Cities in the Age of Terrorism
London, Oklahoma, New York, Madrid, Oslo: Every terrorist attack leads to a tightening of security measures. New laws are introduced, and people, money, and flows of goods are increasingly monitored by cameras, biometric data, and an ever-more conspicuous security architecture. In New York the attack came from the air, in London it travelled on the Underground, and in Oslo it came by car and by boat. So where and how will the next one strike? The Fear That Has 1,000 Eyes shows how the threat of attacks is changing life in cities. By looking back at 9/11, the film offers a view of the future and of how our cities will change. It gives viewers a palpable sense of the fragile balance between our need for security and our desire for freedom.

52 min, stereo, color, HD 4:2:2/Bluray/DVD
language versions: German, English

A glimpse behind the scenes

Acrobatics and transformation as well as dance, music and song are the strong expressive elements of Peking Opera (or Jingjù), a form of traditional Chinese theater. BAO, the Upright Judge, a twelve minute documentary, opens usually closed doors to rehearsal rooms, revealing the hard work that takes place there. It acoompanies the ensemble of Shanghai’s Peking Opera Theatre to the venerable Yifu Theatre in Shanghai. Jürg Neuenschwander’s striking glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes shows Judge BAO during the final preparations before his great performance.

This particular work of Peking Opera lasts over two and a half hours. It is based on the life of the upright and fearless Chinese judge BAO Zheng, 999-1062, who lived during the Northern Song Dynasty. BAO, immediately identifiable for his black-painted face, is a revered character because – using his sword if necessary – he helps poor peasants prevail against corrupt officials, repeatedly and heroically challenging influential family clans, including the Emperor of China.

Commissioned by the Museum der Kulturen Basel, produced by Container TV AG Bern/ Shanghai as part of the exhibition „On Stage – the Art of Peking Opera“, September 6, 2011, to February 26, 2012, www.mkb.ch.

In collaboration with the Chinese Cultural Center, Tongji University Shanghai, and the MediaLab, Bern University oft he Arts.

Of the total population in Switzerland, some eight-hundred thousand – or about ten percent – cannot read or write properly although they attended obligatory schools. It is a staggering number. Most of them are illiterate – a fact they conceal in their everyday lives because our thoughtless society has dismissed them as dumb and lazy since they were very young.

In Boggsing ten of them reveal their predicament allowing us to catch a glimpse of their lives. We learn what strategies they have developed to avoid humiliation. We hear about taboo subjects and great suffering. And they tell us why they have taken the brave decision to break out of their invisible prisons.

BOGGSING – a documentary that gives the word to those who only used to get red pencil marks.

38 Min, stereo, color, HD4:2:2/ Bluray/DVD
Original languages: Swiss German, French
Language versions: Voice-over German, French, English

 
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They are actually dead; yet they cannot let go of the living. These lost souls draw attention to themselves with strange signs that hardly anyone knows how to interpret. A simple woman from the Emmental (Switzerland) tells of her guests, who are caught in the in-between world between life and death. And how she helps them to come to eternal rest.

The in-between world is a film from the factual series “Mysterious Switzerland”, produced by Swiss television SRF, directed by Juerg Neuenschwander.

A work by Juerg Neuenschwander, a percent-for-art project for the entrance hall of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

ZONES is a four-channel, interactive video-art installation.
Each time a visitor engages with the touchscreen, he or she initiates four uniquely composed image sequences that materialise on individual screens. The ever-changing visual connections created in this way continuously open up new and surprising windows on the world.

On top of the mountain it’s hard to shout into the woods; for the sake of truth, so often underestimated, it would be well worth taking a bucket along.
 
Realisation Jürg Neuenschwander in cooperation with Carlo Edoardo Lischetti
Production Container TV Bern