The film industry based in Switzerland dates to the 1930s. It is influenced by the neighboring countries of France, Germany and Italy, with which it shares languages. Before the mid-1960s Swiss films were often sentimental, but the French New Wave led to more experimental cinema.
In German-speaking cantons, French-language films usually have German subtitles. Likewise, in French-speaking cantons, German-language films usually have French subtitles. Adult-oriented films in foreign languages are often screened with original audio and double subtitles in German and French.
Films from the German-speaking region of Switzerland which achieved renown abroad were made by Daniel Schmid, Kurt Gloor, Markus Imhoof, Peter von Gunten and also Xavier Koller. Xavier Koller, who had already earned a place in Swiss cinema history with Das gefrorene Herz (Frozen Heart) (1979) and Der Schwarze Tanner (Tanner – The Rebellion) (1986), won an Oscar for the best foreign film with his drama about refugees, Reise der Hoffnung (Journey of Hope). This film tells the story of a Kurdish family who flee to Switzerland in search of a better life. H. R. Giger – Hansruedi Giger, whose full name is Hans Rudolf Giger although he is better known as HR Giger – was born at Chur in 1940. This painter and visual artist has also won an Oscar. In 1980, he took the “Best Achievement for Visual Effects” award for the design of the filmic world for Ridley Scott’s Alien, including the creature from which it takes its title.
SUNDAY, OCT. 6, 2019 @ 05:00 PM – OR Premiere
FAIR TRADERS – TRUE STORIES OF ETHICAL BUSINESS
Switzerland 2019, 89 min
Directed By Nino Jacusso
Starring: Patrick Hohmann, Claudia Zimmermann, Sina Trinkwalder
Three players in the free-market economy assume responsibility for society and subsequent generations: they practice sustainability. The film examines various stages in the careers of successful entrepreneurs who operate on a local, national and international level and deliver on their promise of a sustainable future.
TUESDAY, OCT. 8, 2019 @ 07:00 PM – OR PREMIERE
The Reformer. Zwingli: A Life’s Portrait (Zwingli) 
Switzerland 2019,
Director: Stefan Haupt
Cast: Maximilian Simonischek, Sarah Sophia Meyer, Anatole Taubman
Zurich, 1519. Arriving with nothing but his impassioned eloquence and radical ideas (e.g. clerics should be free to marry who they choose—radical even today), a young priest sparks a revolution that would challenge the Catholic stronghold over the people, reforming a faith, a nation, and the world. Based on the extraordinary life of Ulrich Zwingli, this lush historical epic reveals how one man’s powerful words and deeds took aim against the tyranny of the time and its suffocating religious strictures. Amid charges of blasphemy and heresy, Zwingli’s denunciation of Biblical hypocrisy slowly begins to sway others to his side, including Anna, a devout widow with a passion for learning. As Zwingli’s controversial positions advance the city toward civil war, his deep bond with Anna is at stake. Multiple award-winning director Stefan Haupt (The Circle) and lead actor Maximilian Simonischek (The Divine Order) craft an intensely vibrant reconstruction of a pivotal moment in Swiss history and an incendiary romance set amid a period of intense transition.
We will also show THE TOBACCONIST, the last movie of Swiss born actor Bruno Ganz.
These movies are proudly sponsored by the Consulate General of Switzerland in San Francisco
