# Zurich Film Festival

Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) is an annual film festival that has been held in Zürich, Switzerland, since 2005. The festival's main focus is to promote emerging filmmakers from all over the world. In three competition categories only first, second or third directoral works are admitted. There are three competition sections: International Feature Film, International Documentary Film and 'Focus: Switzerland, Germany and Austria' which focuses on these three production countries. Several industry events take place in the framework of the festival, such as the ZFF Academy or the international Zurich Summit, which have rendered the film festival an international platform for the film industry.
The ZFF is co-organized by the Zurich Film Festival AG, which is a member of the NZZ Mediengruppe, and the Spoundation Motion Picture AG, a marketing and event management company, in cooperation with local institutions, sponsors as well as national and international distributors and producers.
Nadja Schildknecht, Karl Spoerri and Antoine Monot Jr. founded the festival back in 2004. Until 2020 the festival was co-directed by Nadja Schildknecht (managing director) and Karl Spoerri (artistic director). The current festival director is Christian Jungen.
For the 20th anniversary edition in 2024, the ZFF set a new record with a historic milestone of 140,000 visitors attending the festival, which featured a total of 107 films.

## History

In 2004, Karl Spoerri and Tim Geser decided to bring the English digital film festival onedotzero_adventures in moving images to Zürich. From 29 to 31 October 2004, the festival was a guest at the Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst in Zürich. This small event developed into the Zurich Film Festival and its core team. In spring 2005, Karl Spoerri, Nadja Schildknecht and Antoine Monot, Jr. founded Spoundation Motion Picture GmbH, which has been running the Zurich Film Festival ever since and is headed by Karl Spoerri and Nadja Schildknecht. Antoine Monot, Jr. was Artistic Director from its inception until 2008, before handing over this role to Karl Spoerri.
The 1st Zurich Film Festival (5 to 9 October 2005) was held in the Plaza cinemas in Zürich. The main focus was on debuts - around eight first films were presented in a competition series. Other film series were called "Debut Classics" and "Züri Bellevue", among others. In its first year, the festival was already well received by the public and attracted 8,000 visitors - the press and the industry were still sceptical about the young festival. The "onedotzero_ch" series was part of the ZFF every year until 2011.
In 2006, the 2nd Zurich Film Festival (2 to 6 October 2006) the Golden Eyes were newly awarded in three competition categories (Best Newcomer Feature Film, Best Newcomer Documentary Film as well as Debut Feature Film). New programme sections included "New World View", which continues to this day. The 2nd ZFF already registered more than 18,000 viewers and over 600 accredited industry participants.
The young Zurich Film Festival took a big leap in 2007 when it was held for the first time over the length of 11 days. Over 50 world, European or Swiss premieres were presented on the "Film Mile" along the Limmat. The number of spectators rose to 27,000 within three years. For the first time, the Zurich Film Festival had a centre in the heart of the city: a large tent on Rathausplatz became the meeting place for cinema enthusiasts and filmmakers. In 2007, the festival was expanded to include the Zurich Coproduction Forum. From 2008 to 2012, the Zurich Film Festival continued to develop and the number of visitors doubled again.
In 2009, the Zurich Film Festival was overshadowed and at the same time made world famous by a particularly unfortunate incident. Guest of honour Roman Polański was arrested upon entering Switzerland and placed under house arrest for nine months. In 2011 he returned to the Zurich Film Festival to collect his honorary award two years late.
In 2011 a new festival centre was established on the Sechseläutenplatz. The Zürich Opera House has also been established as the venue for the Award Night. In 2011, the ZFF offered school screenings for the first time. In 2012, the ZFF included two films especially for children aged 6 and over and two films for primary school pupils in its programme for the first time.
Since August 2016, the NZZ media group has held a stake in Zurich Film Festival AG, the organiser of the Zurich Film Festival, and in the marketing organisation Spoundation Motion Picture AG.

## Programme sections
### Competition

In the competition, only first, second and third directorial works are presented in three categories (10-14 films each):
* Focus Competition (Switzerland, Germany, Austria)
* Feature Film Competition
* Documentary Competition

