SoundTrack_Zurich 04

Michael P. Aust

Festivaldirector SoundTrack_Cologne and Producer TelevisorTroika GmbH

Business graduate (Dipl.-Kfm.) Michael P. Aust is a German curator, organiser of cultural events and film producer born in 1965. His focal point of interest lies in the intersectionality of art forms, especially in the relationship of music and moving pictures. He heads the filmmusic festival and conference SoundTrack_Cologne that he founded in 2004 – with 850 accreditations Europe’s leading filmmusic industry event – as well as SoundTrack_Zurich since 2020. Parallel from 2014-2019 he was festivaldirector of Braunschweig International Filmfestival that grew to 28.000 admissions under his direction.

Aust has worked in the film industry for more than 25 years with producer credits for 21 feature films and feature-length documentaries, including “101 Reykjavik”, “Stumbling Block”, “Low Lights”, “Parallax Sounds Chicago”, “Eva Hesse” and “The Sound of Cologne”, focusing on music and art. His directorial debut “Can and Me”, co-produced by WDR, hit the cinemas in spring 2023. Michael curates exhibitions and festivals e.g. DuKunst Media Art Festival 1992, Klangvisionen sound art exhibition 1994, StadtKlangNetz conference on cultural education 2007-2014, European Film Music Day at Cannes Film Festival 2009-2016, the highly successful The Art of Pop Video exhibition (MAKK Cologne 2011, Odessa Art Center 2012, Liverpool FACT 2013), Next Level Conference on video games 2012, PLAY!CGN exhibition and conference on video games in art 2013, Digital Distri-bution conference 2014, BIFF Film Criticism LAB: on the Future of Film Criticism 2015, Hostile Sisters - Interdependencies of Theatre and Film conference 2016, FxM Film meets Music Festival 2018+19. His latest project is the 30-month Re-Educating Digitisation funded by Erasmus+.

He is a voting member of the German Film Academy, Filmbüro NW and of the World Soundtrack Academy and Board Member of KulturNetzKöln and MusicFilmFestivalNetwork. He is Managing Director, Owner and Producer at TelevisorTroika GmbH, a Cologne-based company established in 1993 for film production, art events and public relations in arts.

Elena Avdija

Director, screenwriter

© Simone Silverman

Mark Bächle

Film composer

Mark Bächle is an Emmy Award winning film composer. His music can be heard in feature films, documentaries, TV shows as well as the concert hall.
His most recent film work includes "Max Dagan”; the feature-length documentary “Clemente" and the short film "Edge of Space”.

Mark also frequently works as an orchestrator with some of the most well-known film composers. He has orchestrated more than 40 films and countless episodes of TV and streaming.

Among his many credits are: "Judas and the Black Messiah", “Rebecca", "Across the Spider-Verse" and the series "The Great” and “Andor”. 
Mark’s concert, chamber and vocal music has been played in the US as well as his native Switzerland (New York Festival of Song, Basel Sinfonietta, Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen).

Mark is a graduate of Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. He holds a teaching position and serves as artist-in-residence at Bard College in upstate New York.

Roger Baltensperger

Audio Engineer & Educator

Growing up in an actively musical and naturally curious environment between classical music, science and rock'n'roll, Roger Baltensperger was drawn to both art and technology from a very young age and found a fulfilling symbiosis of his passions in audio engineering.

Pursuing a variety of creative and technical challenges is still at the heart of his work today. He is an expert in 3D/Immersive Audio for Music and Film. With the newly founded flameworks studios, he’s able to provide recording, editing, mixing and content services for stereo, surround and immersive formats across a wide range of media and applications. Education is also an integral part of his focus by providing lectures and workshops, as well as teaching for schools, studios, and industry professionals. He is also a member of the AES and VdT.

Photo: Steffen Martin

Michael Beckmann

Bassist, Film Composer, Music Consultant

Michael Beckmann is a renowned bassist, film composer and music consultant. He is co-founder of the RAINBIRDS and has written numerous successful chart productions and film scores.

Beckmann is a member of the German Film Academy and the American Guild of Music Supervisors, and lectures at the Beuth University of Applied Sciences and appears as a panel guest at music conventions and film festivals.

He has been working as a music producer and composer since 1992 and celebrated chart successes with music productions for Extrabreit, Keimzeit and Chris Norman. Since 2000, Beckmann has worked as an executive producer and music consultant on numerous film and television projects. He is known for his film music for the German blockbusters "Türkisch für Anfänger" and the three films in the "Fack ju Göhte" series. His last works include award-winning series such as "Dschermeni" (ZDF/Kika), the two Wendy films, "Schneewittchen und der Zauber der Zwerge" or the successful "Meine Mutter...." - Degeto series or the music supervising of the streaming series Herzogpark. He was the 2019 winner of the German Film Music Award for Best Film Song.

Current projects include film music for the documentary "Die Liebe ist eine Baustelle", the release of the hybrid production music library GOTMUSIC?, speaker at Soundtrack Cologne and Soundtrack Zürich in summer 2023 and monthly releases of a new album with current music starting in June 2023.

André Bellmont

Conductor, Composer and Orchestrator for film, theatre and concert productions

André Bellmont was born in Zurich, Switzerland. He studied at Dick Grove School of Music in Los Angeles and with Samuel Krachmalnick (conducting). Bellmont has been working as a conductor, composer and orchestrator for film, theatre and concert productions, including performing artists like Andreas Vollenweider, Dianne Reeves and Abdullah Ibrahim; for Zurich Film Festival (International Film Music Competition), Corso Theatre Zurich, Theater 11 and Schauspielhaus Zürich, in Berlin at Theater des Westens and Friedrichstadtpalast; at Paramount Pictures Filmstudios Los Angeles, Synchron Stage Vienna, Smeckey Music Studios Prague, EastConnection Budapest and Air Studios London. Bellmont is head of Major in Composition for Film, Theatre und Media at Zurich University of the Arts.

