme of many films, but the dilemma facing the protagonist of this film is really felt here,” said the jury, which included President Anton Corbijn, Finola Dwyer, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Juho Kuosmanen. and Bryce Nielsen.
Praising the “wonderful” Tyulin Ozen, who played the role of a lawyer struggling at home and at work, “a woman always on the verge of a breakthrough or breakdown,” she wrote Diversity they added: “This film held the majority of the jury’s votes throughout the festival, and although it was a battle against two other contenders, it emerged as our favorite. Selman Nakar, thank you so much for this amazing film.”
Special mentions went to Iris Kaltenbeck’s Rapture and Karan Tejpal’s Stolen.
According to artistic director Christian Jungen, India’s Stolen was a “high-octane thriller” in which “you are immersed in a society split in two: the wealthy upper class and the so-called ordinary people.” He emphasized that the festival aims to show films “from all over the world.”
He also noted the triumphant return of noir, exemplified by Saudi Arabia’s Mandub and Early Birds, Netflix’s first Swiss production.
“These films do what they promise: they excite. We live in such a controlled world and genres that can have that kind of emotional impact are in high demand.”
On the documentary front, Ibrahim Nashat’s Hollywoodgate dominated. “It reveals a shocking world that would otherwise be inaccessible,” the jury noted, and Macik Hamela’s Rear View won the documentary competition.
“Using a minimalist and immersive style, it speaks to the raw extremes of war. A prosaic world, underscored by disaster, is expressed through cinematic emotion without becoming overly sentimental,” said the jury, which included Feras Fayyad, Monica Lazurean-Gorgan, Claudio Sea, Crystal Mosel and Shaunak Sen.
“Hollywoodgate”
Courtesy of Rolling Narratives
Even though the strike affected the festival – “It definitely had an impact,” Jungen said – the festival still managed to host its fair share of celebrities, from Mads Mikkelsen to Jessica Chastain.
“I was so glad she came to personally introduce Memento, which in my opinion is one of the best films of the year. These actors will definitely play a big role in the upcoming awards season.”
“The stars belong to the cinema, and therefore to the festivals. Normally there would be more here in Zurich. But Ethan Hawke also brought[his directorial effort]to Wildcat, which was a great joy.”
Babyshambles rocker Pete Doherty was also in attendance, treating the crowd to a mini-concert and receiving two standing ovations at the first screening of Peter Doherty: A Stranger in My Own Skin, which documents his battle with substance abuse.
“It’s pretty wild that this movie ended. Honestly, I just feel very grateful because so many people can’t just go to Thailand to get clean,” he said, talking about working with wife Katya deVidas. “I slowly lured her into the dark side of things, saying, ‘You have to film me taking drugs!’ – and looking back at his musical heritage.
“Actually, I always prefer what I’m working on at the moment. There are a few songs from that time that I really like because they seemed to reflect something true. But I don’t think the deciding factor is whether you were on drugs when you wrote the song.”
There were a lot of films made by or about women, Jungen added, citing films like William Oldroyd’s “Eileen” and “The Sisterhood of the Sauna Smoke” as some of the audience’s favorites.
“It is necessary for women to speak openly about their desires. This is definitely a trend. “In the end, ‘Barbie,’ a very feminist film, trumped ‘Oppenheimer’: a classic biopic of a famous author.”
Headlines reflecting the influence of social media have also left their mark.
“Take our opening Dream Scenario about an average Joe who becomes a social media phenomenon. I’m sure Nicolas Cage will win an Oscar for this role. Or “Dumb Money” about how social media affects the stock market.”
“Our ticket sales depend a lot on what’s happening on Instagram and TikTok. When I was little, you asked for an autograph, then took a selfie. Now everyone is asking for videos. This is the new currency in the prestige economy.”
But what happens outside the cinema or on the tennis court also matters.
“We have a tennis tournament, and even there you can start a conversation that turns into business. I’m not sure if traditional markets are the future: you pay a lot of money for a stall in a corner with no daylight. Today we are talking about direct human exchange.”
Full list of winners:
Focus competition
“Hollywoodgate” by Ibrahim Nashat
Special Mention
“Let Me Go” by Maxime Rapaz
Feature Film Competition
“The Wound of Indecision” by Selman Nakar
Special Mention:
“Delight” by Iris Kaltenbeck and “Stolen” by Karan Tejpal
Documentary Film Competition
“Viewed from behind”, Maciek Hamela
Special Mention:
“Kingdom” by Agnia Galdanova
Emerging Swiss Talent Award (Critics Prize)
“Las Toreras” by Jackie Bruche
ZFF for the Children’s Jury Prize
“Dancing Queen” by Aurora Gosse
People’s Choice Awards
“Kingdom” by Agnia Galdanova
Film Awards of Zurich Churches
“Las Toreras”
Best International Film Score
Elliot Murphy
Tribute Award – Todd Haynes
Golden Icon Award – Jessica Chastain
Career Achievement Award – Volker Bertelmann
Career Achievement Award – Michel Merkt
GoldenEye Award – Diane Kruger
GoldenEye Award – Mads Mikkelsen
Game Changer Award – Fred Kogel