From January 21st to 28th, the Solothurn Film Days confirms its position as the leading observatory on the Swiss state of the seventh art. This 61st edition once again features Italian-speaking Switzerland, with productions, authors, performers, and locations spanning genres, formats, and sections of the festival.
The Ticino presence is not concentrated in a single strand, but emerges in a multifaceted way: from fiction to documentary, from short films to restored works, with a plurality of perspectives that reflect both memory and the transformations of the present.
Films supported by the Ticino Film Commission
Among the most anticipated titles is Becaària , the new feature film by Bellinzona-born director Erik Bernasconi, which has its world premiere. Based on the novel of the same name by Giorgio Genetelli (published by Gabriele Capelli Editore), the film tells the story of a coming-of-age story set in 1970s Ticino. Filming took place in Vallemaggia, a region devastated by the floods of summer 2024. Supported by the Ticino Film Commission , the film is produced by Cinédokké of Savosa with Cinework of Basel, RSI, SRG SSR, and Arte, and is competing for the Prix du Public.
In Swiss premiere they arrive instead No one will hurt you by Ticino director Dino Hodic, produced by Fiumi Film with RSI and selected in the Visioni competition, and Elisa by Leonardo Di Costanzo, also shot in Mendrisiotto and produced by Tempesta with Amka Films and RSI. Space also for the short format with D(e)ad Disc by Lilly Di Rosa, a short film produced by CISA Locarno and competing in the Talent section.
Alongside the premieres, the Solothurn program also includes works previously presented elsewhere but linked to the Ticino region: the documentary La leggerezza sommersa by Fulvio Mariani, Mein Freund Barry by Markus Welter, partly filmed in Ticino, and Più grande del cielo by Valerio Jalongo, a co-production involving RSI, RAI Cinema, and SRG SSR. All titles benefited from the support of the Ticino Film Commission.
Solothurn Film Festival: A Broad Look at Italian-Swiss Culture
In addition to the films directly supported by the TFC, the Solothurn Film Days offer an even broader overview of the festival's relationship with Italian-speaking Switzerland. The world premiere of Memoirs of a Mountain Doctor by Ticinese Domenico Lucchini, a documentary produced by Ventura Film with RSI and filmed in Italian-speaking Graubünden, will be presented.
Also making its world premiere is Vito Robbiani's Mother Yamuna , produced by MediaTree of Savosa with RSI, while Michael Beltrami's The Ghost Within has its Swiss premiere in Solothurn. The film, produced by e-motionfilms of Losone with RSI, was also supported by the PLI – Fund for the Promotion of the Italian Language in Swiss Cinema.
The "Histoires" section features two works by Ticino native Edo Bertoglio: Face Addict (2005) and the restored version of Downtown 81, presented as a world premiere. The feature films also include The Tasters (The Tasters), the latest film by the Ticino-born director Silvio Soldini, The Sons of Icarus by Daniel Jonas Kemény, produced by Cinédokké with RSI, e The song of breath by Simona Canonica.
The connection with Ticino also emerges in works partially filmed in the canton or featuring professionals and actors from the region: from the documentary Trop Chaud – Klimaseniorinnen vs Switzerland by Benjamin Weiss to Lisa Blatter's Von dem, was bleibt , starring Leventina actress Carla Jury in the lead role. Anka Schmid's Melodie was also filmed in Ticino, while Simon Helbling's Game Over – der Fall der Credit Suisse includes the testimony of Ticino lawyer and former magistrate Paolo Bernasconi.
RSI productions are also included, such as Le dernier loup by Matteo Born and Girls & Gods by Arsh T. Riahi and Verena Soltiz, also co-produced by Amka. Curious films include Noyeux Joël by Filippo Filliger and Julie from Ohio , a 1978 experimental film by director Isa Hesse-Rabinovitch, who has lived in Ticino for a long time.
Short films and new voices
Ample space is also given to short films, which offer a dynamic portrait of the new generations. In addition to Disco D(e)ad and Ex – Tract by Marcel Barelli, the program includes Cherubs , the directorial debut of Anna Pieri with Ticino cinematographer Pietro Zuercher, Julie-Yara Atz's Italian premiere of What if We Were Happy?, and Elisa Baccolo's Manual of Self Destruction.
Also appearing in the Talent competition is Tusen Toner by Francesco Poloni, a CISA production, while Grinfie by Elia Fonti stars Lugano actor Kevin Blaser. Rounding out the lineup is Mutante by Carmen Jacquier, with a soundtrack by the Ticino duo Palme Cadelli.
Taken together, the films related to Italian-speaking Switzerland confirm that the Solothurn Film Days remain a key event for exploring, through cinema, the country's cultural and linguistic diversity.
