“Hesitation Wound” and “Hollywoodgate” were named winners at the Zurich Film Festival, as the 19th edition of the Swiss festival came to a close.
Selman Nacar’s drama “Hesitation Wound” impressed the Feature Film Competition jury.
“Moral issues are a frequent underlying theme in many films, but the dilemma facing the main character in this film is really strongly felt here,” argued the jury, which comprised president Anton Corbijn, Finola Dwyer, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Juho Kuosmanen and Bryce Nielsen.
Praising “wonderful” Tülin Özen, cast as a lawyer struggling at home and at work – “a woman forever on the verge of either breakthrough or breakdown,” wrote PvNew – they added: “It’s a film that stayed with the majority of the jury throughout the festival and even though it was a fight with two other contenders, it became our favorite. Selman Nacar, thank you so much for this delicious film.”
Iris Kaltenbäck’s “The Rapture” and Karan Tejpal’s “Stolen” earned special mentions.
India’s “Stolen” was a “high-octane thriller” said artistic director Christian Jungen, in which “you dive into the society split in two, with wealthy upper class and so-called regular people.” He underlined that the fest is committed to showing movies “from all over the world.”
He also noticed the triumphant return of film noir, exemplified by “Mandoob” from Saudi Arabia and “Early Birds,” the first Swiss Netflix production.
“These films do what they promise: they thrill. We live in such a controlled world and genres that can provide such emotional impact are very much in demand.”
On the documentary front, “Hollywoodgate” by Ibrahim Nash’at dominated the Focus Competition. “It exposes a shocking world that is otherwise inaccessible,” noted the jurors – while Maciek Hamela’s “In the Rearview” won the documentary Film Competition.
“Using a minimalistic and immersive style, [it] bears witness to the unbridled excesses of war. A prosaic world, underscored by catastrophe, is expressed through cinematic emotion, without ever becoming overly sentimental,” said the jury, which comprised Feras Fayyad, Monica Lazurean-Gorgan, Claudio Cea, Crystal Moselle and Shaunak Sen.
Although affected by the strike – “It definitely had an impact,” said Jungen – the festival still managed to welcome quite a few celebs, from Mads Mikkelsen to Jessica Chastain.
“I was so happy she came to personally present ‘Memory,’ which in my mind is one of the best films of the year. These actors will certainly play a big role in the upcoming award season.”
“Stars belong to the cinema and therefore they belong to festivals too. Normally, we would have more of them here in Zurich. But Ethan Hawke also introduced [his directorial effort] ‘Wildcat,’ which was a big joy.”
“Babyshambles” rocker Pete Doherty was present as well, treating the audience to a mini-concert and scoring two standing ovations at the first screening of “Peter Doherty: Stranger in My Own Skin,” documenting his struggles with substance abuse.
“It’s pretty wild that this film got finished. I just feel really grateful, to be honest, because so many people can’t just go to Thailand to get clean,” he said, opening up about working with wife Katia deVidas – “I slowly lured her into the darker side of things, saying: ‘You gotta film me taking drugs!” – and looking back on his musical legacy.
“I always prefer the thing I am working on at the moment, really. There are a few songs I really like from back then, because they seemed to have captured something true. But I don’t think it’s a decisive factor whether or not you were on drugs when you wrote a song.”
Films made by women, or about women, were aplenty, added Jungen, mentioning the likes of William Oldroyd’s “Eileen” and “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” one of the audience favorites.
“There is a need to see women opening up about their desires. That’s certainly a trend. After all, ‘Barbie,’ a very feminist film, beat ‘Oppenheimer’: a classical biopic by an established auteur.”
Titles depicting the impact of social media also made their mark.
“Take our opener ‘Dream Scenario,’ about an average Joe who becomes a social media phenomenon. I am convinced Nicolas Cage is going to get an Oscar nom for this role. Or ‘Dumb Money,’ about how social media impacts the stock exchange.”
“Our ticket sales are heavily driven by what’s going on Instagram and TikTok as well. When I was young, you asked for an autograph, then for a selfie. Now, everyone is asking for videos. That’s the new currency in the economy of prestige.”
But what happens outside of the cinema – or on the tennis court – also matters.
“We have a tennis tournament and even there you can start a conversation that leads to business. I am not sure if traditional markets are the future: you pay a lot of money for a booth in a corner without daylight. These days, it’s really all about direct human exchange.”
Full list of winners:
Focus Competition
“Hollywoodgate” by Ibrahim Nash’at
Special Mention
“Let Me Go” by Maxime Rappaz
Feature Film Competition
“Hesitation Wound” by Selman Nacar
Special Mention:
“The Rapture” by Iris Kaltenbäck and “Stolen” by Karan Tejpal
documentary Film Competition
“In the Rearview” by Maciek Hamela
Special Mention:
“Queendom” by Agniia Galdanova
Emerging Swiss Talent Award (Critics’ Prize)
“Las Toreras” by Jackie Brutsche
ZFF for Kids Jury Award
“Dancing Queen” by Aurora Gossé
Audience Award
“Queendom” by Agniia Galdanova
Film Prize of the Churches of Zurich
“Las Toreras”
Best International Film Music
Elliot Murphy
A Tribute to … Award – Todd Haynes
Golden Icon Award – Jessica Chastain
Career Achievement Award – Volker Bertelmann
Career Achievement Award – Michel Merkt
Golden Eye Award – Diane Kruger
Golden Eye Award – Mads Mikkelsen
Game Changer Award – Fred Kogel