© Carsten Sander

Volker Bertelmann aka Hauschka

Composer

Volker Bertelmann is an internationally-acclaimed pianist, composer and experimental musician. In 2023 he was honored with an Academy Award and BAFTA in the Best Score category for his work on All Quiet on the Western Front (directed by Edward Berger).

Garth Davis’ Oscar-nominated film Lion, which he composed in collaboration with Dustin O’Halloran, was nominated for multiple awards: Oscar for Best Original Score, Golden Globe for Best Original Score, for Best Score at the Critics’ Choice Awards, for Best Original Score - Feature Film at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards, and for Best Film Music at the British Academy Film Awards, or BAFTAs. 

Bertelmann has provided music for several leading films and television series. He composed the score for Patrick Melrose, Showtime’s Emmy-and BAFTA nominated mini-series, Gunpowder, the HBO mini-series starring Kit Harington, and Life After Life for BBC. He also composed film scores for Adrift, the 2018 romantic drama directed by Baltasa Kormákur, and, again in collaboration with O’Halloran, for Ammonite, which was short-listed for The Academy Awards in 2020. In 2022, he scored War Sailor, which was an official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival. Bertelmann is an active member of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts, and Sciences.

Bertelmann, who in his solo work goes by the name Hauschka, is a uniquely innovative pianist; he is renowned both for his trademark sound, which he achieves by preparing the piano with various small objects, and his ability to improvise entire performances. His output is prodigious: he tours extensively, and has produced over twenty albums and EPs, both solo and in collaboration with others. He has worked, among many others, with the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, where he was the artist in residence, with Múm, the Icelandic experimental musical group, and with the Grammy-winning violinist Hilary Hahn. 

Thomas Binar

Music Supervisor

Thomas Binar is a trained professional for audiovisual media and studied media management at the European University of Applied Sciences Fresenius in Idstein/Germany. While still studying, he began his long-term work at an established music consulting agency. In 2017 he was able to enhance his career and activities as founder and managing director of PPG Music Supervising. To date, he has served as music supervisor for more than 85 international feature films, series and various TV commercials. He is currently working on productions for Disney, Netflix, Amazon and Paramount+, which will be released in 2024. Recent releases include projects such as "Girl You Know it's True" (Leonine), "Crooks" (W&B/ Netflix), "Wunderschön" (Hellinger/ Doll, Warner), "The Gryphon" (DogHaus/ Amazon).

Yevgeni Birkhoff

Composer, Sound Designer

Yevgeni Birkhoff works as a composer, music producer, and sound designer. He creates music for media and international large scale event productions, composes and produces songs, and engages in the creation of acoustic sound art. Birkhoff's musical diversity is evident in his wide-ranging repertoire, from authentic EDM tracks and Musique Concrète soundscapes to orchestral scores. He has applied his talent and expertise to create tailored music and sound designs for renowned brands and clients such as Mercedes, Porsche, Electronic Arts, the Chinese Ministry of Tourism and Emaar Properties. His sound installations have been exhibited in prestigious institutions worldwide, including the German Rock and Pop Museum in Gronau, the Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood and the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

In 2010, Birkhoff received the Peer Raben Award at "Soundtrack Cologne" for the best music in a short film. Additionally, many of the large-scale events underscored with his music have been recognized with international event industry awards, including the BrandEx Award in 2019, the German Design Award in 2016, and The Special Event 2015 Gala Award.

Recently, Yevgeni Birkhoff has been engaging with real-time media and Artificial Intelligence. He regularly holds lectures and workshops, sharing his expertise in these cutting-edge fields. In his teachings, he contributes his broad knowledge and innovative perspectives on how these technologies can be leveraged in music, audio post and event productions. His insights are highly valued in both academic institutions and industry forums.

Nis Bøgvad

Music Supervisor

Music Supervisor and CEO/Founder at Copenhagen Film Music. Co founder Europe in Synch. Director Act in Synch.
With 27 years experience as a music professional, Nis Bøgvad has worked in all aspects of the music business. From Multi-Platinum selling Songwriter, Recording Artist (EMI) and Producer to Head of A&R (EMI Music), Creative Director (Music Sales Group) Executive Producer National TV to Music Supervisor.
Nis has synchronized music to more than 150 commercials, TV series and Films, lately he has been working on "Follow The Money" season 3 and upcoming series for HBO Nordic.
He’s been a returning keynote and panel speaker at A&R Worldwide/Musexpo L.A., Midem Cannes, Sync summit Paris, Spot Festival Denmark; Les Arcs European Film Festival, Sync summit Helsinki, MaMA Conference Paris, London Sync Session, an Artist Mentor at Music Estonia VOLÜÜM mentoring program, Berklee Global Career Summit in Valencia and is among the founding partners of Europe in Synch.

Chantal Bolzern

Attorney, Mediator

Admitted to the bar in 1997. In 2003, completed the Master`s (LL.M.) at the Free University of Berlin, majoring in Copyright Law and completed studies as a Culture Manager in 2005. From 2004, worked as a lawyer at SUISA, concentrating mainly on Copyright and Contract Law. 2010 promotion to head of department, responsible for licensing music performances in the German and the French part of Switzerland. Guest speaker at various institutions on Copyright Law and Collecting Societies.

Completed studies as a mediator in 2016. Since 2018 working as an attorney at BKS Attorneys Ltd. and partner since 2021. Co-President of HELVETIAROCKT since March 2018 and President of the Swiss Syndicate Film and Video (SSFV) since 2022, board-member of SUISA since 2023.

Sabine Boss

Director, writer

Sabine Boss was born in 1966 in Aarau. After many wild years, among other things as a radio moderator and sound technician in film and theater, she completed her studies in film/video at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) from 1992 to 1995.
Since 2000, Sabine Boss has worked as a freelance writer and director for film, television and theater and as a lecturer at the ZHdK. In 2017 she took over the direction of studies for Bachelor and Master Arts in Film at the ZHdK.

