27. March 2024
Since day one, the Golden Eye has been the symbol of the Zurich Film Festival and has shaped the ZFF's corporate identity. Every year it adorns the Photo Wall on the green carpet as well as the ZFF's advertising spaces and it is presented to film stars from all over the world in the form of a trophy. Winners of the Golden Eye Award include legends like Sylvester Stallone, Sharon Stone, Eddie Redmayne and Kristen Stewart. «Our logo with the Golden Eye has become a strong brand that everyone in the greater Zurich area and the international film world recognizes», explains Christian Jungen, Artistic Director of the ZFF. «Our new Key Visual illustrates that the ZFF is brought to life by all the eyes that turn their attention to the films and stars that make up the festival.»
It is therefore only natural that the Key Visual for the anniversary year is a play on the Golden Eye. Representing the thousands of pairs of eyes that have visited the ZFF and celebrated films over the past 20 years, this year's Key Visual shows the Golden Eye made up of countless small Golden Eyes. The visualization is complemented by small stars, which stand for the many Stars from the national and international film world who have visited the ZFF since 2005 and thus have created unforgettable moments for their fans.
An unforgettable experience
«We are cinema fans and already knew the ZFF before our collaboration», says the winning couple Elia Geiger and Tanja Vogt. It was immediately clear to them that they wanted to enter the race for the Key Visual for the 20th festival edition with a design: «The world of cinema offers an incredible range of possibilities for visual storytelling.»
The two young students, who are also a couple in their private lives, have gone through an exciting journey until they came up with the drafts for the current Key Visual. Elia Geiger explains that their visualization of the universe made up of numerous small Golden Eyes was inspired by one particular chain of thought: «We asked ourselves what has made the ZFF what it is over the years and came to the conclusion that the audience, and therefore the thousands of pairs of eyes that have experienced the ZFF in front of a screen, make the festival what it is. » Christian Jungen is delighted that the two students have completely hit the mark: «In our anniversary year, we want to thank all the people who have helped to make the ZFF great as partners or visitors. The Key Visual is ultimately a symbolic homage to our audience, to the over 1.3 million people who have visited the festival in its first 20 years.»
The winning couple Elia Geiger and Tanja Vogt from the ZHdK © Damiana Daffré for ZFFA successful cooperation
True to the ZFF's commitment to fostering new talents, the collaboration with the ZHdK was a matter close to the festival team's heart, which also paid off from the university's perspective, says Rebecca Morganti-Pfaffhauser, Deputy Co-Head of the Bachelor of Design, Major Visual Communication at the ZHdK: «The collaboration with the Zurich Film Festival is extremely pleasant, as it offers students the opportunity to present their ideas to a broad audience and integrate their innovative way of thinking into the festival. Their energy will undoubtedly breathe new life into the festival and hopefully extend the reach of the event to an even broader platform.»
20 years apart: The poster of the first Zurich Film Festival in 2005 and the Poster of this year’s 20.th ZFF As a memento of the anniversary year
As a souvenir and memento of a unique anniversary year, the ZFF is selling a limited edition of the 2024 Key Visual as a poster in various formats. These can be purchased at www.zff.com/shop. Furthermore, Fans of the festival can look forward to a special limited edition in form of a poster: During the 20th ZFF (3 to 13 October 2024), the ZFF will once again exclusively sell the first festival poster of ZFF history - also in combination with the galaxy of pairs of eyes - the Key Visual for 20 years of ZFF.