### Film selections out of competition

Gala Premieres
In the "Gala Premieres" section, excitingly anticipated film premieres by established filmmakers are celebrated every evening mostly in the presence of the director and cast, with both feature film and larger documentary productions being shown. The films are presented as world, European, German-language or Swiss premieres.
Special Screenings
In the "Special Screenings" series, the Zurich Film Festival shows a selection of unique festival hits and brand-new films from the fields of fiction and documentary – whether artistic, experimental or taken from life.
Hashtag
The "Hashtag" section is dedicated to films that focus on current topics and themes that dominate conversations around the world. Various Feature and Documentary Films that shine a light on the issue from different angles will be presented. So far, the focus has been on the following topics:
#Masculinity (2023) | #MyReligion (2022) | #letSEXplore (2021) | #GetUpStandUp (2020) | #SpeakingTheTruth (2019) | #BigData (2018)
New World View
The "New World View" programme puts a spotlight on a new generation of filmmakers from a selected production country that has provided some of the most innovative new filmmaking in recent years. The section has been dedicated to the following countries:
Korea (2023) | Spain (2022) | Tunisia (2021) | France (2020) | Colombia (2019) | Italy (2018) | Hungary (2017) | Mexico (2016) | Iran (2015) | India (2014) | Brazil (2013) | Sweden (2012) | Turkey (2011) | Australia (2010) | Argentina (2009) | Israel (2008) | Russia (2007)
Border Lines
The "Border Lines" section presents films dealing with border situations occurring in present-day world conditions, and humanitarian projects, territorial and social conflicts, and conflicts between individuals and the state. It is organized in collaboration with Amnesty International, Human Rights Partner of ZFF.
Window
The "Window" section comprises windows through which one can take a look at various cinematographic traditions. The "Hong Kong Window" presents a selection of unique and daring new films from Hong Kong ans is presented in collaboration with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Berlin. The "San Sebastián Window" presents a selection of four films from Spain and Latin America that were screened as part of the San Sebastián Film Festival.
Sounds
The "Sounds" section celebrates the relationship between film and music in all its diverse aspects. With an exquisite selection of feature and documentary films, for once the soundtrack takes center stage - whether the film shines its light on musicians, captivates with exceptional film music, or deals with the topic of sound in a very fundamental way. The program is complemented by two special screenings: One accompanied by live music and one with a live commentary by the film composer.
ZFF for Kids
At the 9th Zurich Film Festival, the children's programme was expanded with a separate audience award. The aim of the film series is to introduce children and young people to sophisticated film culture beyond the mainstream and to strengthen their media competence in a world dominated by images. Since 2020, there has been a year-round ZFF for Kids programme consisting of workshops and cinema screenings.
ZFF Series
At the 10th Zurich Film Festival in 2014, a section was introduced in which TV series are shown. Until the 13th edition, this was called "ZFF TVision" and was renamed "ZFF Series" in 2018. With the renaming, a separate small competition was started, which was held until 2020. Since 2022 series are no longer shown in a separate section.

## Guest of honour and Lifetime Achievement Awards
### A Tribute to…

The A Tribute to… Award (formerly Retrospektive) honours filmmaking personalities who have had a significant influence on film history. The award winners receive the prize in person in Zürich and usually take part as speakers at the ZFF Masters, where they share their experiences and knowledge with the participants.
| Year | Name | Award |
| 2024 | Edward Berger | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2023 | Todd Haynes | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2022 | Luca Guadagnino | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2021 | Paolo Sorrentino | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2020 | Maïwenn | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2019 | Roland Emmerich | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2018 | Wim Wenders | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2017 | Rob Reiner | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2016 | Olivier Assayas | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2015 | Mike Leigh | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2014 | Claire Denis | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2013 | Michael Haneke | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2012 | Tom Tykwer | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2011 | Paul Haggis | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2010 | Miloš Forman | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2009 | Roman Polański | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2008 | Costa-Gavras | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2007 | Oliver Stone | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2006 | Stephen Frears | A Tribute to… Award |
| 2005 | Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Retrospektive |

### Golden Icon Award

In 2008, the Golden Icon Award was presented for the first time. It's an award that honours the lifetime achievement of an actor or actress. This award goes to a person who has become the icon of an entire generation and whose performance and cinematic work has become unforgettable. Previous award winners include:
| Year | Name | Award |
| 2024 | Kate Winslet | Golden Icon Award |
| 2023 | Jessica Chastain | Golden Icon Award |
| 2022 | Sir Ben Kingsley | Golden Icon Award |
| 2021 | Sharon Stone | Golden Icon Award |
| 2020 | Juliette Binoche | Golden Icon Award |
| 2019 | Cate Blanchett | Golden Icon Award |
| 2018 | Judi Dench | Golden Icon Award |
| 2017 | Glenn Close | Golden Icon Award |
| 2016 | Hugh Grant | Golden Icon Award |
| 2015 | Arnold Schwarzenegger | Golden Icon Award |
| 2014 | Diane Keaton | Golden Icon Award |
| 2013 | Hugh Jackman | Golden Icon Award |
| 2012 | Richard Gere | Golden Icon Award |
| 2011 | Sean Penn | Golden Icon Award |
| 2010 | Michael Douglas | Golden Icon Award |
| 2009 | Morgan Freeman | Golden Icon Award |
| 2008 | Sylvester Stallone | Golden Icon Award |

