Das Bild des immer lachenden Clowns ist bekannt. Selbst ungeschminkt ist Dimitri überall erkennbar. Seine Soloprogramme haben ihn um die halbe Welt geführt. Der Schweizer Regisseur Friedrich Kappeler vermittelt in diesem Film einen Einblick in das poetische Universum des Menschen Dimitri: ein Clown, der das Publikum mit seiner Poesie und seinem grossen Herzen nicht nur zum Lachen bringt, sondern auch tief bewegt und berührt.
The true story of one man's fight for freedom. For more than 60 years Tibetans have been fighting Chinese oppression. But their non-violent struggle appears to be in vain. Now, as a new form of peaceful protest, Tibetans are setting themselves on fire. Loten Namling - an exiled Tibetan and musician living in Switzerland - is deeply disturbed by such self-destructive action. So he sets off from Europe to India, on a one-man mission to meet top politicians, experts and young radicals. He himself becomes increasingly radical and is on the verge of violent protest. Finally he ends up at The Office of the Dalai Lama in India to seek the advice of the exiled Tibetan leader.
Synopsis - For god's sake Isabella and Nando are two militant atheists. They live in Italy, a country where the Church still plays a strong political role. T hey are among the 4000 members of UAAR (Union Atheists Agnostics Rationalists), an association that keenly defends the fundamentals of the secular state, giving trouble even to the Vatican. Among the various actions of the association: the campaign for the de-baptize and the "atheist bus", ads that should have spread the slogan:
“The bad news is that God doesn't exist.
The good one is that you don't need him”
Documentary account of a man’s life in the face of imminent death – Francisco Varela's story told affectionately and gently, touchingly and astutely. Varela spent his life building bridges: between Western science and Eastern wisdom, neurobiology and philosophy, abstract theory and practical life. This film seeks to deconstructs the prevailing division between science and art.
The Grüninger case from Switzerland. This is a documentary about a police officer who showed civil courage back in the forties when he led many refugees fleeing German Nazi terror immigrate to Switzerland, although he was advised not to do so. Grüninger later was sued by the state of Switzerland, lost his job and died in the early seventies. The film constructs a just lawsuit with eye-witnesses and thus fully legitimates what Grüninger did.
A documentary about entertainment and home, filmed in Switzerland and California.
«Cyclique» taucht in die Welt der Fahrradkuriere in Lausanne ein und lässt uns hautnah am Leben dreier Kuriere teilhaben, die alle an einem Wendepunkt ihres Lebens stehen. Ein Film über das Älterwerden und die Suche nach dem eigenen Platz in dieser Welt.
A documentary feature about victims and perpetrators involved in restorative justice programs.
Binchey und seine Familie werden mit Gewalt von ihrem letzten Feld vertrieben. Damit stellt sich die existenzielle Frage, wovon sie künftig leben sollen. Die ungesicherte Zukunft trifft Binchey im Innersten und wird zur Zerreissprobe. Trotz heftigen Krisen gibt er die Hoffnung nicht auf und macht sich auf die Suche nach einem freien Feld. Im Nordosten Kambodschas inszeniert Regisseur Mehdi Sahebi zusammen mit Binchey und anderen Dorfbewohnern die Geschichte der Landenteignung durch die Plantagenbesitzer und deren Folgen.
Animal tamers from various continents shine in the spotlight and struggle for their existence behind the scenes. Between toiling and smiling, the female circus artists disclose their passion for their 'wild' animals and extraordinary profession: a daily life full of dedication and discipline in the midst of mortal danger.
Die Dokumentation begleitet das Musikertrio Hans Koch, Martin Schütz und Fredy Studer auf ihrem 30-tägigen Musikmarathon. Bei diesem haben sie in der Zeit vom 01. bis zum 30. September 2005 an jedem Abend zur gleichen Zeit 2 Sets à 40 Minuten in der alten Schlosserei 12 in Zürich improvisiert. Jeden Abend gehen die drei Musiker auf die Bühne und liefern eine perfekte Show mit improvisierter experimenteller Musik. Der Film ist dabei Konzert und Dokumentation in einem.
Every summer, many people transit by sea between France and Algeria, between Marseille and Algiers. Cars loaded to the hood... packages of all kinds... men loaded with bags and stories. At sea, we are no longer in France and not yet in Algeria, and vice versa. From the singular confines of the boat, in the back and forth and the parenthesis of the journey, the crossing puts back in the heart of the passage these women and men brought up.
In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in the heart of Jerusalem, six different Christian denominations, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Syrian, Roman Catholic, Ethiopian and Coptic Christians-have divided the sacred site and simply can not agree on which of the claims on the tomb of Jesus is the most legitimate. So they fight. Sometimes through a difficult time cleaning, sometimes even by force. An intuitive and entertaining approach to the fact that faith is a very human thing.
What Swiss director Stefan Schweitert did for accordion music and for yodeling (Accordion Tribe, Cinequest, 2005; Echoes of Home, Cinequest 2008) he now does for traditional Balkan music. This wonderful film is also a love story – and a door into a world of musical wonders.
Dokumentation der Jugendunruhen in Zürich 1980. Videoladen, Zürich 1980.
An avant-garde documentary film on English guitarist, composer and improviser Fred Frith.