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In his latest interview/podcast, host and screenwriter Stuart Wright speaks to Swiss director Christian Johannes Koch about his debut feature Spagat, which is out now in Switzerland.

Winter in a rural region of Switzerland. Marina, a teacher in her mid-forties, leads a quiet life with her husband and daughter. But appearances are deceptive; she is having a secret affair with Artem, the father of one of her students, Ulyana. Although both Artem and his daughter have lived on the edge of this small town for years, neither has a residence permit. Their secret is exposed one day when Ulyana is arrested for stealing. The relatively minor incident has far-reaching consequences; not only are the lives of Artem and Ulyana brought crashing down, but Marina’s involvement in the whole situation is also revealed. Torn between lies, loyalty and passion, the teacher decides she must take a radical step.

Festival in Bulgaria delays final week following emergency pandemic measures.

Iuli Gerbase’s The Pink Cloud has won the top award at the Sofia International Film Festival, which has seen its final week postponed due to emergency lockdown measures in Bulgaria.

The Brazilian filmmaker’s debut feature picked up the Sofia City of Film Grand Prix Award along with €7,000. The sci-fi drama, which premiered in competition at Sundance, centres on a new couple who are forced to stay indoors when a deadly pink cloud covers the world. MPM Premium handles sales.

The award was announced during a physical ceremony at...

In “Spagat,” his feature film debut, Swiss director Christian Johannes Koch tells the story of a high school teacher whose double life begins to come apart while also examining the difficult life of an immigrant laborer with no papers.

Set in rural Switzerland, the film follows Marina, a married mother and teacher who is having an affair with Ukrainian immigrant Artem. Their secret relationship is threatened when the man’s daughter, Ulyana, is arrested for stealing — an incident that has far-reaching consequences for all of them. “Spagat,” a German and Russian word that means both “balancing act” and “the splits,” reflects the situation Marina finds herself in as she tries to find a solution to an increasingly growing problem as well as that of the ambitious Ulyana, an aspiring young gymnast.

Speaking to Variety about the film, Koch, who wrote the script with Josa Sesink, said several factors led to the making “Spagat,...

Nine out of 13 features will be presented as world premieres.

San Sebastian International Film Festival (Ssiff) is set to world premiere a raft of new features, which will compete for the coveted Golden Shell award.

The 68th edition, which runs September 18-26, will see 13 films play in competition from the Official Selection, nine of which are world premieres.

Scroll down for full list of titles

These include Harry Macqueen’s UK drama Supernova, starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci, and UK documentary Crock Of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan, directed by Julien Temple and produced by Johnny Depp.

More than half of all competition titles directed by women.

Switzerland’s Zurich Film Festival (Zff) has unveiled the full programme for its 2020 edition, which is set to go ahead as a physical event from September 24 to October 4.

Scroll down for list of competition titles

The 16th edition of the festival will comprise 165 films, of which 23 are world premieres and more than half of the competition titles are directed by women. Zff also revealed that Oscar-winning UK actress Olivia Colman will receive an honorary award and Johnny Depp is set to attend the festival with a new documentary.

The feature...

Switzerland’s Cognito Films has re-teamed with German shingle Elemag Pictures on a human drama about a group of pit workers coming to terms with the closure of Germany’s last coal mine.

“Once We Were Pitmen” accompanies five miners on a bittersweet journey against the backdrop of climate change, Germany’s energy transition away from fossil fuels and even gender identity. The film focuses on a motley crew that includes proud old-school miners, a Sri Lankan immigrant, an eternal bachelor who lives with his mother, and a transwoman who finds the ideal opportunity to embrace the life she has long sought.

The protagonists’ stories present universal topics, the sense of belonging, loss and the search for identity, said Cognito Films partner and producer Rajko Jazbec.

The project has reunited Cognito Films with Swiss filmmaker Christian Johannes Koch, who is co-directing the pic with German helmer Jonas Matauschek. The company...

In today’s Global Bulletin, San Sebastian announces it will screen all eight episodes of Luca Guadagnino’s “We Are Who We Are” and finalizes its competition sections; Venice selects legendary composer Terence Blanchard as its third Campari Passion for Film winner; Big Light Productions gets a new COO; Small World International licenses “Big in Japan” in Russia; and Fugitive signs on as Topic’s international distribution representative.

Festivals

HBO has doubled down at this year’s San Sebastian, with Luca Guadagnino’s “We Are Who We Are” set to world premiere alongside HBO España’s original drama series “Patria.” An HBO-Sky co-production, all seven hours and 50 minutes of “We Are Who We Are” will screen at San Sebastian in the festival’s Special Screenings section.

The series was originally selected for the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs at Cannes but had to be delayed when the festival was cancelled. Two episodes will broadcast before San Sebastian,...

Eight-part series to screen in full at festival.

Luca Guadagnino’s drama series We Are Who We Are is to world premiere at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.

The eight-part series, co-produced by HBO and Sky, will be screened in full as part of the festival’s special screenings.

The drama centres on two adolescents on an American military base in Italy. Producers are Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment and Mario Gianani for Wildside, both owned by Fremantle, with Small Forward.

The series was one of only two projects selected for Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, which was unable to go...

San Sebastian Film Festival (September 18-26) has added Luca Guadagnino’s We Are Who We Are to its line-up, with the event to world premiere the eight-part series in full as part of its Official Selection special screenings.

Written by Paolo Giordano and Francesca Manieri together with Guadagnino, the HBO-Sky co-production follows two adolescents living on an American military base in Italy. The cast includes Chloë Sevigny, Jack Dylan Grazer, Alice Braga, Jordan Kristine Seamón, Spence Moore II, Kid Cudi, Faith Alabi, Francesca Scorsese, Ben Taylor, Corey Knight, Tom Mercier and Sebastiano Pigazzi. The show was a part of this year’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight selection. The show is produced by Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment and Mario Gianani for Wildside, both Fremantle companies, with Small Forward.

“In his first inroads to TV series, Guadagnino succeeds in creating a unique universe inhabited by memorable characters who try to find themselves,...