With its new Now/Future section, this year's Zurich Film Festival is presenting nine feature films and documentaries that explore human rights, social conflicts, and sustainable development. Among the films in this year's selection are TIME AND WATER, by Oscar-nominated director Sara Dosa, and the documentary LOW LIES THE LAND, which explores the cultural heritage of Piedmont.
From September 24 to October 4, the Now/Future Section will explore global challenges through nine feature films and documentaries, focusing on people who are committed to equality and social justice. At the same time, the films in this section present food for thought on societal issues and strategies for the future—ecological, social, and economic. In this way, the section bridges the present with the future. The Now/Future section is presented in collaboration with the EurAsia Heart Foundation and Dementia Research Switzerland.
TIME AND WATER by Sara Dosa
How do you say goodbye to something you never thought you could lose? Tasked with writing the eulogy for Okjökull – the first glacier to be declared dead due to climate change – Icelandic writer Andri Snær Magnason reflects on how glaciers, over millions of years, create an archive of times long past within their ice. Drawing on an evocative blend of photographs, home videos, and folk tales, TIME AND WATER is both an ode to what we have lost and an attempt at a cinematic journey through time to preserve it.
LOW LIES THE LAND by Emanuele Gerosa
Nestled among the vineyards of Piedmont, three families have been farming this land steeped in tradition for generations. However, rising temperatures, water shortages, and the exodus of the younger generation to the cities are putting pressure on this time-honored winemaking tradition. Amid this growing uncertainty, a real estate agent arrives with tempting offers to buy the land. But can financial gain outweigh the enormous loss of cultural heritage? Over the course of a year, LOW LIES THE LAND paints an intimate and humorous portrait of the families – at kitchen tables, during harvest feasts, and among the vines. A film about tradition and survival in a changing world.
LIFE SUPPORT by Daniele Rugo
Since October 2023, the Gaza Strip has been cut off from the rest of the world. While international media are denied access, international doctors are the only outsiders permitted to enter. Based on their eyewitness accounts, LIFE SUPPORT uses harrowing footage to reveal the daily reality of Gaza’s hospitals: children receiving emergency medical care, dwindling supplies, hunger, and an overwhelming influx of wounded patients. Complemented by footage from local cameramen, the result is a raw documentary that examines the human consequences of war.
OUR SHARE OF SAND by Shalini Adnani
After years of separation, 12-year-old Maya and her mother return to India to see her father again, who runs a successful sand-mining business. As Maya tries to build a relationship with him, she befriends Kiran, a young worker. When a tragic accident rocks the region, Maya becomes the key witness, and her father depends on her testimony to clear his name. Torn between family loyalty and her growing doubts, Maya begins to investigate the causes of the tragedy. In doing so, she must confront the dark truths of her family’s legacy.
RESCUE by Sine Plambech
Off the coast of Libya, a rubber dinghy overcrowded with migrants is spotted by the crew of the rescue ship «Geo Barents». During the rescue operation, Libyan militiamen intervene and abduct several people, including Roro and her two young children. For months, director Sine Plambech follows Roro’s husband, Hani, and his struggle to reunite his family. At the same time, RESCUE exposes a political system in which militias hold people hostage while Europe invests billions in an effort to seal off migration. Plambech’s masterful direction transforms this into a documentary of almost unimaginable drama.
MATERIA PRIMA by Jens Schanze
The Bolivian Andes are home to the world’s largest lithium deposit, a raw material that has become indispensable for the energy transition. While Europe and international companies compete for access to it, and the Bolivian government hopes for an economic boom, local resistance is growing. MATERIA PRIMA follows farmers, herders, miners, activists, and political figures to shed light on the differing expectations surrounding lithium mining. Against the backdrop of Bolivia’s colonial past, the question arises: Does the new race for lithium perpetuate old power structures?
ENJOY YOUR STAY by Dominik Locher, Honeylyn Joy Alipio
Liz, 35, has worked as an undocumented Filipino housekeeper in Switzerland for years. During the winter season, she is sent to the upscale ski resort of Verbier, where she works as a housekeeper for Thibault, the manager of a cleaning company. Living in constant fear of being deported, s left defenseless in her precarious situation. Shortly before New Year’s Eve, Liz’s life is shaken further when she learns that she desperately needs to raise enough money to avoid losing custody of her daughter, Sofia, who lives in Manila – even if that means betraying her community and violating her own moral boundaries.
DEREK VS. DEREK by James Dawson
On a country road in Devon, two contrasting visions of the future of agriculture clash. Dairy farmer Derek Banbury focuses on productivity and food production, while his neighbor, also named Derek, is transforming his once-profitable farm into an oasis for nature. At the heart of it all is the question of how we want to farm our land in the future: for maximized profits or for nature? A film that explores the future of agriculture in a blunt, funny, and heartwarming way.
KNIFE: THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF SALMAN RUSHDIE by Alex Gibney
15 stab wounds: That’s what world-renowned author Salman Rushdie survived after a brutal assassination attempt in New York. After his novel «The Satanic Verses» triggered a fatwa and decades of death threats in 1989, Rushdie was seriously injured in 2022. Together with his wife, he decided to document his slow return to life. In an increasingly polarized world, Rushdie’s story offers a powerful defense of free speech – and, at the same time, a moving portrait of a man who, after a near-fatal attack, fights to reclaim his life and his voice.
The complete program for the 22nd ZFF will be published on the website on Wednesday, September 9, starting at 12:00 PM. Ticket sales begin on Monday, September 14, 2026.
