Screenings: Whatta Helvetia? | LA FORTERESSE

Whatta Helvetia? – States of Mind from the Land of the Alps

Switzerland is one of Europe´s wealthiest nations. Images of a nation in good health crumble during the Whatta Helvetia? screenings, but there is still room for humour and the absurd side of life. Not only do these films have thought-stirring themes, they also manifest excellent and highly professional 21st century film-making in Switzerland.

The first film of the Whatta Helvetia? screenings is On the Line (2007) by Reto Caff, probably the most awarded in Swiss film history; it was also nominated for a short film Oscar this year. Tobias Nölle´s René (2007) in the same screening has also been the jury pet of international festivals. The man in a yellow raincoat also appealed to the jury of International Competition of Tampere Film Festival 2008, where the film won the prize for best fiction in International Competition.

One of the oddities of the Swiss mindframe is the local autophiles´ relationships to their cars, as portrayed by Jonas Meier´s film Rasende Liebe (2006). In Michael Koch´s award-winning Poolside (2006) a swimming supervisor is on the lookout for scantily dressed girls with questionable methods. Rolando Colla comments on the hidden racism in society with Protestation V (2007) in which a refugee is driven out of an abandoned warehouse.

Immigration policy, currently under close scrutiny in the whole of Europe, is also the carrying theme of Fernand Melgar´s long documentary Fortress (2007). Switzerland hardened its immigration laws in 2006, and the documentary depicts the life of a local reception centre. Both the inhabitants´ and and the employees´ views are shown, and quite often human needs and hopes collide – and violently, too – with a system hard as nails.

Swiss films selected to the International and LAB1O Competitions are Georg Lendorff´s fictional Beheading of a Smiling Dog (2008) and Peter Volkart´s experimental fiction Monsieur Selavy (2008).

Simon Köenig from Swiss Films will be a panelist at the seminar Who Needs Short Film? on Friday from noon till 2pm. Another Swiss guest is director Femand Melgar.

MORE INFORMATION

Riina Mikkonen, Press Coordinator
tel. +358 3 213 0034 or +358 40 532 2912
riina.mikkonen@tamperefilmfestival.fi

Sanna Kyllönen, Press Coordinator
tel. +358 3 213 0034 or +358 40 067 7667
sanna.kyllonen@tamperefilmfestival.fi

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