The ZFF announces first Gala Premieres

The Zurich Film Festival’s “Gala Premieres” section presents the year’s most anticipated international auteur films. Eight titles have already been confirmed, including the world premieres of the German-language prestige productions IT’S JUST A PHASE, HONEY/ES IST NUR EINE PHASE, HASE by Florian Gallenberger and CHASING THE LINE/KLAMMER by Andreas Schmied, as well as the star-studded Hollywood movie THE FRENCH DISPATCH by Wes Anderson.

Every year, the Gala section of the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) shows high-quality auteur films with large audience appeal and invites filmmakers to present their movies in person. At the 17th ZFF (23.9.-3.10.) a diverse programme can once again be experienced. “We’re celebrating the comeback of great auteur cinema this year,” explains Artistic Director Christian Jungen. “We are particularly pleased to be able to announce a first major Hollywood production, Wes Anderson’s film THE FRENCH DISPATCH, which will screen as this year’s Closing Film. Thanks to the ZFF’s reputation on the international film scene, it has now become easier for us to get important movies that go on to play a crucial role later in the award season.”

The complete programme of the 17th Zurich Film Festival will be published on Thursday, September 9, from 12 noon on  Website. It can also be viewed on the official festival app Tribo, where a personal festival programme can be compiled as well. Ticket sales start on September 13.

IT’S JUST A PHASE, HONEY / ES IST NUR EINE PHASE, HASE

World Premiere
Comedy
Germany, 2021
Director: Florian Gallenberger
Cast: Christoph Maria Herbst, Christiane Paul, Jürgen Vogel, Jytte-Merle Böhrnsen, Bettina Lamprecht

“My husband once drove 800 km just to sleep with me. Now the other side of the bed is too far for him,” reveals Emilia to her one-night-stand. After growing apart from her husband Paul, she asks for a break from their relationship before diving head first into life. Meanwhile, Paul turns to pills and beds his daughter’s teacher. Is divorce the only way out? The midlife puberty bestseller has now made it to the screen!

CHASING THE LINE / KLAMMER

World Premiere
Drama
Austria, 2021
Director: Andreas Schmied
Cast: Julian Waldner, Valerie Huber, Doris Dexl, Arnold Dörfler, Marii Weichsler, Raphaël Tschudi

The 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck: The young Austrian Franz Klammer is the new rival of Swiss title holder Bernhard Russi. Based on actual events, the film takes an intimate look behind the scenes of the increasingly commercialising professional sports and shows Klammer as a young rebel and lover who became a legend of downhill skiing. An Austrian prestige production with thrilling images and a charismatic lead actor.

THE FRENCH DISPATCH

Premiere in the German-language realm
Tragicomedy
USA, Germany, 2021
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Saoirse Ronan, Léa Seydoux, Benicio Del Toro, Christoph Waltz, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody i.a.

Eccentric authors write the strangest stories at the magazine “The French Dispatch”: painting murderer, poisoned gherkins, stormy student revolution… Cult director Wes Anderson brings these reports to life with great attention to detail and absurd characters. A homage to journalism with an all-star cast including Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux and Benicio Del Toro.

LES CHOSES HUMAINES

Premiere in the German-language realm
Drama
France, 2021
Director: Yvan Attal
Cast: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Ben Attal, Suzanne Jouannet, Pierre Arditi, Mathieu Kassovitz

The Farels are respected people: he is a famous television presenter, she a writer known for her feminist positions. When their apparently perfect son is accused of raping a young woman, the family’s life flies off the rails. This breath-taking film adaptation of the best-selling novel focuses on some of the most topical issues of our times: the difficulties of legal proceedings in the age of Internet pillorying and questions of consensual sex.

WHERE IS ANNE FRANK

Premiere in the German-language realm
Animation
Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Netherlands 2021
Director: Ari Folman
Cast: Ruby Stokes, Emily Carey, Sebastian Croft, Ralph Prosser, Michael Maloney

During the Second World War, Anne Frank wrote in her diary to her imaginary friend Kitty, who is magically brought to life 75 years later and sets out to find Anne in present-day Amsterdam. When Kitty hears about the exclusion and deportation of migrants, she hatches a plan to help them. This sensitive animated film skilfully links Anne Frank’s story to today’s refugee crisis.

A HERO

Premiere in the German-language realm
Drama
Iran, France, 2021
Director: Asghar Farhadi
Cast: Amir Jadidi, Mohsen Tanabandeh, Fereshteh Sadrorafaii, Sarina Farhadi, Sahar Goldust

Rahim faces a stretch in prison for unpaid debts. After stumbling across a bag of gold and tracking down the owner instead of saving his own skin, he suddenly finds himself celebrated in the media as an honourable citizen – unexpected coincidence or elaborate plan? A moral drama about honour and the price of freedom carefully unrolls to reveal little by little what is truly at stake.

THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD

Premiere in the German-language realm
Tragicomedy
Norway, France, Sweden, Denmark, 2021
Director: Joachim Trier
Cast: Renate Reinsve, Anders Danielsen Lie, Herbert Nordrum, Hans Olav Brenner, Helene Bjørneby

Julie is almost 30 and still doesn’t know what kind of life she wants to lead. Overwhelmed by opportunities, she abandons her degree in medicine and dumps her boyfriend when she meets the highly energetic Eivind. Now without an anchor, Julie drifts through life unwilling to be pigeonholed – but can she live with her choices? A zeitgeist comedy about millennials and the melancholy of becoming an adult.

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

Premiere in the German-language realm
Documentary
USA, 2021
Director: Todd Haynes
Protagonists: Lou Reed, John Cale, Maureen Tucker, Sterling Morrison, Nico

The Velvet Underground created a new sound that changed the world of music, cementing its place as one of rock ’n’ roll’s most revered bands. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Todd Haynes, “The Velvet Underground” shows just how the group became a cultural touchstone representing a range of contradictions: the band is both of their time, yet timeless; literary yet realistic; rooted in high art and street culture. The film features in-depth interviews with the key players of that time combined with a treasure trove of never-before-seen performances and a rich collection of recordings, Warhol films, and other experimental art that creates an immersive experience into what founding member John Cale describes as the band’s creative ethos: “how to be elegant and how to be brutal.”