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Zurich Film Festival Announces Gala Premieres for ‘Anora,’ ‘Blitz,’ ‘William Tell’
New films from prominent directors Steve McQueen, Sean Baker, Edward Berger, and Gia Coppola are set to adorn the red carpet at the 20th Zurich Film Festival (ZFF). These films are part of ZFF’s notable gala lineup.
Steve McQueen’s Blitz, featuring Saoirse Ronan and Harris Dickinson, which is slated to open the BFI London Film Festival in 2024, will have its international premiere in Zurich. Berger’s much-anticipated Conclave, a Vatican conspiracy thriller with Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow, will screen at ZFF following its debuts at Toronto and San Sebastian. Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or Winner Anora, starring Mikey Madison as a Brighton Beach sex worker entangled romantically with a Russian oligarch’s son, will also feature at the Swiss festival after its screening at TIFF.
Sönke Wortmann’s Der Spitzname, the latest in his popular German comedy franchise adapted from the French film Le prénom (2012), will have its world premiere in Zurich.
Other significant titles in Zurich’s gala lineup include Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl, starring Pamela Anderson as a Las Vegas showgirl rethinking her future after her show is canceled; A Real Pain, directed by Jesse Eisenberg and co-starring Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin; Josh Margolin’s seniors’ action film Thelma, featuring June Squibb; and Nick Hamm’s William Tell, an action-filled retelling of the Swiss folk tale starring Claes Bang as the legendary mountain marksman.
The ZFF gala also includes several dramas based on true events. Tim Fehlbaum’s historical thriller September 5, about the 1972 Munich Olympics terrorist attacks, features Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, and Ben Chaplin. Michael Krummacher’s Landesverräter tells the story of the first Swiss person condemned to death for treason. Icíar Bollaín’s Soy Nevenka is inspired by Nevenka Fernández, the Spanish economist who was the first woman to successfully convict a Spanish politician of workplace sexual harassment.
Zurich will announce its full 2024 lineup on September 19. The 20th Zurich Film Festival will run from October 3-13.
