News

We are delighted to be presenting two documentaries at this year's 61st Solothurn Film Festival!

ON THE BORDER by Igor Hauzenberger and Gabriela Schild – previously shown at IDFA, CPH:DOX, and DOK.fest Munich, among others – will celebrate its Swiss premiere on

• Saturday, January 24, at 5:45 p.m., Kino Canva

• Tuesday, January 27, at 8:15 p.m., Kino Palace

After a successful world premiere in Locarno, FLYING SCENTS by Antshi von Moos will now be shown in German-speaking part of Switzerland for the first time in Solothurn on

• Saturday, January 24, at 9:30 a.m., Landhaus

• Monday, January 26, at 8:30 p.m., Kino Palace

We congratulate everyone involved and look forward to inspiring festival moments.

When plants begin to speak in scents – and we finally start to listen. At a time when technological progress and ecological crises overlap, a documentary turns the spotlight on those who are often overlooked: plants.

With FLYING SCENTS, filmmaker Antshi von Moos offers a sensitive, poetic exploration of the hidden communication networks within the plant world. We are thrilled that the film will celebrate its world premiere at this year’s Locarno Film Festival, as part of the Semaine de la critique – an independent section curated by the Swiss Association of Film Journalists in close collaboration with the festival’s programming team. This section provides a platform for bold, distinctive cinematic voices – and FLYING SCENTS, with its unique perspective, fits right in.

What is the film about? A research team led by Consuelo De Moraes is on the verge of a groundbreaking discovery: florigen – a substance that could trigger plants to bloom instantly. Meanwhile, Florianne Koechlin explores how plants communicate through scents. And artist duo Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger push the boundaries between the natural and the artificial. The result is a multifaceted portrait of a world that blossoms, investigates, and questions.

Screenings in Locarno:

• World premiere: August 10 at 11:00 a.m., La Sala
• Second screening: August 11 at 9:00 a.m., PalaCinema 1

The film was co-produced by the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and SRG SSR.

We’re beyond excited for Locarno!