Festival start with a world star: the American actress and producer Dakota Johnson will open the 21. Zurich Film Festival. Together with director, actor and producer Michael Angelo Covino, Johnson will present her new relationship comedy SPLITSVILLE at the festive Opening Night on September 25, 2025. During the Opening Night, she will be honored with the Golden Eye for her role in the film and her outstanding career. Additionally, she will be offering insights into her work at a ZFF Masters conversation.
In full bloom as a character actress: Dakota Johnson has established herself as one of the most versatile actresses of her generation. Coming from a Hollywood dynasty—father Don Johnson, mother Melanie Griffith, and granddaughter of actress Tippi Hedren—she achieved international fame in 2015 with the role of Anastasia Steele in the blockbuster trilogy FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, for which she received the People’s Choice Award. Since then, she has appeared in works ranging from arthouse cinema to major international productions. Under the direction of Luca Guadagnino, she shone in A BIGGER SPLASH (2015) and SUSPIRIA (2018). She starred alongside Johnny Depp in BLACK MASS (2015), impressed under Maggie Gyllenhaal’s direction in THE LOST DAUGHTER (2021), and captivated audiences in CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH (2022), which won the Audience Award at Sundance. She thus joins the ranks of actresses who successfully navigate between Hollywood mainstream and independent cinema.
A big honor
«Dakota Johnson is one of the most fascinating actresses in modern cinema. She gives her characters great credibility through her honesty, and you can always sense how much she cares for them. She impresses with her subtle expressiveness, uncompromising choice of roles, and her ability to embody both audience favorites and demanding character studies», says Christian Jungen, Festival Director of the Zurich Film Festival. «The fact that she is opening our festival and presenting the comedy SPLITSVILLE, which she also produced through her company TeaTime Pictures, is a great honor and a wonderful gift to the Zurich audience.»
Dakota Johnson will personally accept the Golden Eye on September 25 during the festive opening gala and present the film together with director, actor and producer Michael Angelo Covino. Distinguished guests of the evening include Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider and Zurich’s Mayor Corine Mauch. Additionally, she will be offering insights into her work at a ZFF Masters. The Opening Night is presented by Breuninger.
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Opening Night Film – SPLITSVILLE
When Ashley (Adria Arjona) tells her good-natured husband, Carey (Kyle Marvin), that she wants a divorce, he immediately turns to his friends, Julie (Dakota Johnson) and Paul (Michael Angelo Covino), for support. They reveal the secret to their happy marriage – an open relationship. However, Carey and Julie soon cross the line, plunging everything into utter chaos. This action-packed indie comedy is full of absurd twists and over-the-top humor that charmingly highlights the pitfalls of modern love.