### Career & Lifetime Achievement Awards

The Career Achievement Award is presented to a personality who has distinguished himself or herself in the field of production, directing or interdisciplinarity. The award winners are honoured with a Golden Eye. The Lifetime Achievement Award honours the life and work of personalities from various fields who have particularly enriched and shaped filmmaking and film history.
| Year | Name | Award |
| 2024 | Emil Steinberger | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| | Howard Shore | Career Achievement Award |
| | Pamela Anderson, Alicia Vikander, Jude Law | Golden Eye Award |
| 2023 | Mads Mikkelsen, Diane Kruger | Golden Eye Award |
| | Volker Bertelmann, Michel Merkt | Career Achievement Award |
| 2022 | Eddie Redmayne, Charlotte Gainsbourg | Golden Eye Award |
| | Rachel Portman | Career Achievement Award |
| 2021 | Mychael Danna | Career Achievement Award |
| | Paul Schrader | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| | Andrey Mordovsky | Golden Eye Award |
| 2020 | Iris Berben, Til Schweiger | Golden Eye Award |
| | Rolf Lyssy | Career Achievement Award |
| 2019 | Kristen Stewart | Golden Eye Award |
| 2018 | Donald Sutherland | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| 2017 | Aaron Sorkin | Career Achievement Award |
| | Andrew Garfield, Jake Gyllenhaal | Golden Eye Award |
| 2016 | Marcel Hoehn | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| | Lorenzo di Bonaventura | Career Achievement Award |
| 2015 | Armin Mueller-Stahl | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| | Steve Golin, Liam Hemsworth | Career Achievement Award, Golden Eye Award: The New A-Lister |
| 2014 | Michael Shamberg | Career Achievement Award |
| | Hans Zimmer, John Malkovich | Lifetime Achievement Award, Golden Eye Award |
| 2013 | Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner | Career Achievement Award |
| | Harrison Ford | Lifetime Achievement Award |
| 2012 | Jerry Weintraub | Career Achievement Award |
| | John Travolta, Helen Hunt | Lifetime Achievement Award, Golden Eye Award |
| 2011 | Alejandro González Iñárritu | Career Achievement Award |
| 2010 | – | – |
| 2009 | Michael Keaton | Lifetime Achievement Award |

## Awards and jury

* Golden Eye: In each category, a separate, internationally composed jury awards a Golden Eye for the best film. The prize is worth CHF 25,000 (international feature and documentary film competition) or CHF 20,000 (focus). In addition, the winning films will receive promotional measures for distribution in Switzerland.
* Emerging Swiss Talent Award: All Swiss productions (1st, 2nd or 3rd feature film by the director) screening at the festival are nominated. The prize is endowed with CHF 10,000.
* Audience Award: The audience chooses their favourite film from all the competition entries by ballot and online voting, which is awarded the Audience Award at the Award Night.

