Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film has selected Switzerland as country of honour at its 2024 global film market that runs May 14-22 during the annual festival.
Marché du Film will highlight Swiss content and talent across all sections of the market alongside promotion agency Swiss Films, in collaboration with the Swiss Federal Office of Culture and the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR.
A Swiss delegation will include filmmakers, producers, and industry experts with the aim of nurturing international partnerships, seeking co-production opportunities and boosting projects in development. The country will also put its multilingual workforce and post-production facilities on display to attract future international productions and showcase its latest innovations in technology bringing together Swiss creatives, local start-ups and film funding organisations.
In addition to being consistently among the largest contingents at Cannes’ market, Swiss cinema has had a solid festival presence in recent years including Claude Barras’ Oscar-nominated My Life As A Zucchini that first premiered at Directors’ Fortnight and 2023 films including Anna Novion’s Marguerite’s Theorem and Alice Rohrwacher’s La Chimera in official selection.
Switzerland is the third country to be highlighted at the market, following inaugural India in 2022 and Spain in 2023.
Guillaume Esmiol, Marché du Film’s executive director, cited “the remarkable evolution and impact of Swiss cinema” and “their strong commitment to industry growth.” He added: “They are, most of all, a very innovative country in terms of creativity and technology, which aligns perfectly with the positioning of the Marché, the leading market at the forefront of innovation and industry trends.”
Alain Berset, President of the Swiss Confederation, called his country “an attractive hub for co-productions, which are becoming increasingly important in Europe” and “home to innovative companies excelling in AI and animation, thus playing a key role in positioning the Marché du Film as a premier industry event for innovation and sustainability.”
Switzerland will also host next year’s European Film Awards on December 14, 2024, in the city of Lucerne.
The 77th annual Cannes Film Festival runs May 14-25, 2024.
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