The Swiss film producer Christian Davi is dead

Throughout his life, the co-founder of the film production company Hugofilm has also worked as a networker in film policy committees on behalf of Swiss film. With Hugofilm, Davi was also specifically committed to a younger generation of Swiss filmmakers. Most recently, Hugofilm produced two internationally acclaimed Swiss film debuts, "Chrieg" (Simon Jaquemet) and "Aloys" (Tobias Nölle). With his documentaries and the films he has produced, Christian Davi leaves behind an extensive body of work that has been shown and honored at film festivals around the world. Davi, born in Zurich in 1967, studied environmental sciences at the ETH Zurich and worked as a co-author and actor in various theater groups in Zurich as well as an assistant director at the Schauspielhaus Zurich. From 1991-1996 he studied film in Lausanne and then worked as a freelance director and producer as well as a lecturer at the ECAL in Lausanne.

In 2002, Davi founded Hugofilm Productions, Zurich, together with Christof Neracher and Thomas Thümena. The first film produced by Hugofilm, "Vitus" (2006) by Fredi Murer, is still one of the most internationally successful Swiss films. "Vitus", starring Bruno Ganz as the grandfather of the highly talented pianist played by Theo Gheorghiu, won several awards. In addition, "Vitus" made it onto the shortlist of the 79th Academy Awards and was exploited in cinemas in around 40 countries. This was followed by outstanding, unconventional films such as "Pepperminta" by Pipilotti Rist, "Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction" by Sophie Huber and "Lovely Louise" by Bettina Oberli.

As a director, Christian Davi has worked on the collective films "ID Swiss" (1999) and "Downtown Switzerland" (2004) and directed the documentaries "Gopf in Africa" (2001) and "Die Regierung - Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch und zurück" (1998). He won the Swiss Film Award for the latter. In addition to his cinematic work, Davi was committed to film policy issues throughout his life. He was a member of the Swiss Film Academy, a board member of several industry associations and was repeatedly appointed to national film commissions as an expert.

As a producer, he has always been committed to supporting young talent. Thanks to his support, numerous young filmmakers have found their own independent style with great international success. (pd)

Photo: Swiss Films