To date, Sabine Boss has worked on fourteen feature films, four TV series and eleven theater plays.

Sabine Boss has been awarded with several prizes including the 2015 Swiss Award as well as the Prix Europa of the European TV-Filmfestival and the Zurich and Bern Film Award for her 2014 television feature film "Verdacht".

Pierre Cattoni

Composer agent

Pierre Cattoni has 10 years of experience in the music industry.

While working as a project manager for the independent music label Tot Ou tard, where he develops local and international artists such as Yael Naim, Vincent Delerm, Vianney, Albin de la Simone or Ben Howard, he starts accompanying talents as a manager.

That led him to create a composer agency in 2019, in partnership with recording and post-production studios, and collaborate with talents dedicated to film scoring.

In 2021, he joined the Troisième Auteur agency, created in 2016, before becoming its leading agent and partner in 2022. He now represents 18 composers from very various backgrounds and genres who work on more than 50 projects in 2023 – French and European long-feature films, TV films and documentaries, series etc. -.

Troisième Auteur is one of the leading agencies of the sector in France.

Corinna Dästner

Producer

Corinna Dästner joined DokLab in Bern as a producer in mid-2019 where she a.o. produced OSTROV – LOST ISLAND (Best International Feature HotDocs 2021, Swiss Film Prize). Before she worked as Head of Production at Circe Films in Amsterdam (2010-2015) and as producer at Josefine Filmproduktion in Hamburg (2001-2009). Corinna holds a Master's degree in German, Media Culture and Political Science and studied Film Theory at Indiana University Bloomington. She is a member of the film commission for documentaries at the Swiss Federal Office of Culture since 2020 and member of the Swiss and European Film Academy.

Olga Dinnikova

Director, screenwriter, actress

Olga was born in Riga in 1985.  She grew up in Latvia and Israel before moving to Switzerland at the age of 15. At 22, she completed her acting training at the European Film Actor School in Zurich. Olga's career in the film industry started with her first television role in the SRF series "Tag und Nacht" in 2007. Since then, she has appeared in various films and television shows, including "Marija" by Michael Koch, "Ispansi!" by Carlos Iglesias, and "Nightfall" by Simon Aeby. 

In 2011, Olga embarked on her bachelor's degree in film at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and successfully completed it in 2014, with her short feature film "Luftschloss" receiving a nomination for the Studio Hamburg Nachwuchspreis in 2016. Olga continued her studies at ZHdK and graduated with a Master's degree in screenwriting. During this time she wrote the scripts for the short film AQUARIUM, which was co-produced by Swiss Television, and the feature film PERIPHERIE, for which she wrote one of the episodes. The latter had its world premiere at the ZURICH FILM FESTIVAL in 2016 and was nominated for the "Prix du Public" at the SOLOTHURNER FILMTAGEN. 

In 2023 Olga is shooting her first full-length feature film BEHIND THE GLASS, for which she also wrote the screenplay - a co-production between Switzerland and Latvia. Currently it is in post-production.

© Philippe Molitor/Gleamlight

Marc du Moulin

ECSA Secretary General

Marc du Moulin is Secretary General of ECSA (European Composer and Songwriter Alliance). He has an in-depth understanding of the functioning of the creative industries and an extensive experience in European Affairs.

He previously worked for the European Film Agency Directors, the Motion Picture Association, the European Commission (DG CNECT) and for Eurocinema.

Marc holds a master's degree in UK-EU-US Copyright Law from King’s College London and a master's in European Studies from the Catholic Institute of Paris.

Dr. Yati Durant

Composer, Lecturer, Musician

Dr. Yati Durant is a U.S. born composer, lecturer, trumpeter and conductor. His musical background began with composition and jazz music from the age of 7. He was a founding member of the experimental jazz ensemble Honey Junkie and The Yati Durant Project Band in the 1990s. He studied with Portland trumpeter (and Grammy winner) Thara Memory before moving to New York, where he began a successful stint as a TV and film music composer. Yati holds a PhD in Composition from the University of Edinburgh along with a prestigious Konzertexam Meisterklasse in composition under the composer Krzysztof Meyer at the State Conservatory of Music in Cologne, Germany, and a Diploma in Electronic Composition under Hans Ulrich Humpert. He has also studied with George Crumb, Philip Lasser, Narcis Bonet, Lee Konitz and conducting with Jonathan Brett. From 2010 - 2019 Yati was a Lecturer and Programme Director of the MSc Composition for Screen Programme at the University of Edinburgh. His compositions and films have received many prizes from International festivals, including a 3rd Pl. Panorama Public Prize at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival for Erika Rabau – Der Puck von Berlin and a BAFA National Commerce Film Award nomination for the WDR/ARD documentary Ein Klavier geht um die Welt. 
He is a finalist of the 2009 Concorso Giovani Musicisti Europei in Aosta, Italy with his score to C. Chaplin’s The Vagabond. His contemporary compositions have been commissioned and performed in New York, Seattle, Berlin, Edinburgh, Cologne and Sao Paolo, released on CD and DVD by Film Dienst/Normal Records, Filmmuseum München and he remains an active performer of jazz, with regular appearances and recordings throughout Europe and USA. His TV and Film credits include work for WDR, ARD, HBO, MTV, Disney and many others.

Adina Friis

Composer

Adina Friis (*1988) is a jazz pianist, singer, songwriter and composer for film and theatre. She studied jazz piano, singing and composition in Lucerne, Zurich and Copenhagen.

Her main musical project is the jazz trio "Luumu", with which she transforms her most personal thoughts and ideas into art. Since 2010 she has been playing concerts in Switzerland and abroad. Since 2015 she has been writing the music for various theatres and from 2017-2019 she was responsible for the musical design of the "Berner Reden" at the Konzerttheater Bern.

