Cinematographers Schweiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra unites talented professionals based in Switzerland.
Field Notes.
Palestine Arts Film Festival Sept. 10—16. 2026
Since 2019, the Palestine Arts Film Festival has been bringing outstanding Palestinian films to cinema screens in Zurich. From 10 to 16 September 2026, the festival returns for its seventh edition at Arthouse Piccadilly in Zurich-Stadelhofen, presenting Palestinian cinema through 13 feature-length fiction and documentary films as well as 8 short films. Together, they tell stories of family, resistance, everyday life and hope.
No Other Land is an Oscar-winning documentary by a Palestinian-Israeli filmmaking collective. Filmed over several years in Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank, it follows the destruction of Palestinian homes and the unlikely alliance between Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham.
ARRI, 12 Points: How Eurovision 2026 Was Shot on 24 ALEXA 35 Live Cameras
For the first time ever, the Eurovision Song Contest was shot entirely on cinema cameras. We spent more than six weeks embedded with ARRI to document how 24 ALEXA 35 Live systems took over the world's biggest live music event, watched by roughly 180 million people.
ARRI defines how movies look. The vast majority of Oscar-winning films are shot on ALEXA, yet in live broadcast, a world ruled for decades by Grass Valley and Sony, the company had essentially zero presence. Eurovision 2026, hosted by ORF at the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, became the most demanding proving ground imaginable: 24 ALEXA 35 Live cameras across box lenses, Steadicams, wireless rigs, remote dollies, cable cams, and giant telescopic cranes, all matched and shaded live.
This documentary follows the entire journey, from cameras hand-built out of milled aluminum and titanium in Munich, to integration into an OB van designed for completely different cameras, to a custom look pipeline that treated each of the 35 competing songs like its own live music video (over 50 looks in total). We don't skip the hard parts either: the friction over creative control, the physics of B4 lens light loss, the network-traffic surprises, the tally bugs fixed on site, and the one broken cable that froze a frame during the grand final.
Featuring ARRI's Sean Dooley, Jannik Abelt, Thomas Stoschek, and colorist Florian Rettich, NEP's Erhard Thüringer, ORF's Michael Kogler and Max Meissl, and Riedel Communications CEO Thomas Riedel on the acquisition that brought cinema cameras and broadcast infrastructure under one roof.
A CineD production in collaboration with ARRI.
LOOKING FOR VENERA [NË KËRKIM TË VENERËS] by Norika Sefa
Venera grows up in an intergenerational household in rural Kosovo, surrounded by strict traditions and the constant control of the men in her village. She does not want to follow the same path as her mother. Together with her rebellious friend Dorina, she discovers a new desire for freedom — but this awakening soon meets the limits of family, society, and expectation.
Norika Sefa is a Kosovo-born filmmaker whose work often moves between fiction and documentary. Her debut feature LOOKING FOR VENERA premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it won the Special Jury Award, and established her as an important new voice in contemporary Kosovar cinema.
After her father Asllan has lived in exile for sixty years, Dea returns with him to Makermal. This Kosovar village that was once his home was destroyed in the war, leaving only the stories of the survivors. Together with the remaining villagers, Swiss-Kosovar director Dea Gjinovci and her father embark on a search for traces of the past and are confronted with the collective scars of a community. THE BEAUTY OF THE DONKEY is a moving meditation on the fragility of memory, blending documentary reality with an almost fairy-tale-like visual language.
The Narrative (2026) is a Swiss documentary directed by Bernard Weber and Martin Schilt that explores the 2012 conviction of Kweku Adoboli, a former UBS London trader responsible for a $2.3 billion loss. The film challenges the ”unscrupulous gambler“ narrative, using reenactments to examine corporate, legal, and media influences in the case.
Hello. Meet The CineAlta Creators | Director, Stefan Pollak | Sony
“Hello." Meet the creators will focus on creators from around the world who are pioneering a new world of visual experiences with CineAlta, or (and) Cinema Line.
In this video, we introduce UK-based film director Stefan Pollak.
Director's Profile
Stefan Pollak, Professional film director
Discover the power of storytelling through the journey of Stefan Pollak, a UK-based director from Reigate, whose passion for creative expression was shaped by growing up with a physical disability. In this intimate short film, Stefan shares how creativity—whether through acting or writing—became his voice and path into filmmaking.
His breakthrough project, “ALT Jay”, is a moving short documentary spotlighting identical twin brothers, including Jay Southern, who lives with multiple disabilities. The film captures their deep bond and shared resilience, earning recognition as a shortlisted work for the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards.
Stefan also speaks candidly to emerging filmmakers: rejection is inevitable, but persistence is what transforms passion into a career.
Inspiring, heartfelt, and authentic—this story reminds us why filmmaking matters.
Equipment
The film ALT Jay was shot on Sony’s CineAlta camera BURANO, with the Sony’s FX6 used as a secondary camera.
Capturing "The American Southwest" with the Canon EOS R5 | Interview with DP/Producer Ryan Olinger
Join wildlife cinematographer Ryan Olinger on a 1,500-mile journey down the Colorado River in The American Southwest — a documentary that captures the beauty of one of North America’s most vital waterways and how wildlife and people depend on the river and why protecting it matters now more than ever.
Filmed over three and a half years in extreme conditions, Ryan used the Canon EOS R5 and RF lenses to capture powerful 8K and slow-motion footage that brings the wild Southwest to life.
See the full film here: https://theamericansouthwest.film/watch
This short documentary offers an in-depth look at the innovative filmmaking techniques employed in Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, with a particular focus on the use of IMAX cameras. Nolan and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema discuss their decision to shoot the majority of the film using IMAX's high-resolution 2D film cameras, aiming to provide audiences with a more immersive and expansive cinematic experience.
Cinematographer Birgit Guðjónsdóttir, working with director Connie Walther on Schattenwelt, creates a visual world that relies less on dramatic lighting changes or striking shadows and more on a restrained aesthetic that reflects the inner life and psychological state of the characters. The camera work is characterized by calm, observational shots. The ex-terrorist Widmer is often introduced from a distance—long takes show him arranging spaces or adapting to his new circumstances. Only gradually does the camera move closer, subtly capturing his internal conflicts.
