Peter Guyer

Born June 8, 1964, Frank Matter films four "twins", born the same day as him, but in other latitudes. Interweaving their life stories with rich archival material, the filmmaker links these Parallel Lives with elements from his own biography, to compose a fascinating fresco where intimate trajectories are part of the advent of the global village.

When two friends collect money for the so-called "suffering in America" in the streets of Accra, is it for fun, political provocation, or a prophecy? Two Swiss filmmakers will answer these questions with the help of seven musicians from Ghana-M3NSA, Wanlov The Kubolor, Adomaa, Worlasi, Akan, Mutombo Da Poet, and Poetra Asantewa-who have written new songs and produced video clips especially for the documentary film Contradict.

Talented swimmer, motivated apprentice, cool buddy: Beyto is in the midst of life. But when the only son of a Turkish migrant family falls in love with his coach Mike, an ideal world falls to pieces. His parents only see one way out: They lure him to their home village and plan his wedding with Seher, his childhood friend. Suddenly, Beyto finds himself in a disruptive love triangle.

«Grozny Blues» follows a few people around Grozny, the capital of war-torn Chechnya where daily life is defined by political repression, constricting customs, forced Islamification and the failure to come to terms with recent history. The film revolves around four women who have been fighting for human rights under worsening conditions for many years but get more and more disillusioned with the situation in Putin’s Russia. The building where they work is also home to a Blues Club that is frequented by a group of young people. Having only vague memories of the Chechen wars in the 90s, they try to make sense of the strange things that are happening in their country. In linking the personal and intimate to the political, Nicola Bellucci shows in a dramatic and yet very poetic way what it means to live in a divided society that navigates a no-man’s land between war and peace, repression and freedom, archaic traditions and modern life.

Grimsel-West was the name of a project for the expansion of the hydroelectric plant in the Hasli Valley. Submitted on 30 June 1988, its realization seems fairly improbable for the moment. Originally conceived as an expression of opposition to the construction of a new dam, the film tries to fathom the undercurrent of apprehension caused by such plans to exploit the environment.

A three-year journey with actor Bruno Ganz. He plays various roles in various places, but he also plays Bruno Ganz – filming and directing friends. Again and again he works on the role of Dr. Faust, the figure who – speaking for us all – desperately wants to discover “what holds the world together at the core”. A thousand days of searching for one's own destiny, with despair as the only companion, and placing hope in the creative power of poetry.

She is a lesbian. She is a believer. And maybe soon a priest: Stefanie Arnold from Uri is on her way into the church ministry with her ordination as a deaconess, a vicariate year should give her certainty. But does she, as a lesbian woman living in a registered partnership, fit into an institution that has been dominated by patriarchal structures for centuries? And how do other people from the queer community fight for their place in the church?

Toni, an attractive Catholic priest, impregnates several women in the Swiss countryside of the 1950s until the bishop revokes his priesthood. The six children only meet after Toni's funeral. They talk about their fatherless youth, their brave mothers and the fatal silence they now want to break.

'From One Day To The Next' follows four elderly people through their everyday lives, observing how they cope with a gradual loss of autonomy.

They live in its shadow, venerate and fear it, its whims dominate their destiny: the Iddu volcano has determined the lives of the inhabitants of Stromboli for centuries. Tourist streams and trekking queues to the volcano fill the coffers, but a violent eruption like the one in 2019 abruptly tears the island into a different reality. The force of nature confronts the population with drastic changes and questions about sustainability and mass tourism.

Two film students document the fate of an ex-prisoner from Guantanamo who is granted asylum in Switzerland.

The small swiss village of Mitholz got destroyed in 1947 after an Ammunition depots of the Swiss Army exploded. After decades of secrecy, the population learned in 2018 that the danger had not been averted yet and that the residents need to leave their homes. A story about the abuse of trust and the mistakes of a government whose citizens pay the price for.

It is one of the toughest races in alpine skiing: the Patrouille des Glaciers. Frédéric Favre accompanied three participants for a year and a half. In the training that pushes them to their physical limits, in the mental preparation that reveals their deepest fears, in the race that pushes them to their limits. Florence wants to compete in memory of her father, but as a loner she has to learn team spirit. Guillaume is a competitor with heart and soul, but his greatest struggle is to balance family, work and passion. Antoine has been through drug withdrawal: high time to prove to the world what he is capable of!

A Long Way Home takes us on a fascinating journey into both the grim days of recent Chinese history and the dazzling cultural scene in present-day China. The film centers around five of the most significant representatives of contemporary Chinese counterculture: the visual artists the Gao Brothers, the choreographer and dancer Wen Hui, the animation artist Pi San and the poet Ye Fu. With bravery and subversive wit, they each shed light on the social problems in their country. In doing so, the film poses universal questions that ultimately concern us all: which values determine our cultural identity and in what kind of world do we want to live.

The young political movement Operation Libero wants to stir up Switzerland's National elections with cross-party issues, progressive candidates and a targeted campaign. Will the movement succeed in asserting itself against the established forces and bring about change?

In Bern, Madame Mercedes has been working for 35 years in her car as a prostitute. An intimate and subtle portrait about ageing as a prostitute, a documentary about a vanishing chapter of habits in Switzerland.

SIGNERS KOFFER is a kind of road movie across Europa. From the Swiss Alps to eastern Poland, from Stromboli to Iceland. Always following the scenery's magically charged contours. Immersing yourself, letting yourself be infected, then travelling on. Roman Signer determines the route that we are moving on and the film improvises along the way. Being on the road also means tracking down the right places. Signer brings them alive using his own personel instruments, brilliantly simple operations full of subtle humour. «Simple» poems being transmitted into space with INSTRUMENTS as gunpowder, fuse, rubber boots, balloons, stool, small table ... and a three wheelded Plaggio. SIGNERS KOFFER is also a journey through the state of mind. A tightrope walk between fun and melancholy. Danger also mental mental danger becomes the stimulus of the senses. Sudden crashes, abrupt chagnes of mood determine the rythm and atmosphere of this cinematic journey.

The movie recalls children who suffered mental and physical harm both during the last century, particularly in religious orphanages, and during the time of early modernperiod witch-hunts. It shows that the mindsets and behavioural patterns of both time periods are more alike than one might think.