In 2020 she had the chance to demonstrate her skills as a film composer for the film "Eden for Everyone" directed by Rolf Lyssy."

In 2023 her first full evening composition "Leben in Anbetracht der Endlichkeit" for choir and chamber orchestra was performed in 4 cities throughout Switzerland.

Marielène Froidevaux

Music Supervisor

After a decade in the Music Industry, Marielène Froidevaux founded her Publishing Company "Interstellar Music" in 2016. By 2019 she started supervising on film productions and has been involved in numerous projects since. The 39-year-old is furthermore engaged in music policy issues and promotes cultural projects of all kinds with her association kunst stuck. A little heads up: By 2024 "Interstellar Music" is merging with Black Box Music and becomes “Black Stellar Music GmbH”. 

Adi Frutiger

Composer

Born in Zurich in 1971. Graduated as a decoration designer from the Kunstgewerbeschule. Matura at the Gestalterische Berufsmittelschule Zurich.
Since 1996 Adrian Frutiger has composed the music for numerous cinema and television films as well as realized various commercials, music concepts, shows, animations and post-productions. He has received various awards for film music compositions. Adrian Frutiger lives and works in Zurich. At this year's ZFF he is represented with the feature film "Early Birds" and the series "Davos 1917".

Lysander Gelewski

Born in 1957, Lysander studied political science at the University of Geneva and now lives in Bern (Switzerland). He currently takes care of all admin and legal aspects at Voodoo Rhythm Records, the legendary Swiss indie label. Besides this, he continues to work as a freelance consultant in the field of authors’ and neighbouring rights. Lysander started his career in the music business as a bass player in several bands before joining EMI Virgin Records Switzerland as marketing and promotion manager. In 2003 he joined Swiss collecting society SUISA where he was head of group in the film department. The last 10 years before his retirement he co-managed myMusicRights, an agency specialising in legal advice, contracts and copyright administration for artists.. 

© Paulus Ponizak

Annette Gentz

Founder Annette Gentz | Film & Music Arts, General Manager Universal Music Publishing Classics & Screen

Annette Gentz is one of Germany’s premiere agents for film and stage music.
Her company Annette Gentz / Music & Film Arts has been producing and supervising soundtracks for European and international productions for more than 10 years, collaborating with film directors and producers, choreographers, theatres and opera houses, publishers and record labels worldwide.

Previous film projects she was involved in include scores by Volker Bertelmann/ Hauschka, Dascha Dauenhauer, Michael Nyman, Carsten Nicolai/ Alva Noto, Max Richter, Freya Arde, Frans Bak, Annette Focks and John Gürtler & Jan Miserre. Her most recent achievement was supervising the score deal for Volker Bertelmann/ Hauschka that won him the 2023 Academy Award for Best Original Score for „All Quiet On the Western Front“.

All of the artists she represents are award winning musicians and unique voices in German and international cinema.

In May, 2023 Annette Gentz has joined Universal Music as General Manager GSA, Classics & Screen | Ricordi.

Annette Gentz is also active as a mentor and moderator at several national and international festivals, conferences and networking events. She has been hosting panels on, including but not limited to, music and film scoring production, artist management, artificial intelligence as well as diversity & gender equality in the film & music sector.

Annette Gentz is an advisory board member of the World Soundtrack Academy.

© Christian Beutler / KEYSTONE

Manuel Gerber

supervising sound editor, sound designer and re-recording mixer

Manu Gerber is a supervising sound editor, sound designer and re-recording mixer.

As a classically trained composer and graduate of the Academy of Music Basel, he brings  musicality, passion and great attention to detail to every project.

Since 2015, he is owner and president of TONSCHLIFF, a company specialized in high-quality sound design and mixing for film and television.

He shares his love for movies and sound as a teacher at the Zurich University of the Arts where he is

co-director of the ’Sound Design' master’s program.

He is a member of the American honorary society of Motion Pictures Sound Editors MPSE.

Recent works:

Sabine Gisiger

Film director, professor

Born in 1959 in Zurich, Switzerland. Sabine Gisiger studied history in Zurich and Pisa. She worked as a reporter for Swiss Television and has been making documentaries as a freelance filmmaker since 1988. DO IT (2000) received the Swiss Film Award for Best Documentary, followed by GAMBIT (2005) and YALOM’S CURE (2014) and a nomination for WELCOME TO SWITZERLAND (2017). She is a professor for documentaries at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK)

Martin Häne

Music Publisher

Martin Häne is a Publisher of currently 6 different Production Music labels for both major distributors as well as independents.

Before becoming a music publisher, Häne worked for 10+ years as composer for both production music as well as bespoke music.

His credits as a composer include "Fack ju Göhte 2", "Melrose Place", "Bring it on" (Universal), various Lion's Gate Films (Warrior, Frankenhood) as well as Commercials and TV Series on networks such as ABC, NBC, CW TV, among others.

As a Publisher, his mission is simple: To create Production Music with character, and helping media creators to tell their story.

You may find out more here: www.martytone.com

Renato Horvath

Music Supervisor

Renato Horvath (Hungary) founded Eastaste Music, a sync agency, in 2012. Its main focus is music licensing, music supervision, and consulting rights owners, and filmmakers alike. Over the years, he has licensed songs for nearly 150 commercials/films from domestic and foreign performers and authors. His specialty is licensing well-known foreign compositions and covers as well as difficult-to-find compositions. Affiliations: UK & European Guild of Music Supervisors member; partner in the Europe in Synch Creative Europe program.

Ksenia Ignatenko

media composer, classical singer, songwriter

Ksenia Ignatenko (*2001) is a media composer, classical singer, and songwriter. She embarked on her musical journey at the age of 8 with her debut singing performance at the Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre. Following her move to Krakow in 2014, she continued to pursue a career in opera.