### Jury members

The Golden Eyes are awarded by an international competition jury, which views the films together with the audience during the festival in Zurich. The jury is not bound by any special guidelines in awarding the prizes, but only one film per category can be awarded a Golden Eye.
| Year | Competition | President | Jury |
| 2023 | Feature Film | Anton Corbijn | Finola Dwyer, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Juho Kuosmanen, Bryce Nielsen |
| 2023 | Documentary | Feras Fayyad | Monica Lazurean-Gorgan, Claudio Cea, Crystal Moselle, Shaunak Sen |
| 2023 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Malte Grunert | Gabrielle Tana, Katrin Renz, Heike Parplies, Sven Schelker |
| 2022 | Feature Film | Asghar Farhadi | Clio Barnard, Daniel Dreifuss, Petra Volpe, Piodor Gustafsson |
| 2022 | Documentary | Alexander Nanau | Atanas Georgiev, Joëlle Bertossa, Nina Numankadić, Sushmit Ghosh |
| 2022 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Christine Vachon | Fred Baillif, Katharina Mückstein, Maria Fantastica Valmori, Roger Schawinski |
| 2021 | Feature Film | Daniel Brühl | Stéphanie Chuat, Dieter Kosslick, Andrea Cornwell |
| 2021 | Documentary | Asif Kapadia | Hanka Kastelicová, Gregory Kershaw, Sophie Maintigneux, Michela Pini |
| 2021 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Sönke Wortmann | Caterina Mona, Pierre Monnard, Sandra Guldberg Kampp, Ada Solomon |
| 2020 | Feature Film | Michel Franco | Karim Aïnouz, Ellen Harrington |
| 2020 | Documentary | Vitaly Mansky | Gabriela Bussmann, Susanne Regina Meures |
| 2020 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Angelina Maccarone | Edna Epelbaum, Sabine Moser, Francesco Rizzi, Dan Wechsler |
| 2019 | Feature Film | Oliver Stone | Laura Bispuri, Ciro Guerra, Sebastian Koch, Tiziana Soudani |
| 2019 | Documentary | Simon Chinn | Christian Frei, Maryam Goormaghtigh, Anja Kofmel, Stephen Nemeth |
| 2019 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Thomas Kufus | Natascha Beller, Benjamin Herrmann, Marie Kreutzer, Aline Schmid |
| 2018 | Feature Film | Gabrielle Tana | Ana Lily Amirpour, Ann Hui, Max Irons |
| 2018 | Documentary | Dick Fontaine | Talal Derki, Camilla Nielsson, Maya Zinshtein |
| 2018 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Barbara Albert | Max Karli, Wolfgang Thaler, Markus Welter |
| 2017 | Feature Film | Trine Dyrholm | Mabel Cheung, Ed Guiney, Michel Merkt, Paul Negoescu, Lucas Ochoa |
| 2017 | Documentary | Simon Kilmurry | Gabór Hörcher, Hanna Polak, Patrik Soergel |
| 2017 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Quirin Berg | Anne Fabini, Burhan Qurbani, Anne Walser |
| 2016 | Feature Film | Lone Scherfig | Graham Broadbent, David Farr, Sibel Kekilli |
| 2016 | Documentary | Mike Lerner | Betzabé García, Firouzeh Khosrovani, Stéphane Kuthy, Nadav Schirman |
| 2016 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Bettina Reitz | Joel Basman, Nathalie Borgers, Micha Lewinsky, Devid Striesow |
| 2015 | Feature Film | Elizabeth Karlsen | Rosa Attab, Yann Demange, Maria Furtwängler, Katja von Garnier |
| 2015 | Documentary | Catherine Dussart | Abbas Fahdel, Alexander Nanau, Havana Marking, Joelle Alexis |
| 2015 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Nico Hofmann | Nick Brandestini, Anika Decker, Alexander Fehling, Birgit Minichmayr |
| 2014 | Feature Film | Susanne Bier | Donald De Line, Marie Masmonteil, Jasmila Zbanic |
| 2014 | Documentary | Steve James | Nick Broomfield, Greg Gorman, Nishtha Jain |
| 2014 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Stefan Arndt | Iris Berben, Jan-Ole Gerster, Peter Reichenbach, Anna Thommen |
| 2013 | Feature Film | Marc Forster | Andrew Dominik, Thomas Imbach, Melissa Leo, Guneet Monga, Stacey Sher |
| 2013 | Documentary | Elizabeth Radshaw | Gabriel Mascaro, Ilian Metev, Eugene Panji |
| 2013 | Feature Film Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Veronica Ferres | Jochen Laube, Rolf Lyssy, Manuela Stehr |
| 2013 | Documentary Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Markus Imhoof | Tizza Covi, Sabine Gisiger |
| 2012 | Feature Film | Frank Darabont | Deborah Aquila, Daniél Espinosa, Carlos Leal, Pietro Scalia, Michael Shamberg |
| 2012 | Documentary | Jessica Yu | Mohamed Al-Daradji, Philippe Diaz, Janus Metz |
| 2012 | Feature Film Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Herbert Grönemeyer | Peter Luisi, Florian Flicker, Julia Jentsch, Marcel Hoehn |
| 2012 | Documentary Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Gabriele Kranzelbinder | Martin Hagemann, Stefan Haupt, Mirjam von Arx |
| 2011 | Feature Film | Laurence Fishburne | Beki Probst, John Lesher, Paprika Steen, Alice Eve, Stefan Arsenjevic |
| 2011 | Documentary | – | Charles Ferguson, John Battsek, Stephen Nemeth, Eline Flipse, Nino Kirtadze |
| 2011 | Feature Film Switzerland, Germany, Austria | – | Xavier Koller, Florian Keller, Pasquale Aleardi, Janine Jackowski, Florian Causen |
| 2011 | Documentary Switzerland, Germany, Austria | – | Jacqueline Zünd, Christian Beetz, Güzin Kar, Vincent Lucassen |
| 2010 | Feature Film | Frank Langella | Julia Solomonoff, Carlos Cuaron, Anatole Taubman, Sharon Swart, Barry Gifford |
| 2010 | Documentary | – | Chris Paine, Nenad Puhovski, Mark Lewis, Heidi Specogna, Jennifer Fox |
| 2010 | Feature Film Switzerland, Germany, Austria | – | Johanna Wokalek, Christoph Schaub, Christof Neracher, Jessica Hausner, Frieder Wittich |
| 2009 | Feature Film | Debra Winger | Pawel Pawlikowski, Randal Kleiser, Anahi Berneri, Dale Launer |
| 2009 | Documentary | – | Peter Liechti, Erwin Wagenhofer, Elizabeth Wood |
| 2009 | Feature Film Switzerland, Germany, Austria | – | Niki Reiser, Martin Rapold, This Brunner |
| 2008 | Feature Film | Peter Fonda | Stephen Nemeth, Dror Shaul, Hervé Schneid, Michael Dougherty, Andrea Staka |
| 2008 | Documentary | – | Walter Hügli, Lorna Tee, Christian Frei |
| 2007 | International Feature Film and Documentary | Albert S. Ruddy | Moritz Bleibtreu, Justus von Dohnanyi, Bettina Oberli, Matthew Modine, Dieter Meier |
| 2006 | International Feature Film and Documentary | Ed Pressman | Jessica Schwarz, This Brunner, Ueli Steiger, Oliver Hirschbiegel |
| 2005 | International Feature Film and Documentary | Hellmuth Karasek | Sabine Timoteo, Michael Steiner, Sigried Narjes, Shane Walter |

