Swiss Filmmakers implements "Collection Lockdown" project
The «Collection Lockdown» by Swiss Filmmakers is a project that emerged during the time when COVID-19 drastically changed our daily lives. Many industries came to a standstill, and no one knew what the future held. The same was true for filmmaking.
Based on an idea by the French-speaking Swiss producer Frédéric Gonseth, the "Collection Lockdown" concept was created together with Anne-Laure Daboczi, the Swiss-German producer Michael Steiger and the Ticino producer Michela Pini. The project aims to enable Swiss filmmakers to contribute their personal artistic interpretation to this extraordinary situation.
Great response, lots of support
The concept was submitted to all Swiss filmmakers in the form of a competition. Despite the short submission period of less than a week, the response was enormous: over 80 filmmakers submitted their ideas.
Thanks to the support of SRG SSR/SRF/RTS/RSI, the Federal Office of Culture and Cinéforom, it was possible to realize 33 film projects from all parts of Switzerland. The entries were completed on schedule within 16 days using the filmmakers' existing resources.
Available online
The films have been available on SRG SSR's online platforms and social networks since May 11, 2020 - and have been very successful. The Swiss-German films were watched by over 10,000 people late on Wednesday, which is an above-average number of viewers for this time of day.
"Never before has a project been initiated and implemented nationally in such a short space of time," says producer Michael Steiger. "The Covid crisis has brought us all closer together. We got this project up and running together quickly and easily. It was an adventure and a great experience that we wouldn't want to have missed."