At the age of 17, Ksenia ventured into the world of film music, participating in her first film music competition and receiving an invitation to the prestigious film music festival in Krakow. This marked a significant turning point in her career, leading to her becoming a film composer. In 2019, she relocated to Zurich to further her education at ZHdK in composition for film, theatre and media.

Ksenia has an diverse portfolio, that includes composing soundtracks for a feature-length documentary titled "Aufzeihnungen aus dem Abseits," contributing to various short films and video games, and working on her own original music projects. Since 2023, Ksenia has held the position of an official executive committee member at SWAN, where she actively contributes to the organisation's initiatives.

© Marco Quandt

Stefan Jäger

Director, Screenwriter, Lecturer

Stefan Jäger studied screenwriting and directing at the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg.

He has directed documentaries, including MATHIAS GNÄDINGER – DIE LIEBE SEINES LEBENS, CYRILL TRIFFT or MARKUS IMHOOF – REBELLISCHER POET, as well as feature films such as MONTE VERITÀ, DER GROSSE SOMMER, BIRTHDAY, HELLO GOODBYE or HORIZON BEAUTIFUL. As the head of the production company tellfilm, he was responsible for movies like BLUE MY MIND, TIERE, and many others.

He is also teaching at several film schools, both in Europe and Africa. He is the head of the screenwriting department at the Zurich University of the Arts, worked as directing instructor in Ludwigsburg, still teaches at the Drama School in Stuttgart, and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Jäger is a member of the Swiss and European Film Academies.

Jacques Kieffer

freelance mixer, sound designer, dialogue editor

Jacques Kieffer was born in 1985 in Luxembourg City. He discovered music as a passion at an early age and after graduating from high school in Luxembourg, he moved to Switzerland to study sound engineering at the ZHdK. There, he made his first experiences with film soundtracks.
Since 2013, he has been working as a freelance mixer, sound designer and dialogue editor for documentary and feature films.
In 2015, he was awarded for his work as a mixer on the documentary "Above and Below" by Nicolas Steiner with the Special Award of the Swiss Film Academy.

Marla Kohli

Yoga teacher

Marla is a dedicated Vinyasa yoga teacher who emphasizes mindfulness and alignment.
To her, yoga is a space of liberation and reconnection with oneself. A grounding pause to simply observe and breathe calmly. A support during stressful, demanding phases. A happy place. It is this light, balanced, pleasant feeling she hopes to share in her yoga classes.

After years of consistent practice, Marla discovered the joy of teaching locked-down with her friends during the pandemic. In summer 2021, she completed the teacher training to consolidate her knowledge and to be able to reach a wider audience. Since then she has guided numerous students on their journey to physical and mental symbiosis. Her classes are an artful blend of fluid movements, deep stretches, and conscious breathing, creating a harmonious symphony that resonates with her students.

Beyond the yoga mat, she is studying civil engineering following her passion to create happy buildings. In short, her passion is the seamless flow of forces. Join her to discover the profound benefits of yoga and embrace the flow of forces in your own life.

Barbara Kulcsar

Film Director

Barbara Kulcsar, born to Hungarian parents in Zurich in 1971, attended drama school in Budapest, began studying Spanish literature in Barcelona, studied sociology, journalism and film studies for a few semesters at Zurich University before completing her film studies at the Zurich University of the Arts. Her graduation film "Blush", won several awards, and the feature film "Zu Zweit" (2010) won the Zurich Film Prize. This was followed by several television works. 2017 Kulcsar was awarded the top prize at the renowned Baden-Baden Television Film Festival for "Zwiespalt." Further television work was placed in her hands, in Switzerland as well as in Germany. In 2021, she shot the Swiss Dramedy "Die goldenen Jahre",  a boxoffice hit and the most successful Swiss Feature Film of the year 2022.

Michael Künstle

Composer, Songwriter, Arranger

Olav Lervik

Composer, Arranger, Orchestrator, Lecturer

Olav Lervik is from French and Norwegian descent. He studied composition in Weimar and Stuttgart and composition for film, theatre and media in Zurich. Olav Lervik produces music and sound for film, games and interactive installations. He teaches composition for film, theatre and media at the University of Arts Zurich.
Olav Lervik is active as an arranger and orchestrator. He has arranged several piano reductions of operas by Peter Eötvös and has transcribed a wide number of pieces from film scores. He took part in the restoration of the original scores from the famous movies “Metropolis”(1928) and “Nibelungen”(1926). Lately he reconstructed the original score of the movie "Things to Come" which was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.

Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch

Composer, artist

Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch is an Ivor Novello, BIFA nominated and HMMA winning composer and artist, living in London. Emilie has scored the BAFTA, Golden Globe and Oscar nominated feature, Living, starring Bill Nighy and Aimee Lou Wood, released with Sony Picture Classics. 

Previous credits include The Forgotten Battle, which was the highest streaming film worldwide on Netflix during the weeks of its release, and Censor, released by MGM, with the score released on vinyl and digitally by Invada Records (The Power of the Dog, Monos, Moonlight). She has just scored Andrew Haigh’s All Of Us Strangers, starring Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott, which will be premiering at festivals starting at Telluride this Summer.

Emilie’s other credits include The Sheik and I from American-Iranian director Caveh Zahedi; Sarah Gavron's BAFTA winning coming of age feature Rocks, and Harry Wootliff’s BAFTA-nominated debut feature Only You, with the OST receiving over 4 million streams on Spotify. In 2023, she scored Nathaniel Martello White's The Strays for Netlfix, which topped the platform charts worldwide.

Emilie has collaborated with visual artists Danica Dakic, Alice May Williams and Natasha Caruana on music for video installations exhibited at Jerwood Project Space, Speke Hall, The ODI, and Arles Photo Festival. In 2013, she received the Emerging Excellence Award from the Musician Benevolent Fund, and in 2015, was commissioned to create a sound-walk for London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. She has been commissioned by multiple classical instrumentalists to compose pieces for their repertoire.

