BAK is satisfied with Swiss films
The Federal Office of Culture's performance-based film funding awarded around CHF 4.6 million to filmmakers, distributors and screening companies. The general decline in cinema attendance had no impact on Swiss films.
This spring, the Federal Office of Culture's (FOC) performance-based film funding awarded around CHF 4.6 million to filmmakers, distributors and screening companies. In this way, the Federal Office is supporting Swiss filmmaking across all sectors through success at the box office. The general decline in cinema attendance has not affected Swiss films: last year, including international co-productions, they recorded almost one million admissions. The market share was 6 percent, a slight increase on the previous year (4.85 percent), according to the BAK. The success of "Mein Name ist Eugen" by Michael Steiner, which recorded over half a million admissions, played a key role in the increase in the Swiss market share. The films "Snow White" by Samir (85,479 admissions) and "Undercover" by Sabine Boss (40,217) followed in second and third place among Swiss films. Documentaries, on the other hand, suffered a decline in admissions, as in 2004. The most successful film in this category was "Matchmaker" by Gabrielle Antosiewicz (14,500 viewers). An above-average number of viewers, namely around 270,000, saw short films in the supporting program of long films, although the success of Swiss films only continued in German-speaking Switzerland, where over 90 percent of admissions were achieved. The share in French-speaking Switzerland has shrunk again compared to the previous year and is now only around 9%. The federal government's new funding concepts from July 2006 should now allow greater account to be taken of regional circumstances when films are released.
With CHF 276,000 and seven reference films exploited in cinemas, the Zurich production company Dschoint Ventschr received the highest production credit from the BAK. It is responsible for films such as Snow White and Riccordare Anna. In the distribution category, Frenetic Films recorded the highest credit with 8 reference films (including Mein Name ist Eugen, Matchmaker, Jo Siffert) and CHF 271,000 in funding. Neugass Kino AG (Lucerne and Zurich) is in first place among the screening companies (CHF 139,900 / 31 reference films). With the exception of the cinema credits, the contributions must be reinvested in new film projects within two years.
With CHF 276,000 and seven reference films exploited in cinemas, the Zurich production company Dschoint Ventschr received the highest production credit from the BAK. It is responsible for films such as Snow White and Riccordare Anna. In the distribution category, Frenetic Films recorded the highest credit with 8 reference films (including Mein Name ist Eugen, Matchmaker, Jo Siffert) and CHF 271,000 in funding. Neugass Kino AG (Lucerne and Zurich) is in first place among the screening companies (CHF 139,900 / 31 reference films). With the exception of the cinema credits, the contributions must be reinvested in new film projects within two years.
