CH
Switzerland still carries out special flights, where passengers, dressed in diapers and helmets, are chained to their seats for 40 hours at worst. They are accompanied by police officers and immigration officials. The passengers are flown to their native countries, where they haven't set foot in in up to twenty years, and where their lives might be in danger. Children, wives and work are left behind in Switzerland. Near Geneva, in Frambois prison, live 25 illegal immigrants waiting for deportation. They are offered an opportunity to say goodbye to their families and return to their native countries on a regular flight, escorted by plain-clothes police officers. If they refuse this offer, the special flight is arranged fast and unexpectedly. The stories behind the locked cells are truly heartbreaking.
Aug 2011
Aug 2006
In 1877 a Swiss aristocrat, Alfred von Rodt, became the governor of the remote Chilean island that gave birth to the legend of Robinson Crusoe. Exiled from his country and family, Von Rodt strived to build a utopian “little kingdom” until his death, but failed and lost his entire fortune. The film tells the story of this outcast through the lives of his descendants, who today seek political autonomy and a preservation of their indigenous identity.
Aug 2018
The personal stories of the people from all around the world waiting for a decision in an asylum-seekers centre in one of most restrictive countries in the world, Switzerland.
Aug 2008
Apr 2002
At dawn, a cannon shot shatters the plain. Horses gallop across the beaten earth. Eva, 21 years old, wants to join the hunters of the Imperial Guard, a Napoleonic regiment of historical re-enactment reserved for men. In her quest for romanticism, she hides her identity so that she can set foot in the stirrup, braving a 200-year-old ban. In this world of gunpowder and smoke, Eva discovers herself as she has always dreamed: a handsome soldier at the side of a beautiful princess.
Jan 2021
It is winter at an emergency shelter for the homeless in Lausanne. Every night at the door of this little-known basement facility the same entry ritual takes place, resulting in confrontations which can sometimes turn violent. Those on duty at the shelter have the difficult task of “triaging the poor”: the women and children first, then the men. Although the total capacity at the shelter is 100, only 50 “chosen ones” will be admitted inside and granted a warm meal and a bed. The others know it will be a long night.
Aug 2014
Switzerland is presently the only country in the world where suicide assistance is legal. Exit: The Right to Die profiles that nation's EXIT organization, which for over twenty years has provided volunteers who counsel and accompany the terminally-ill and severely handicapped towards a death of their choice.
Oct 2006
Behind the scenes of two court cases involving activists in the fight against climate change.
Aug 2022
Jan 2008
The location of the sanctuary of Artemis at Amarynthos has long remained one of the last great archaeological enigmas of Ancient Greece. This vast Artemision is mentioned in several ancient texts, which even go so far as to specify the distance that separates the sanctuary from the ancient city of Eretria. But despite the efforts of numerous scientific expeditions since the end of the 19th century, no trace of the sanctuary or its temple has ever been found. In the 1960s, a young archaeologist - Denis Knoepfler - set out in search of the lost temple of Artemis. His investigations soon led him into the hinterland of the island of Euboea, well beyond the limits of previous expeditions. It would take five decades of searching, unshakeable faith and moving tons of earth to finally unravel the mystery. In 2017, a tenacious Swiss-Greek team of archaeologists formally identified the sanctuary of Artemis, where Denis Knoepfler had predicted it lay buried.
Nov 2023
Jul 2015
Some people think of Switzerland as a heaven on earth, but what do the Swiss themselves imagine life after death will be like? To answer this question, documentary filmmaker Stéphane Goël spoke with large numbers of his compatriots – all of them in the twilight of their life – about how they picture the hereafter. The result is a series of remarkable, poignant and funny conversations in which the interviewees open up about their dreams, passions and fears.
Nov 2015
In Lausanne, Switzerland, a group of young women in their twenties embark, while working or studying, on making ethical and dissident pornographic films.
"Prud’hommes" is an immersion into the heart of a judicial court that handles disputes between employers and employees. This specific jurisdiction is a place of confrontation where the tensions, suffering and revolts that span the world of employment are exposed. In search of justice or recognition, employees speak out and face their employer face to face. This unique theatre plunges us into a real human drama and forces us to reflect upon today's society.
Aug 2010
The film recounts the fates of five of the protagonists of the film “Special Flight” following their expulsion from Switzerland. Having been wrenched away from the country in which they had lived and from their children because they had no papers, they are found again in Senegal or Kosovo, in Gambia or Cameroun, destitute and cut off from their families, sometimes even having been tortured upon arrival. This film broaches the private lives of these broken men and testifies to the brutality of a migration policy that is common in Switzerland and in Europe.
Jan 2013
What remains of a mother after years of domestic violence? What remains of her body, her dignity and her strength? Surely words, memory and a few dance steps that can still be passed down.
Aug 2024
Jan 2000
Apr 1992
Christine is head of the financial department at the Kintambo maternity ward. Her job is to ensure that all patients have paid the hospital fees. Rémy is CEO of one of the largest mining companies in the country. His penchant for women will tarnish his relationship with his family, particularly his 12-year-old son. Muknya, a night taxi driver, dreams of reaching the Schengen area but circumstances do not make his task easy. Viya, who has just lost her father unexpectedly, will cross paths with each other.
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