As an artist, Emilie has released three albums via the prestigious new classical imprint, 130701, and has performed at the Union Chapel, Barbican and the BBC Proms. 

Cynthia Lowen

Director, producer, writer

Cynthia Lowen is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker and award-winning writer whose work uses the power of story to catalyze meaningful change. She is the director of ‘Battleground’ (STARZ), ‘Netizens’ (HBO) and producer/writer of ‘Bully’ (Netflix) which was shortlisted for the Oscars and screened at the White House. She is a 2023 Sundance Institute/Alfred P. Sloan Screenwriting Fellow for her feature narrative script ‘Light Mass Energy,’ about Mileva Marić Einstein. In conjunction with her films, Cynthia has spearheaded large-scale impact campaigns, working with partners such as Autism Speaks, Facebook, Human Rights Campaign, Microsoft, NARAL, Planned Parenthood, the United Federation of Teachers, and many others. She is a winner of the National Poetry Series and is a member of the Producers Guild of America.

Noah Martin

Attorney at SUISA

Noah Martin, born in 1988, studied law at the University of Basel. Following his studies, he dedicated himself to a dissertation project funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Until January 2022, he scientifically investigated the requirements for protection under copyright law and obtained his doctorate in November 2022. Since February 2022, he has been in charge of the management and board secretariat at SUISA. In addition, he is responsible for topics such as artificial intelligence and NFT at SUISA.

Caterina Mona

Editor, director, writer

Caterina began studying English literature in Zurich, before going to the film school INSAS in Brussels, Belgium. She graduated as an editor in 2001. She then worked on national and international productions as assistant editor and script supervisor. From 2003 on she worked as an editor. She has collaborated on several editions of the international film festivals in Locarno and Berlin.

Her two children were born in 2007 and 2008.

In the winter of 2013/14, Caterina spent half a year in Buenos Aires with her family. There she wrote the screenplay for her first short film PERSI which premiered at the Locarno Festival in 2015. Her first feature film SEMRET premiered on the Piazza Grande in Locarno in 2022. She just edited Simon Jaquemets ELECTRIC CHILD and is currently developing new projects.

Laura Morales

Filmmaker, director of photography, photographer

Christof Neracher

Producer Hugofilm

© Jessy Moravec

Liliane Ott

Producer, writer

Born in Zürich, Liliane Ott moved to Auckland, New Zealand in 1999 to study at the UNITEC School of Performing and Screen Arts. She returned to Switzerland in 2004, working in various roles within the film industry.

In 2009, while with "Das Kollektiv für audiovisuelle Werke GmbH", she produced the feature film "Soundless Wind Chime", presented at the Berlinale's Forum Program. She co-produced the film "Stoma" with Xtreme Pictures Ltd, Hong Kong, and the Decoy Collective in Bern. This film was nominated for the Firebird Award (Chinese Language) at the Hong Kong International Film Festival 2020.

In 2019, Liliane joined Emilia Productions as a partner and producer and left in 2023. They produced the documentary "Les Nouvelles Èves", showcased at the 2021 Zurich Film Festival. Liliane also founded the independent production company Kalliopeia GmbH, where she now focuses her energy.

In February 2023, Liliane participated in the Berlinale Co-Production Market Visitors Program. She's currently developing several film projects, including "Immer Weiter", backed by the Federal Office for Culture and the Zurich Film Fund, and "Hotel Excelsior", winner of the Fast Track 2023 of the Zurich Film Fund.

Additionally, she's involved with "Animata" by Jessy Moravec, supported by Migros Ideation, and "Sheherezade" in collaboration with Talkhon Hamzavi, set to participate in the Torino SeriesLab 2023/2024.

LIECHTERWAERK-Tanja Krebs (c)

Matteo Pagamici

Musician, Film composer

Matteo Pagamici is a Swiss musician and film composer. In 2014 he received a nomination for the Golden Eye "Best International Film Music" at the Zurich Film Festival. He is also a Berlinale Talent Alumnus.
His most recent works include PLATZSPITZBABY (director: Pierre Monnard), the SRF/Netflix series NEUMATT (director: Pierre Monnard and Sabine Boss) and the French-Swiss series HORS SAISON (director: Pierre Monnard).

©GeorgVanDerWeyden

Oliver Paulus

Film Director

Oliver Paulus has directed six feature films. His stories mostly focus on underdogs and people from underprivileged classes who are oppressed by their everyday lives and who – against all odds – fight for their dreams and their happiness.

Oliver has been awarded numerous international film prizes, i.e. the Max Ophüls Prize, an Honorable Mention at San Sebastián IFF and the Best Artistic Contribution Award at the Cairo IFF. 

www.oliverpaulus.ch

©Rebecca Bowring

Nicolas Rabaeus

Composer

Nicolas was born in Geneva in 1984. He studied jazz music in Paris (IMEP) and classical music in Geneva (HEM). He's been working as a composer for more than fifteen years, specializing in music for the moving image.

Known for his versatility and his fast working pace, he has collaborated with many European and Swiss filmmakers, on over fifty projects: feature films, series, documentaries and shorts. His music has been celebrated in many festivals and nominated for numerous awards. 

He has taught "Music in Cinema" at the HEM Geneva, and teaches ear training at the HEMU Lausanne.

© Christian Rombi

Philippe Rombi

Composer, conductor, film pianist

The celebrated French composer, conductor and film pianist, began his musical career at the prestigious Conservatoire National de Région de Marseille. His dedication paid off with numerous awards, including the First Prize for Orchestra Conducting, and the Gold Medals for Piano and Chamber Music.
He then joined Antoine Duhamel's film music class at the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Musique de Paris, where he obtained the Diplôme Supérieur de Composition.

