08. October 2023

Premiere record and successful start for the new Frame cinema complex

The 19th Zurich Film Festival comes to an end today. Despite the beautiful weather, it attracted 130'000 visitors. A total of 150 films were screened, 52 of them as world or European premieres – more than ever before. Stars like Jessica Chastain, Ethan Hawke, Mads Mikkelsen and Diane Kruger held film fans spellbound and the new Frame cinema complex with its six theatres proved a real crowd puller.

The winners of the Golden Eyes at yesterday evening's Award Night: Ibrahim Nash'at withHOLLYWOODGATE, Liv Elvira Kippersund Larsson with DANCING QUEEN, Selman Nacar withHESITATION WOUND and Kseniia Marchenko with IN THE REARVIEW.

"It was a wonderful edition with star guests like Jessica Chastain, Ethan Hawke, Diane Kruger and Mads Mikkelsen expressing their enthusiasm for Zurich on their socials," explained Christian Jungen, Artistic Director of the ZFF. Despite the beautiful weather, the ZFF clocked up 130'000 visitors, which proves that the passion for cinema is still well and truly alive. Directors attended and gave introductions to 102 of the 150 films. "This is something our visitors especially value. The ZFF drives forward with optimism into the coming year, when we celebrate our 20th anniversary."

The 19th ZFF marked the opening on Europa-Allee of the new Frame cinema complex with its six theatres and 800 seats. It proved to be a real crowd puller from the very first day. "The Frame theatres delight audiences with their state-of-the-art technology, huge screens and comfortable seats," explained Jennifer Somm, Managing Director of Spoundation Motion Picture AG. "Highlights included, naturally, Michael Steiner's Langstrasse thriller EARLY BIRDS, the concert by Peter Doherty and the ZFF Masters session by Margarethe von Trotta. Frame will begin operating as a cinema from next Thursday onwards. Sharing the same profile as the ZFF, introductions by our programmers will be its main distinguishing feature."

The 19th ZFF in a nutshell

###Impressions of the 19th ZFF

Jessica Chastain received the Golden Icon Award at the 19th ZFF. Mads Mikkelsen and Diane Kruger were both honoured with a Golden Eye.

You'll find a list of the winners of the three-part international competition and all other prizerecipients in the media release from October 7, 2023. You can find highlights of the festival and further impressions here on the website.

Click for this year's highlights video: