The film "Beast" from producer Simon Hesse was declared the winner by the jury. The award, which is worth CHF 100,000, supports outstanding Swiss film projects that are in the production or post-production stage. The Filmmaker Award was established by the Verein zur Filmförderung in der Schweiz (Association for Film Funding in Switzerland). This association includes the co-founders of the ZFF, Nadja Schildknecht and Karl Spoerri, Ringier CEO Marc Walder and IWC CEO Christoph Grainger-Herr among its members. (Picture above: Zurich Film Festival director Karl Spoerri, CMO IWC Schaffhausen, Franziska Gsell, award winners Lorenz Merz and Simon Hesse, and British actor Dev Patel).
Dev Patel achieved his international breakthrough in 2008 with the modern Bollywood fairy tale "Slumdog Millionaire". The British actor received numerous "Best Newcomer" awards, including the British Independent Film Award and the National Board of Review Award, for his portrayal of the title role of Jamal. For the drama "Lion", he won the British Academy Film Award (BAFTA) for Best Supporting Actor in addition to being nominated for an Academy Award.
During an exclusive IWC dinner, which took place as part of the 14th Zurich Film Festival (ZFF), the charismatic actor was now presenting the 4th Filmmaker Award. IWC had invited representatives of the national and international film industry, as well as personalities from the world of media, arts, commerce and politics (including IWC brand ambassadors Fabian Cancellara and Patrick Seabase), to the awards ceremony. This year marks the fifth time that IWC has been a co-partner of the ZFF.
« Beast »
A total of 37 projects were submitted. The emotional coming-of-age film tells the story of a teenager called Gabriel who is selflessly and devotedly bringing up his two-year-old son alone. One summer's night, Gabriel, his friend Joel and Joel's girlfriend Cory break into the zoo and release a horde of wild animals, in the belief that they are setting them free. This event turns the world upside down for the three youngsters. The film is currently in post-production and is expected to be released in spring 2019. It is being directed by Zurich's own Lorenz Merz, who has already received multiple international awards, including the Pardino d’argento, for his previous work. In addition to the Filmmaker Award, producer Simon Hesse also received a Portugieser Automatic (ref. IW500703).
