Zurich Raises Curtains With ‘Splitsville,’ Unveils Film Finance Forum

The 21^st Zurich Film Festival kicks off on Thursday with a muscular, star-filled lineup that boasts some of year’s most acclaimed films and, on the industry side, an all-new Film Finance Forum that brings together Swiss financiers and Hollywood producers for potentially fruitful matches. 

Zurich opens this year with Michael Angelo Covino’s romantic comedy “Splitsville,” featuring Dakota Johnson, who will be on hand to accept the festival’s Golden Eye award celebrating her career.

“Splitsville” bows in Zurich’s Gala Premieres section, which showcases some of the most highly anticipated films of the year, among them Luca Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt,” starring Julia Roberts; Cherien Dabis’ Palestinian drama “All That’s Left of You”; Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague”; Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine,” starring Dwayne Johnson; and Edward Berger’s gambler drama “Ballad of a Small Player,” with Colin Farrell, who is receiving the fest’s Golden Icon Award.

Also unspooling are Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Bugonia,” starring Emma Stone; Rebecca Zlotowski’s French drama “A Private Life,” with Jodie Foster; Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein”; Paul Greengrass’ “The Lost Bus,” with Matthew McConaughey; and James Vanderbilt’s “Nuremberg,” featuring Russell Crowe, who is likewise being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The ZFF is additionally bestowing Golden Eye awards for career achievement to Wagner Moura, who presents his Cannes award winner “The Secret Agent,” by Kleber Mendonça Filho, and Benedict Cumberbatch, on hand with Dylan Southern’s “The Thing with Feathers.” It is likewise feting director and screenwriter Noah Baumbach with its A Tribute to … Award during the premiere of “Jay Kelly,” starring George Clooney.

James Sweeney’s acclaimed comedy-drama “Twinless,” meanwhile, is one of 14 international works vying for the Golden Eye in the Feature Film Competition, while Kaouther Ben Hania’s real-life Gaza tragedy “The Voice of Hind Rajab” is among the highlights in Border Lines, dedicated to works that deal with human rights and political conflicts.  

As part of its industry program, the all new Film Finance Forum will bring together international producers and Swiss investors for the first time this year.

“Zurich is still a financial capital and it’s the world capital of wealth management,” ZFF director Christian Jungen explains. “We have over 100 private banks and hundreds of wealth management boutiques. And producers are looking again for the serious, boring money with no strings attached. So they are eager to meet financiers.”

The Film Finance Forum will enable U.S. and other international producers to meet and discuss possibilities with some 30 Swiss financiers, he adds. It’s an opportunity for U.S. producers to explain to investors “why it’s still worth investing in films.”

The state of the international film industry will again be in sharp focus at this year’s Zurich Summit, which analyzes both current challenges and successes.

The event is feting Tom Quinn, founder and CEO of distribution and production house Neon, with its Game Changer Award.

“Tom, for me, is truly a game changer because in a world where indies are shrinking, where everybody is concerned, one round of layoffs follows the next, Tom is the example that the system still works, that you can do intelligent films, auteur films, and still reach a big audience. He’s a visionary entrepreneur,” Jungen says.

“Look at the track record. If you win six Palme d’Ors in a row, you must understand something about the seventh art. And that’s why we want to celebrate him. We want to explain his impact, and as a festival, say thank you, because we need the Tom Quinns these days more than ever.”

The Zurich Summit will additionally examine timely issues such as how awards shows and film festivals are maintaining their relevance; navigating political turmoil; the growing significance of European and international production hubs and incentives; and finding the right release strategies for indie films.

Participants include Berlin Film Festival director Tricia Tuttle; Toronto head Cameron Bailey; Golden Globes head Helen Hoehne; Artist International Group’s David Unger; and Abduljalil Al-Nasser of the Saudi Film Commission, who will discuss Saudi Arabia’s burgeoning movie industry.

Also speaking will be Row K Entertainment president Megan Colligan; Patrick Wachsberger, head of 193; Sony Pictures Classics’ Michael Barker; Daniel Steinman of 30West; and Roeg Sutherland, head of CAA Media Finance & International Film Group.

The Zurich Summit offers a more relaxed and focused event to analyze the big picture, Jungen notes. Unlike other big festivals, “in Zurich, the atmosphere is easygoing and we have time. Most of the deals are done after TIFF, and we want to talk about the state of our industry.”

The panel on navigating political turmoil is particularly timely, he adds, as U.S. President Donald Trump is having an impact on the industry and there is a lot of interest in discussing the fallout.

“It’s really urgent to think about, can we still do critical films? Last year we had the film ‘The Apprentice’ — it didn’t get big distribution in the U.S.,” he notes. “Of course, the sitting president has an impact on how films are released or not, and on which films are produced.”

Likewise on the agenda is the role of YouTube as a dominant force in entertainment and its position in the film industry, and the growing impact of artificial intelligence and AI companies. YouTubers and young AI industry reps will be taking part in the Summit to discuss their work.    

A special AI presentation is in store for the audience, Jungen adds. “It’s going to be stunning, because what’s coming and having an impact on the film industry is tremendous. The pace and velocity of the progress is unheard of.

“Whether it’s political turmoil or AI, there is more urgency regarding these topics than in the last years because these are game-changing topics.”

The ZFF, which last year attracted 140,000 visitors, is embarking on a new era after Jungen led a management buyout of its former owner, the NZZ media group. The new team is looking to position the ZFF as one of Europe’s premier film events showcasing Oscar favorites.

“We’re becoming more and more the place for European premieres of important American films that world premiere at Toronto. And we’re becoming more and more a place where studios, streamers and indies can position their films for the award season,” Jungen adds, noting films like “Ballad of a Small Player” and “Nuremberg” and the attendance of likely Oscar contenders Farrell and Crowe.

“That’s the role for us to play.”