Philippe's first foray into film music began with the composition of short films. His talent soon caught the attention of producer Olivier Delbosc, which led to a fruitful collaboration with acclaimed director François Ozon.

His work in Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas) in 2005, with « I’m Dreaming of Home » (Hymne des fraternisés) and the "Ave Maria" sung by Natalie Dessay, catapulted him to widespread recognition and earned him a César nomination in 2006. He received the award for best original score for Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (2008) at the 5th International Film Music Critics Association (IFCMA) Excellence Awards in 2008.

Appreciated for both the quality of his themes and the subtlety of his orchestrations, he has become a key composer in French cinema, collaborating with directors such as Christian Carion, Agnès Jaoui, Philippe Le Guay, Laurent Tirad, Christophe Barratier, Jean-François Richet, Yann Samuell, Dany Boon, Alexandra Leclère and Anne Fontaine.
He also composed the epic scores for the two animated hits directed by Louis Clichy and Alexandre Astier: Asterix le Domaine des Dieux (2014) and Asterix le Secret de la Potion Magique (2018), reuniting with the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios.
After two Cesar nominations for Dans la Maison (2012) and Frantz (2016), Philippe Rombi reunited with François Ozon for Mon Crime (2023), their 13th collaboration.
He also wrote the scores for two films by Yann Gozlan: the thriller Boite Noire (2021), his 4th Cesar nomination, and Visions (2023), with more atmospheric, sometimes atonal compositions combining electro and symphonic orchestras.
Like his illustrious predecessors, Philippe Rombi is one of those composers whose music, appreciated outside the image, is regularly played around the world and re-recorded by prestigious soloists such as Renaud Capuçon and Alexandre Tharaud.
In 2018, he was awarded the Grand Prix de la SACEM at the Salle Pleyel in Paris for his lifetime achievement.

Alice Ruppert

Game Producer, writer

Alice Ruppert is a game producer and writer. She studied Game Design at the Zurich University of the Arts, where she graduated in 2015. For the next six years, Alice worked for the local multiplayer gaming platform AirConsole, first as a Game Developer in a small team, then as Head of Games overseeing multiple external development teams. Starting in 2018, she's dedicated herself to the niche of video games about horses and riding through her website The Mane Quest. What started as a hobby project became her job in late 2021, when she joined Aesir Interactive in Munich as a Creative Producer specifically on horse riding games. She works remotely from her home in Zurich.
In Spring 2023, Alice was elected as president of the Swiss Game Developers Association SGDA.

Oliver Schmid

Attorney at SUISA

Oliver Schmid graduated in law from the University of Zurich. After graduation, he was a research assistant with a focus on copyright law at the Chair of Intellectual Property and Competition Law. He was editor at the “sic!” (Journal for Intellectual Property, Information and Competition Law) and at the employment law journal ARV as well as author of various scientific publications. After obtaining the licence to practice law in 2019, he gained practical experience as an independent lawyer. Subsequently, he was co-leader of several Innosuisse third-party funded projects. Since 2021, he holds a doctorate in law and is now an adjunct professor at the University of Zurich. In 2022, Oliver Schmid joined SUISA’s legal service as an employee, which he took over as head in 2023.

Joel Schoch

Video Game Composer

Born in the Swiss Alps, Joel has fun singing and playing the piano without reading notes until with 19 he somewhat surprisingly decides to study composition. After preliminary studies in Bonn DE and Arnhem NL he ends up at the Zurich University of the Arts. There he does his Bachelor and Master in Composition for Film Theater and Media which he finished in 2019. During his studies he meets Don Schmocker, the creative director of Okomotive, an indie game company. This is where he falles in love with creating music for games. A sound tinkerer and advocate of real recordings, he creates and crafts the music for the games „FAR: Lone Sails“ and „FAR: Changing Tides“ in his bedroom. For his work he is nominated for several awards and he even wins the International "Best Game Music" Award in Oulu Finland in 2020 for „FAR: Lone Sails“. He enjoys a large listenership from all over the world.

Beda Senn

Music consultant at Swiss Television

Music consultant at Swiss Television since 2006 and involved in over 500 documentary film projects.

Since 2018 conception & production for new library/production music under Tonangeber GmbH, he is expert in the implementation of new sounds for current and future topics:
What does today's modern urban environment sound like? (Sounds Of Urbanity). What does music have to sound regarding sustainability, the new food movements, healthy and sustainable nutrition and lifestyles? (Organic Food Sounds). How do you create a sound image that depicts the regions of the world in a new and timeless way? Without all the clichés and stereotypes, but with the by integrating the traditional sounds of the regions concerned. What are new alpine sounds? What is the new sound for stories in today's alpine region (including Southern Germany, Austria,
Switzerland, Slovenia and the north of Italy and France). Creating sounds that make the colours ring. And much more.

Another important motto: Modern Modular Motif-based Production Music. The goal are minimal and modular structured mood tracks, which have unique and modern sounds as core element and thus on the one hand perfectly underscore fitting and not overloaded but on the other hand have strong motif expressiveness. For each track there are several variations, which may differ in instrumentation of the motif, tempo, time signature etc., but which play around the central element (the leitmotif) in some form. And all this under the aspect of making it as close, touching, high quality and timeless as possible for all kinds of audio-visual productions and suitable for stories in the here and now.

Although music is his life, he never learned to play an instrument well. He spent a few years as a drummer, but never really gained a foothold as a musician. Despite, or perhaps because of it, he has immersed himself (associatively), in what kind of images does music create, which images need which music. He finds the exploration of music exciting. And he has immersed himself in it.

He also sees himself as a diver for musical pearls in the playlists of Tonangeber. He curates and mixes them together.