## Award winners

The Zurich Film Festival awards the Golden Eye to the winners of the competition on the last Saturday of the event during a festive Award Night at the Zürich Opera House. Further prizes are awarded by external juries.
| Year | Award | Film | Director | Country |
| 2023 | Feature Film | Hesitation Wound | Tereddüt Çizgisi | Turkey, Spain, Romania, France |
| 2023 | Documentary | In the Rearview | Maciek Hamela | Poland, France, Ukraine |
| 2023 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Hollywoodgate | Ibrahim Nash’at | Germany, USA |
| 2023 | Audience Award | Queendom | Agniia Galdanova | USA, France |
| 2023 | Best International Film Music | | Elliot Murphy | Ireland |
| 2023 | Award of the Kids Jury | Dancing Queen | Aurora Gossé | Norway |
| 2023 | Audience Award ZFF for Kids | Checker Tobi und die Reise zu den fliegenden Flüssen | Johannes Honsell | Germany |
| 2023 | Critics' Award and und Filmpreis der Zürcher Kirchen | Las Toreras | Jackie Brutsche [de] | Switzerland |
| 2022 | Feature Film | The Kings of the World, (Los reyes del mundo [es]) | Laura Mora | Colombia, Spain, Norway, Luxembourg, Mexico, France |
| 2022 | Documentary | Sam Now | Reed Harkness | USA |
| 2022 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Cascadeuses (Stuntwomen) | Elena Avdija | Switzerland, France |
| 2022 | Audience Award | Becoming Giulia | Laura Kaehr | Switzerland |
| 2022 | Best International Film Music | Robert IJserinkhuijsen | | Netherlands |
| 2022 | Science Film Award | The Territory | Alex Pritz | Brazil, Denmark, USA |
| 2022 | Award of the Kids Jury | Lucy ist jetzt Gangster | Till Endemann | Germany, Netherlands |
| 2022 | Audience Award ZFF for Kids | My Robot Brother | Frederik Meldal Nørgaard | Denmark |
| 2022 | Critics' Award and und Filmpreis der Zürcher Kirchen | Foudre (Thunder) | Carmen Jaquier | Switzerland |
| 2021 | Feature Film | A Chiara | Jonas Carpignano | Italy |
| 2021 | Documentary | Life of Ivanna (Zhizn Ivanny) | Renato Borrao Serrano | Russia |
| 2021 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | La Mif (The Fam) | Fred Baillif | Switzerland |
| 2021 | Audience Award | Youth Topia | Dennis Stormer | Switzerland, Germany |
| 2021 | Best international TV series | | | |
| 2021 | Critics' Award | Azor | Andreas Fontana | Switzerland, France, Argentina |
| 2021 | Science Film Award | All Light, Everywhere | Theo Anthony | USA |
| 2021 | Award of the Kids Jury | Le Loup et le Lion (The Wolf and the Lion) | Gilles de Maistre | France, Canada |
| 2021 | Audience Award ZFF for Kids | | | |
| 2021 | Filmpreis der Zürcher Kirchen | La Mif (The Fam) | Fred Baillif | Switzerland |
| 2020 | Feature Film | Sin señas particulares / Was geschah mit Bus 670? | Fernanda Valadez | Mexico, Spain |
| 2020 | Documentary | Time | Garrett Bradley | USA |
| 2020 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Hochwald | Evi Romen | Austria |
| 2020 | Audience Award | Sami, Joe und ich | Karin Heberlein | Switzerland |
| 2020 | Best international TV series | Cry Wolf | Maja Jul Larsen | Denmark |
| 2020 | Critics' Award | 80.000 Schnitzel | Hannah Schweier | Germany |
| 2020 | Science Film Award | I Am Greta | Nathan Grossman | Sweden |
| 2020 | Award of the Kids Jury | The Club of Ugly Children | Jonathan Elbers | Netherlands |
| 2020 | Audience Award ZFF for Kids | Little Crumb | Diede In't Veld | Netherlands |
| 2020 | Filmpreis der Zürcher Kirchen | Sami, Joe und ich | Karin Heberlein | Switzerland |
| 2020 | Treatment Award | Fleisch und Blut | Ares Ceylan | |
| 2019 | Feature Film | Sound of Metal | Darius Marder | USA |
| 2019 | Documentary | Collective / Kollektiv – Korruption tötet | Alexander Nanau | Romania, Luxembourg |
| 2019 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Systemsprenger | Nora Fingscheidt | Germany |
| 2019 | Audience Award | Volunteer | Anna Thommen und Lorenz Nufer | Switzerland |
