Chris the Swiss // Screening + Q&A // IFFR: Live in Sarajevo

On Saturday, August 11, Kino Pod Baranami will host a unique event - IFFR Live in Sarajevo - a joint project of the film festivals in Rotterdam and Sarajevo. On screen, Chris the Swiss - a partially animated documentary film by Anja Kofmel, which has been nominated for the Golden Camera at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The screening will be followed by a live broadcast of a Q&A session with the filmmaker.

IFFR Live is a part of the International Film Festival in Rotterdam (IFFR). In January this year, viewers in Krakow together with audiences in dozens of European cities, had the chance to see films presented at IFFR. This time, IFFR Live presents a guest screening at the Sarajevo Film Festival. The film Chris the Swiss will be shown there on August 11, as well as in nine other cinemas in Europe, including Kino Pod Baranami.

Chris the Swiss is a full-length debut of Anja Kofmel, made as a follow-up to her short film Chrigi (2009). The director tries to unravel the tumultuous life of her cousin Christian Würtenberg, a Swiss reporter, who died in 1992 in unknown circumstances during the Balkan war. Nineteen years later Kofmel follows the breadcrumbs exploring the motivation behind a man she once admired and hoping to uncover the way he died. Chris the Swiss is a unique combination of a documentary and a black-and-white animation, serving to register a very personal and painful story of conscience, adventure and the meaning of war. 

At this year’s edition of Cannes Film Festival Kofmel was nominated for three awards, including the Golden Camera for the best debut. The documentary has also been presented at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, as well as the prestigious Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

Following the screening, Kino Pod Baranami invites all viewers to take part in a live broadcast of a Q&A session with the filmmaker. Participants can ask their own questions via Twitter (using hashtag #livecinema)

The film will be presented with Polish and English subtitles. The discussion with the filmmaker will be held in English.