It appears as if my partner and I will be relocating to Zurich in the next month of so -- he has a final round of meetings in Zurich at the end of this month (he works in private banking, of course!) with the signing of the contract before he leaves -- and, as a screenwriter and actor, I'm curious about the state of filmmaking in Switzerland.

Is there an active community of filmmakers in Zurich? If so, are they open to new projects and new people? Is the work done primarily in German or is there a possibility they'd be open to scripts written in English and actors who speak English?

I'm an actor and screenwriter in NYC who's had a bit of success and am hoping this is a career I can continue to some degree should I find myself living in Switzerland.

Feel free to chime in with any thoughts, experiences, opinions, and what-not. (^~^)

Jonathan

Hi Jonathan,
Not sure if you in la suisse yet! Don't think switzerland really has anything going for indie film making or an active interest group. i will be starting a film project in a couple of months in Lausanne. Trying to finalize the funds and of course looking for someone with screenwriting or filmmaking experience. Ive played the lead in a indian film before and then moved onto a Phd in animation and graphics.

Let me know if you would be interested in a project along these lines...

cheers
Tej

Roman Polanski is staying here for a while.... Just head to Gstaad and look for the large house with the paps hanging outside and probably some pups heading inside, knowing what he likes...

Tej,

Thank you for responding. I'll send you a Private Message concerning your upcoming project. :^)

hey...did you ever have any luck with this?

You might find some worthwhile leads here:
http://www.swissfilms.ch/

www.4-films.ch


is a company which does production assistance (location scouting etc. etc.) for any film/photo shoot productions.

Nope, MaryThomi, no luck yet. It'll be a bit easier, I think, once I'm actually in Switzerland.

Thank you for the link, Tim. I look forward to checking it out. I'm beginning to suspect that many Swiss filmmakers do their work in Germany or something!

And thank you as well, Chemmie, for the link. I'll keep it handy for future reference.

I know one lady who makes films here in Switzerland. From what I've understood, it is quite difficult for most aspiring directors to get the funds in this country, and the govt. isn't one to help them much (unlike in some places... anyone know the story of Uwe Boll ? ).

Anyway, this lady has received some funding but her films are very... peculiar. Let's say they're more art and imagery than pure story.

Unfortunately haven't seen her in a few years, for some reason she hasn't been around at the l'Usine for quite some time Otherwise I'd ask her for more advice.

Good luck anyway, hope you can get down to something.

Hi all

Was searching for anything on film industry, commercials and this is what I've come across, so I hope one of you can point me in the right direction.
I moved to switzerland fairly recently and prior to that did some work as a character model which I really enjoyed. Does anyone know of a reputable agency in zurich? I'm no oil painting, but someone somewhere out there should have some use for me ....

hi - in the American Women's Club there is a notice for a company called snoog productions who are making a film. I have no idea if they are paying but they were looking for people. Sorry I don't have any more details as yet. Robin Müller also does a production each year in a theatre near the Gross Munster. I know she has cast all the major characters for Peter Pan but she is still looking for pirates and indians. An option if you want to meet other people and enjoy acting. You can google her name and the details come up. Best of luck!

Thanks so much - I'll definitely check it out

Check out Sparrow Productions. They are very new in Switzerland, but already quite active:

http://www.sparrowsstudios.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sparro...s/142558545825

Thanks David

Some links in regard to the Swiss film-making :

http://www.snowwhite.ch/e/home.php
of the Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion

http://www.praesens.com/page/index.c...MyLanguageID=4

http://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/kultur/B...ml?cid=7169478
-
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/index/Yo...tml?cid=667088

And here some filmmakers :
http://www.filmlink.ch/link.php?cat=8


Due to the limited "home-market" many Swiss filmmakers concentrate on the German market, and some even live and work inside Germany.

Hi all!
So, did anyone establish Zurich Filmmakers Community by now?

I have 2 Swiss friends who are film makers. One emigrated to Umbria, the other to Munich - so fed up they were with the film scene here

Texaner- thanks for that link. I actually found the film (short) made with them in ... 1966, presented at the 3rd Solothurn festival! With my name as an actress and a photo. Fab. Really made my day I had to drive for that film ... I was 16- those were the days.

What about the one who went to Munich? Did he establish himself well there? I visit Munich regularly and am also considering it to be a better place for filmmaking projects. In Germany there is much more happening in film industry but since I am here it would be nice to meet more like-minded people and to collaborate on local projects.

yes, still there and been very active with the Tatort crime series.

more interest in documentaries these days everywhere..always wanted to visit the festival in Nyon.