Zurich Film Fest Sets Gala Premieres: Dresen, Dörrie, Lee Chang-dong
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- Zurich Film Festival set 10 titles for its Gala Premieres section, including world premieres of Andreas Dresen's "Love, After All" and Doris Dörrie's "How Can I Help?"
- Peter Farrelly's "I Play Rocky" will get its European premiere at the festival, chronicling Sylvester Stallone's fight to star in his own Rocky screenplay
- Lee Chang-dong returns with "Possible Love" starring Jeon Do-yeon and Sul Kyung-gu — his first film in eight years after "Burning"
- Christian Jungen, the festival's CEO, framed the section as "dedicated to auteur cinema for a broader audience" and called the Dresen and Dörrie premieres particular points of pride
- "111 – Echoes From Halifax" will receive its European premiere, dramatizing the Sept. 2, 1998 Swissair Flight 111 crash from the perspective of relatives, helpers, and Canadian coastal residents
- The 22nd Zurich Film Festival runs Sept. 24 to Oct. 4, with the full program to be announced on Sept. 9
- "Josephine" starring Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan — described as "this year's great Sundance Film Festival sensation" — is also in the lineup
Why it matters: The Zurich Film Festival lands world premieres from two of Germany's most prominent auteur filmmakers alongside Lee Chang-dong's first feature in eight years, reinforcing its positioning as an autumn awards-season showcase for international auteur cinema. Pairing those with star-driven Oscar hopefuls like "I Play Rocky" and Channing Tatum's "Josephine" gives the festival both critical credibility and commercial pull heading into season.
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