| 2019 | Best international TV series | Just for today | Nir Bergman und Ram Nehari | Israel |
| 2019 | Science Film Award | Bruno Manser – Die Stimme des Regenwaldes | Niklaus Hilber | Switzerland, Austria |
| 2019 | Award of the Kids Jury | Zu weit weg | Sarah Winkenstette | Germany |
| 2019 | Filmpreis der Zürcher Kirchen | Waren einmal Revoluzzer | Johanna Moder | Austria |
| 2018 | Feature Film | Girl | Lukas Dhont | Belgium, Netherlands |
| 2018 | Documentary | Heartbound | Janus Metz und Sine Plambech | Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands |
| 2018 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | L'Animale | Katharina Mückstein | Austria |
| 2018 | Audience Award | Cold November | Ismet Sijarina | Kosovo, Albania, Mazedonia |
| 2018 | Audience Award ZFF for Kids | Raoul Taburin | Pierre Godeau | France, Belgium |
| 2018 | Critics' Award | The Guilty | Gustav Möller | Denmark |
| 2018 | Award of the Kids Jury | Los Bando | Christian Lo | Norway, Sweden |
| 2018 | Treatment Competition | C.O.D.A. – Child Of Deaf Adults | Maurizius Staerkle Drux und Lenz Baumann | Switzerland |
| 2018 | Schweizer Förderpreis | Walden | Daniel Zimmermann | Switzerland |
| 2017 | Feature Film | Pop Aye | Kirsten Tan | Singapore |
| 2017 | Documentary | Machines | Rahul Jain | India |
| 2017 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Blue My Mind | Lisa Brühlmann | Switzerland |
| 2017 | Audience Award | A River Below | Mark Grieco | USA/Colombia |
| 2017 | Audience Award ZFF for Kids | Die Häschenschule: Jagd nach dem goldenen Ei | Ute von Münchow-Pohl [fr] | Germany |
| 2017 | Critics' Award | Blue My Mind | Lisa Brühlmann | Switzerland |
| 2017 | Award of the Kids Jury | Upp i det blå/Up in the Sky | Petter Lennstrand | Sweden |
| 2017 | Treatment Competition | Secondo | Seraina Nyikos | Switzerland |
| 2017 | Schweizer Förderpreis | Avant la fin de l’été | Maryam Goormaghtigh | Switzerland |
| 2017 | Filmpreis der Zürcher Kirchen | Blue My Mind | Lisa Brühlmann | Switzerland |
| 2016 | Feature Film | Hymyilevä mies / The Happiest Day In The Life Of Olli Mäki | Juho Kuosmanen | Finland |
| 2016 | Documentary | Madame B, histoire d’une Nord-Coréenne | Jero Yun | France, South Korea |
| 2016 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Hidden Reserves [de] | Valentin Hitz | Austria |
| 2016 | Audience Award | When Two Worlds Collide | Heidi Brandenburg und Mathew Orzel | Peru |
| 2016 | Audience Award ZFF for Kids | Geheimcode M. | Dennis Bots | Netherlands |
| 2016 | Critics' Award | Lady Macbeth | William Oldroyd | UK |
| 2016 | Award of the Kids Jury | Ma vie de courgette | Claude Barras | Switzerland |
| 2016 | Treatment Competition | Cold Turkey for Emergencies | Anna Schwingenschuh | Switzerland |
| 2016 | Schweizer Förderpreis | Europe, She Loves | Jan Gassmann | Switzerland |
| 2015 | Feature Film | Hrútar | Grímur Hákonarson | Island |
| 2015 | Documentary | Los reyes del pueblo que no existe | Betzabé García | Mexico |
| 2015 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Thank You for Bombing | Barbara Eder | Austria |
| 2015 | Audience Award | Amateur Teens | Niklaus Hilber | Switzerland |
| 2015 | Audience Award ZFF for Kids | Supilinna Salaselts | Margus Paju | Estonia |
| 2015 | Critics' Award | Pikadero | Ben Sharrock | Spain, UK |
| 2015 | Treatment Competition | Renatas Erwachen | Stefanie Klemm | Switzerland |
| 2014 | Feature Film | Una noche sin luna | Germán Tejeira | Uruguay |
| 2014 | Documentary | Toto and his sisters | Alexander Nanau | Romania |
| 2014 | Focus Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Children of the Arctic | Nick Brandestini | Switzerland |
| 2014 | Audience Award | Zu Ende Leben | Rebecca Panian | Switzerland |
| 2014 | Audience Award ZFF for Kids | Fiddlesticks [de] | Veit Helmer | Germany |
| 2014 | Critics' Award | Svenskjävel | Ronnie Sandahl | Schweden |
