{"id":63640,"date":"2025-08-26T14:48:51","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T14:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/riff.is\/?p=63640"},"modified":"2025-08-28T12:37:50","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T12:37:50","slug":"sviss-i-fokus-2025-gaedamyndir-og-godir-gestir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riff.is\/en\/sviss-i-fokus-2025-gaedamyndir-og-godir-gestir\/","title":{"rendered":"Swiss in Focus 2025: Quality Films and Great Guests"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It is RIFF\u2019s true pleasure to place Switzerland in focus this year, with more than a dozen Swiss films being screened at the festival.<\/span> \u00ed \u00e1r<\/span>In a special category, RIFF presents a selection of new films that give cinema-goers at H\u00e1sk\u00f3lab\u00ed\u00f3 a taste of the freshest creations coming from Switzerland these days.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Honorary Guests from Switzerland at RIFF 2025<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Swiss honorary guests will grace the festival with their presence and their works. First, the multi-award-winning Ursula Meier will attend as the recipient of the RIFF Honorary Award for Creative Excellence.<\/em>Joining her are the original and progressive Z\u00fcrcher brothers, Ramon and Silvan, who will be honored as Emerging Masters<\/em>RIFF will screen a selection of works from these fascinating artists from September 25th to October 5th, and all fans of exciting European cinema are encouraged not to miss this rare chance to see films that don\u2019t often make it into Icelandic cinemas.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the new Swiss films screened at RIFF 2025, the highlights include Hanami<\/em> (2024) by Denise Fernandes, which has swept up awards and recognition in recent months. Equally acclaimed is Queens<\/em> (2024) eftir Klaudia Reynicke sem hefur fari\u00f0 sigurf\u00f6r um kvikmyndah\u00e1t\u00ed\u00f0ir heimsins.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Also featured are Late Shift<\/em> 2025), which earned deserved attention at this year\u2019s Berlinale, and The Shelter<\/em> (La Cache, 2025), directed by Lionel Baier.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, audiences can look forward to a special section of Swiss short films at RIFF 2025, exploring diverse topics ranging from playground disputes and open relationship entanglements to activists gluing themselves to objects..\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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She has also earned numerous awards for her short and documentary films and is now an inspiration for the next generation of filmmakers. With her sharp eye for detail and keen insight into human fragility, Meier creates films that move audiences while reflecting the present. Both Home and Sister will be screened at RIFF\u2014a treat for all lovers of outstanding European cinema.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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RIFF 2025 Honorary Guest: Ursula Meier <\/span><\/h2><\/h3>

Ursula Meier is among the most influential and fascinating voices in contemporary Swiss cinema. Born in Besan\u00e7on, France, in 1971, she has always worked across the border, and her personal vision uniquely combines French and Swiss film traditions.<\/p>

Meier drew international attention with her debut feature Home (2008), screened at Cannes and praised for its inventive and sensitive storytelling. Her follow-up, Sister (2012), won the Silver Bear at Berlinale, cementing her as one of the most important voices in European cinema. Her films combine emotional sensitivity with political depth, exploring family, society, and the individual with warmth, humor, and social critique.<\/span><\/p><\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Emerging Masters: Ramon and Silvan Z\u00fcrcher<\/span><\/h2><\/h3>

Twin brothers Ramon and Silvan Z\u00fcrcher will be honored at RIFF 2025 as Emerging Masters. Several of their key works will be screened with their participation, along with discussions after the screenings.<\/span><\/div>

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The Z\u00fcrcher brothers, from Aarberg, Switzerland, have been widely praised for their unique cinematic language and distinctive approach to everyday human interaction. They first gained international recognition with their debut The Strange Little Cat (2013), a quietly surreal film that premiered at Berlinale and earned critical acclaim.\n<\/span><\/div>

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\nTheir second feature, The Girl and the Spider (2021), solidified their reputation, winning the Best Director award in Berlinale\u2019s Encounters section and earning praise for its emotional depth, masterful framing, and underlying tension.<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/p><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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With backgrounds in both directing and screenwriting, the Z\u00fcrcher brothers have developed a distinctive aesthetic that blends understated suspense with poetic imagery. Their films explore the complexities of human relationships\u2014the smallest gestures, the unspoken conflicts, and the moments of turmoil\u2014with precision and sensitivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2024, they released The Sparrow in the Chimney<\/em>, the final installment in their so-called \u201canimal trilogy,\u201d continuing their collaboration with cinematographer Alexander Ha\u00dfkerl and composer Philipp Moll. Their works have screened at major festivals such as Locarno, Rotterdam, and Toronto, gaining more admirers of their slow yet radical storytelling. All three films of the trilogy will be screened at RIFF this year.<\/p>\n

The Reykjav\u00edk International Film Festival will take place from\u00a0September 25 to October 5.<\/span>\u00a0The full program will be announced soon.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBUY TICKETS<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00dea\u00f0 er RIFF s\u00f6nn \u00e1n\u00e6gja a\u00f0 setja Sviss \u00ed f\u00f3kus a\u00f0 \u00feessu sinni og ver\u00f0a \u00e1 annan tug svissneskra mynda s\u00fdndar \u00e1 h\u00e1t\u00ed\u00f0inni \u00ed \u00e1r. \u00cd s\u00e9rst\u00f6kum flokki kynnir RIFF […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":993,"featured_media":63654,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"ticketed":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riff.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/riff.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/riff.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riff.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/993"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riff.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63640"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/riff.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63697,"href":"https:\/\/riff.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63640\/revisions\/63697"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riff.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riff.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riff.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riff.is\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}