Theme

In times of global uncertainty, a confident outlook is a risk – but it is precisely in this space that cinema unfolds its magic. Filmmakers show us how we can remain capable of action with courageous and tender stories. They bring the invisible to light and transform fleeting possibilities into thrilling film stories. We find inspiration that not only moves us, but also spurs us on to take action. Confidence becomes a verb. It flickers in the moment of experience, in the darkness of the cinema and in the fire of exchange. We walk with confidence, and you?

At the heart of our festival is an unconditional belief in the vision of artists. We show films that ignore convention and follow their own inner necessity – sometimes as a loud confrontation, sometimes as a quiet, meditative echo. It is a programme for the courageous, an invitation to view the world through a foreign prism. In this panorama of possibilities, there are moments of confidence: they can be found in delicate cherry blossom branches as well as in cool algorithms, in the longing of a coyote or the nervous encounter with an idol.

THE FABULOUS LABYRINTH OF NICOLÁS PEREDA

We are dedicating a mini-tribute to Mexican-Canadian director Nicolás Pereda. For years, he and his regular ensemble have been transforming everyday life into a dazzling labyrinth of identities. In FAUNA, a visit from parents goes awry when the family becomes embroiled in a sophisticated game of role models. In COPPER, he leads us through the dust of the copper mines to a secret by the roadside, while in EVERYTHING ELSE IS NOISE, a botched TV interview gleefully shatters the façade of the idyllic art world. What is real, what is staged?

SHORTS: 7 SWISS SHORT FILMS

We encounter protagonists seeking stability in parallel worlds: between jazz and bureaucracy, in the silence of a deaf world, and amidst the raw pain of a hospital. Confidence is portrayed as a conscious choice — the courage to find oneself in others, or to not lose the music in the shadow of fear. From an ambitious sparrow to a healing zebrafish. A collaboration with the Solothurn Filmtage.

With our main theme, we want to reach beyond the cinema auditorium and sharpen our senses for those moments that fuel our inner drive. For us, confidence is not a state of mind, but an action – an active process that thrives on shared experiences and lively dialogue. The programme reflects this in all its facets:

We find hope in the inconspicuous, in the resistance of the weather or in the stubbornness of animals. Our ‘table talks’ break down the walls between the screen and the audience, turning filmmakers into accomplices on equal footing. And when we breathe in the ‘May green and bark scent’ during our forest walk, we prepare the ground for what awaits us in the cinema.

Through virtual reality and live performances by Jelena Januskevic and Ruth Baettig, we expand the boundaries of cinema. We use state-of-the-art technology to make millennia-old wisdom or the starry expanse of space physically tangible. Here, art becomes walk-in architecture that you can enter.

We explore with confidence, how about you?