| 2014 | Treatment Competition | Änneli | Christine Wiederkehr | Switzerland |
| 2013 | Feature Film | La jaula de oro | Diego Quemada-Díez | Spain |
| 2013 | Documentary | Lej en familie A/S/ | Kaspar Astrup Schroeder | Denmark |
| 2013 | Feature Film Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Finsterworld | Frauke Finsterwalder | Germany |
| 2013 | Documentary Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Neuland | Anna Thommen | Switzerland |
| 2013 | Audience Award | Journey to Jah | Noël Dernesch, Moritz Springer | Germany |
| 2013 | Audience Award ZFF for Kids | Believe | David Scheinmann | UK |
| 2013 | Critics' Award | Finsterworld | Frauke Finsterwalder | Germany |
| 2013 | Treatment Competition | Projekt Stürm – Bis ich tot bin oder frei | Dave Tucker | UK |
| 2012 | Feature Film | Broken | Rufus Norris | UK |
| 2012 | Documentary | The Imposter | Bart Layton | USA |
| 2012 | Feature Film Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Am Himmel der Tag | Pola Beck | Germany |
| 2012 | Documentary Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Der Prozess | Gerald Igor Hauzenberger | Austria |
| 2012 | Audience Award | Appassionata | Christian Labhart | Switzerland |
| 2012 | Critics' Award | El último Elvis | Armando Bo | Argentina |
| 2011 | Feature Film | Take Shelter | Jeff Nichols | USA |
| 2011 | Documentary | Buck | Cindy Meehl | USA |
| 2011 | Feature Film Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Atmen | Karl Markovics | Austria |
| 2011 | Documentary Switzerland, Germany, Austria | Darwin | Nick Brandestini | Switzerland |
| 2011 | Audience Award | Unter Wasser Atmen | Andri Hinnen, Stefan Muggli | Switzerland |
| 2011 | Critics' Award | Happy, Happy | Anne Sewitsky | Norway |
| 2010 | Feature Film | The Woman with a Broken Nose | Srdjan Koljevic | Serbia |
| 2010 | Documentary | Camp Armadillo | Janus Metz | Denmark |
| 2010 | Feature Film Switzerland, Germany, Austria | The Day I Was Not Born [de] | Florian Cossen [de] | Germany |
| 2010 | Audience Award | Stationspiraten | Mike Schaerer | Switzerland |
| 2010 | Variety’s New Talent Award | Adem | Hans van Nuffel | Belgium |
| 2010 | Critics' Award | Pal Adrienn | Agnes Kocsis | Hungary |
| 2009 | Feature Film | Wolfy | Vasilij Sigarev | Russia |
| 2009 | Documentary | The Sound After the Storm | Patrik Soergel, Ryan Fenson-Hood, Sven O. Hill | USA |
| 2009 | Feature Film Switzerland, Germany, Austria | 66/67 – Fairplay war gestern | Carsten Ludwig, Jan-Christoph Glaser | Germany |
| 2009 | Audience Award | Ceasefire [de] | Lancelot von Naso | Germany |
| 2009 | Variety’s New Talent Award | Amreeka | Cherien Dabis | USA, Kuwait, Canada |
| 2009 | Critics' Award | Applause | Pieter Zandvliet | Denmark |
| 2008 | First Feature Film | For a Moment, Freedom | Arash T. Riahi | Germany, Turkey |
| 2008 | Feature Film - Newcomer | Tulpan | Sergei Dworzewoi | Germany, Kazakhstan, Poland, Russia, Switzerland |
| 2008 | Documentary - Newcomer | Blind Loves | Juraj Lehotský | Slovakia |
| 2008 | Audience Award | The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner | Stephan Komanderev | Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary |
| 2007 | First Feature Film | Chapter 27 – Die Ermordung des John Lennon | Jarrett Schaefer | USA |
| 2007 | Feature Film - Newcomer | Bikur Hatizmoret | Eran Kolirin | Israel, France |
| 2007 | Documentary - Newcomer | Running With Arnold | Dan Cox | USA |
| 2007 | Audience Award | Twelve In A Box | John McKenzie | UK |
| 2006 | First Feature Film | Omaret Yacoubian | Marwan Hamed | Egypt |
| 2006 | Feature Film - Newcomer | Shortbus | John Cameron Mitchell | USA |
| 2006 | Documentary - Newcomer | Hammer & Tickle – The Communist Joke Book | Ben Lewis | USA |
| 2006 | Audience Award | The Hip-Hop Project | Matt Ruskin, Scott K. Rosenberg | USA |
| 2005 | First Feature Film | The Italian | Andrei Kravchuk | Russia |