Mirjam Skal

Composer, orchestrator

Mirjam Skal is a composer and orchestrator based in Zurich, Switzerland. She holds a Master's diploma in composition for film, theatre and media at the Zurich University of the Arts and has been working as a freelance composer over the past years. Her work includes music for the national Swiss television, such as Bettina Oberlis newest limited series EMMA LÜGT, several documentaries, advertisements and animated shorts.

As a synesthete, Mirjam‘s approach to composing is very intuitive. She is fascinated by combining live instruments with electronic soundscapes to create evocative textures. In 2021 Mirjam was a participant in Berlinale Talents. In addition, Mirjam has been chosen to be part of the AWFC Mentorship program 2021 under the guidance of renowned composer Mychael Danna ("Life of Pi"). Following the mentorship, Mirjam has had the opportunity to compose additional music alongside Mychael Danna for the 2022 feature film "Where The Crawdads Sing".

Mirjam is an active member of the Swiss film music industry; as vice-president of Forum Filmmusik and as a member of the advisory board of SoundTrack Zurich.

Martin Skalsky

Filmmaker and composer

Martin is a filmmaker and composer of Swiss and Czech origin. In 2019, he directed his first feature documentary, “Cody - the dog days are over”. His narrative short film “As the tide turns “premiered in 2022. He has 20 years of experience in film music composition. His works include, amongst others, i.e. the award-winning feature “The Sandman” by Peter Luisi, “The forgotten” by Daria Onyshenko, world premiere at Warsaw Film Festival 2019 or Oscars® 2022 best live action short film nominee “Ala Kachuu “by Maria Brendle.

Michael Steiner

Director, Screenwriter

Michael Steiner is a Swiss Film Director and Screenwriter. He has worked on 11 feature films, one documentary and one TV series to date.

In 1996, Michael Steiner's low budget thriller "Nacht der Gaukler" was released. "Mein Name ist Eugen" received the Swiss Film Award (Best Feature Film) in 2006. "Grounding - The Last Days of Swissair" was also among the most successful films in Swiss cinemas.

In 2017, Steiner shot the film "Wolkenbruchs wunderliche Reise in die Arme einer Schickse", based on the bestseller of the same name by Swiss author Thomas Meyer, who also wrote the screenplay. With this film, Steiner continued on the success of his previous films: "Wolkenbruch" was the most successful Swiss film of 2018, selling over 300’000 tickets, and was acquired by Netflix in 2019. In 2020, the director shot the hostage drama "Und morgen seid ihr tot", which is based on true events. Furthermore, Steiner directed the TV series "Die Beschatter" in 2022.

All his films made a Box office of 1,5 Million spectators in Swiss cinemas. 

Steiner's upcoming feature film "Earlybirds" is going to have a World-Premiere at the Zurich Film Festival as the first Swiss Netflix Coproduction.

Andreas Suttner

Cellist, music manager, music consultant for TV, founder of music label Klangidee

Andreas Suttner has studied Violoncello and music tuition and has been awarded as a cellist at several well-known contests.
After completing his MA in Arts Management at City University of London he has turned his attention to music management.

From 2004 he is also working as a music consultant for the film department of Bavarian Television.

In 2007 Andreas Suttner founded the production music label KLANGIDEE and since then is focusing on his work as a composer and producer for filmmusic in TV, radio and web.

Marcel Vaid

Musician and composer

Marcel Vaid (*1967) works as a musician (guitar) and composer for film. He has worked in Filmmusic for over 90 feature films worldwide. 

Head of the electro-acoustic collective Superterz, he has completed numerous Tours in Japan and Europe. 

Vaid has collaborations with Nils Petter Molvaer, Norbert Möslang (Voice Crack), Lauren Newton, Mauro Pawlowski (dEUS), Jojo Mayer (Nerve), Alain Monot (The Young Gods), Marianne Schroeder (John Cage) or Rodrigo Gonzales (Die Ärzte). Worked with Fredi Murer, Milo Rau, Léa Pool, Greg Zglinski, Svetlana Rodina and Tommaso Landucci. 

He won 2019 his 4th Swiss Filmprize Best Filmmusic for Chris the Swiss and was nominated a.o.for the European Animation Award. 

He works as a lecturer at the Zurich University of the Arts. He is a member of the European Film Academy EFA, the Swiss Film Academy, and a board member of SONART, the swiss music association.

Martin Villiger

Composer, focused on film music

Martin Villiger has composed the music for over 130 films and series. That’s about 450 series episodes and counting.

“I love to bring different people and art forms together and to dare new things.“, Martin says. In addition to songs he writes and produces with pop greats, he has always tried new areas of music. He has, for example, composed the music for a circus show, for installations, numerous commercials and corporate sound for companies. Martin Villiger is also interested in 3D audio like Dolby Atmos, spatial audio for VR (virtual reality) and games. The new feature film “Early Birds” where he co-composed music with the main composer Adrian Frutiger is premiering at this years Zurich Film Festival.

Villiger was born in Glasgow and grew up in Jerusalem, among other places. He feels at home all over the world and speaks six languages. His new concert series “Culture Clash” fits in with this. He is married to Catherine, and together they have four children.

Timo von Gunten

Film Director

With the TV banned from our home, my fascination of filmmaking was triggered by the slide shows my parents created, accompanied by sound through the revox system. Hence, as a kid, I started out doing short films with the DV camera I stole from my dad. Eventually, I was allowed to watch more content, but just US sitcoms from the 50’s. So I know a lot about the «Andy Griffith Show» or «The Houneymooner’s». I tried to get into film schools at least 6 times - without luck. After many years of shooting shorts with my friends, I was lucky enough to be nominated for an Oscar for my film 'La femme et le TGV' starring Jane Birkin. I ended up going to film school in Zurich after all, taking part in the masters program. I graduated in 2020 followed by a development phase of 3 years for my feature «Le Grand Prince», (hopefully) to be shot in 2024. Additionally, I’m currently pursuing work in TV, co-directing a 6-episode crime comedy series by Swiss National TV (SRF).