Swiss Review 5/2020

Swiss Review / September 2020 / No.5 17 Culture KATY ROMY * Cinemas shut, shooting on hold, film festivals cancelled. For almost two months, the lockdown imposed in Switzerland to protect inhabitants fromthe COVID-19 pandemic brought the film industry to a standstill. Whether to kill time or to indulge their passion for cinema, people in lockdown fromall over theworldhave turned to streaming or video on de- mand (VOD). Film consumption has reached record highs. Industry leader Netflix has recorded the strongest growth levels since its creation. But in the midst of the giant American plat- forms, small Swiss productions are in- visible. Swiss cinema is promoted on local portals, such as Cinefile, Filmingo and Artfilm, which also saw rapid growth at the height of the COVID-19 pan- demic. The number of Filmingo users quadrupled. Cinefile recorded five times more viewers than throughout all of 2019, while the little platform Artfilm, dedicated exclusively to Swiss Streaming alone will not save Swiss cinema Platforms promoting Swiss films saw rapid growth during the corona lockdown period. But it won’t be enough to save Swiss-style auteur cinema. RECOMMENDATION Citoyen Nobel Stéphane Goël (CH, 2020). Citoyen Nobel was released a week before the lockdown. It tells the story of how life changed overnight for Swiss scientist Jacques Dubochet after he won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Film w ebsite: www.citoyennobe l.co m Trailer: ogy.de/trailer-citoyen-nobe l RECOMMENDATION Platzspitzbaby Pierre Monnard (CH, 2020). Needle Park Baby was at the top of the Swiss film charts before cinemas had to shut in March 2020. Set in the 1990s just after the closure of Zurich’s open drugs scene, its story centres on a girl whose mother is addicted to heroin. Film website: www.platzspitzbaby.ch Trailer: ogy.de /trailer-platzspitzbaby productions, saw 20 times more traf- fic than usual. But despite this signifi- cant growth, streaming will not be able to save Swiss cinema, according to key actors in the sector. Streaming is not a business model Laurent Dutoit, CEO of distribution company Agora Films and owner of several independent cinemas in Ge- neva, considers that local portals have made it possible to “maintain contact with the clientele and preserve the cultural side of things”. “However, the increase in the number of users is in- significant compared to the drop in people visiting the cinemas,” he states. Discover the world of Swiss film With film lists that are continually updated, Swiss streaming and video-on-demand platforms allow you to watch Swiss films even if you live abroad. Here are our latest movie tips.