## Industry events
### Zurich Summit

The Zurich Summit, launched in 2014, traditionally takes place on the first weekend of the Festival at the Dolder Grand Hotel. The boutique conference offers a unique platform in the German-speaking world that brings together high-profile representatives from the entertainment and film sectors with investors and the financial world. Topics include production and investment strategies, film financing and risk minimisation, distribution and European co-productions.

### ZFF Academy

The ZFF Academy, founded in 2006 under the name ZFF Master Class, serves to promote and network talented directors, screenwriters and/or producers. Interested parties can apply for a place in the ZFF Academy. Around 30 invitations are issued each year. In some cases, recordings can be found on YouTube.
Speakers until the 19th ZFF (2023) included:
* Stefan Arsenijević (2011)
* John Battsek (2011)
* Moritz Bleibtreu (2007)
* Joel Brandeis (2013)
* Costa-Gavras (2008)
* Andreas Dresen (2008)
* Tan Dun (2008)
* Daniel Espinosa (2012)
* Asghar Farhadi (2012)
* Peter Fonda (2008)
* Milos Forman (2010)
* Jennifer Fox (2010)
* Stephen Frears
* Barry Gifford (2010)
* Terry Gilliam (2009)
* Alejandro González Iñárritu (2011)
* Paul Haggis (2011)
* Christopher Hampton (2013)
* Jessica Hausner (2010)
* Todd Haynes (2023)
* Jasmine Hoch (2013)
* Markus Imboden (2013)
* Janine Jackowski (2011)
* Babak Jalali (2023)
* Michael Keaton (2009)
* Ken Loach (2008)
* Michel Merkt (2023)
* Matthew Modine (2007)
* Guneet Monga (2013)
* Crystal Moselle (2023)
* Bettina Oberli (2007)
* Nenad Puhovski (2010)
* Peter Rommel (2008)
* Pietro Scalia (2012)
* Hervé Schneid (2013)
* Michael Shamberg (2012)
* Greg Shapiro (2012)
* Stacey Sher (2013)
* Sylvester Stallone (2008)
* Oliver Stone (2007)
* Dario Suter (2013)
* Tom Tykwer (2012)
* Christine Vachon (2011, 2023)
* Erwin Wagenhofer (2009)
* Jerry Weintraub (2012)
* Benh Zeitlin (2012)
* Vilmos Zsigmond (2010)

## Events
### ZFF Masters

The ZFF Masters are moderated talks with well-known personalities (directors, screenwriters, producers and actors) from the international film industry. The audience gains an insight into their creative work and their attitude as filmmakers. The ZFF Masters are open to the public and are aimed at the film industry as well as the entire festival audience. Many interviews can be viewed afterwards on the ZFF Channel on YouTube.
Speakers until the 19th ZFF (2023) included:
* Fatih Akin (2014)
* Jean-Jacques Annaud (2015)
* Olivier Assayas (2016)
* Javier Bardem (2019)
* Tim Bevan (2013)
* Susanne Bier (2014)
* Juliette Binoche (2020)
* Glenn Close (2017)
* Frank Darabont (2012)
* Julie Delpy (2019)
* Johnny Depp (2020)
* Roland Emmerich (2019)
* Charles H. Ferguson (2011)
* Harrison Ford (2013)
* Marc Forster (2013)
* Charlotte Gainsbourg (2022)
* Costa-Gavras (2008)
* Adrian Grenier (2010)
* Luca Guadagnino (2022)
* Michael Haneke (2013)
* Woody Harrelson (2016)
* Ethan Hawke (2023)
* Todd Haynes (2015, 2021)
* Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (2018)
* Markus Imhoof (2013)
* Ben Kingsley (2022)
* Diane Kruger (2023)
* Mike Leigh (2015)
* Rolf Lyssy (2020)
* Maïwenn (2020)
* Ewan McGregor (2016)
* Mads Mikkelsen (2023)
* Ray Parker Jr. (2020)
* Daniel Radcliffe (2016)
* Eddie Redmayne (2022)
* Rob Reiner (2017)
* Julian Schnabel (2018)
* Paul Schrader (2021)
* Til Schweiger (2022, 2020)
* Ulrich Seidl (2014)
* Andy Serkis (2017)
* Greg Shapiro (2012)
* Stacey Sher (2013)
* Paolo Sorrentino (2021)
* Michael Steiner (2023)
* Oliver Stone (2019)
* Donald Sutherland (2019, 2018)
* Margarethe von Trotta (2023)
* Alicia Vikander (2017)
* Harvey Weinstein (2013)
* Wim Wenders (2018)
* Frederick Wiseman (2014)
* Hans Zimmer (2014)

### International Film Music Competition

The International Film Music Competition, first held in 2012, is an integral part of the Zurich Film Festival and is organised by the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich in collaboration with the Forum Filmmusik. The competition is aimed at composers worldwide. The task is to compose music for a short film. The three best submissions will be premiered at a film music concert at the Zurich Film Festival. An international jury of experts awards the Golden Eye, worth CHF 10,000, for the best international film music.

### Former events

Treatment Competition
In 2013, Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) and Telepool launched a treatment competition in cooperation with the Zurich Film Festival. Authors could submit a treatment for a feature-length cinema or television film. The work had to have a strong connection to Switzerland - be it in terms of content, characters or production conditions. The prize for the treatment competition was CHF 5,000. In addition, the winner received a development contract worth up to CHF 25,000 to write a script for a long feature film for TV or cinema.
ZFF 72
ZFF 72 was an online film competition organised by the Zurich Film Festival until 2020. Participation was open to all film enthusiasts. At ZFF 72, filmmakers had 72 hours to produce a maximum 72-second clip. The Zurich Film Festival provided the theme for the clip. The choice of genre was free: everything from scenic films and documentary formats to CGI and stop-motion was permitted. The winners were the Jury Award, determined by a jury of experts, and the Viewers Award, which was determined by online voting.