Focus On
Heidi Revisited
CH 01 Nightmare Alps
Pure white mountain peaks often conceal human and animal abysses, sometimes turning seemingly harmless train trips, living-room idylls and flirts above the clouds into dark scenarios. This programme was compiled in cooperation with Internationalen Kurzfilmtagen Winterthur.
CH 02 Fondue Animée
An overweight cow as an orchestra stage, wood-shavings in a sexual act, a muezzin in a cuckoo clock. Pure Swiss lunacy! Maybe Switzerland should move to the South Pole?
CH 03 Satire Pronto
A hilarious concert full of fortissimi! We take you to the Moroccan Alps and cosy atomic shelters to enjoy juicy deals and throbbing paunches.
CH 04 Swiss Kiss
Some keep their darlings in the garage, others live their lives in a completely backward fashion. In order to fully comprehend these relationship conflicts one has to view the brain as an ensemble piece.
East by South East Asia
ESE 01 Everyday Insanity
These protagonists are the playthings of their everyday existence between child labour, flying lightness and the desire to stay true to one's self. Some times they succeed and sometimes they have to give in to destiny.
ESE 02 The Last Laugh
Pretty weird stuff! From an Oscar nominated film where a tree grows out of someone's head to a cook who prepares himself! The protagonists in this programme attempt to stay on the surface of things...
ESE 03 Change of Perspective
A surreal drug trip or serious societal critique can change our point of view. Here's an array of unimagined perspectives with themes including love and religious conflicts or even the deceptive peace of a morning ritual.
ESE 04 TaiwAnimation
As richly varied as a kaleidoscope. The diversity of Taiwanese animation knows no bounds.
ESE 05 ChinAnimation - Film Live Lecture with Prof. Giesen
WATERCOLOURS AND KUNG FU presented by Rolf Giesen Chinese animation is once again a prominent feature in the festival programme. In the year 180 AD, Chinese inventor Ding Huan created the world's first moving image with the Zoetrope. Shadow theatre came to Europe via the Silk Road and paved the way for cinema. Chinese fairytales inspired European storytellers and ultimately Walt Disney. Now the pendulum is swinging back: China has rediscovered the art of animation. Rolf Giesen, President of the International Animation, Comic & Games Museum in Changchun, China draws a line from early silhouette animation and classic short films by Te Wei (the master of watercolour animation who passed away in 2010), right up to more recent student and professional work from the renowned Beijing Film Academy and Jilin Animation Institute, which with 9,000 students is the largest institution of its kind. As such, China is a slow and ancient cultural nation that has opened itself to a fast-paced, transitory media world whilst striving to stay in tune with the peaceful chimes and tones of old master Te Wei.
