Brunaupark – Films – Visions du Réel

Felix Hergert & Dominik Zietlow
Switzerland | 2024 | 91 min
World premiere
Languages : Swiss German, German, French, Italian, English
Subtitles : English, French

Jury Prize in the National Competition offered by SRG SSR

The Brunaupark buildings in Zurich are about to be demolished as their owner, the Crédit Suisse pension fund, wants to build a new property complex. Hundreds of tenants – the victims of this proposal – are contesting their eviction. Hergert and Zietlow paint a portrait of a lively and resilient neighbourhood forced to confront its destiny.

The buildings in the Brunaupark district of Zurich are about to be demolished. Their owner, the Crédit Suisse pension company, plans to knock down more than 200 still functional apartments, some of which have been renovated, in order to build a new complex. The suspected reason: greed and property speculation. Filmmakers Felix Hergert and Dominik Zietlow, aware of the phenomenon of speculation and the maximisation of profits under the guise of "urban development", have chosen to focus instead on the jewel that is in danger of being lost forever: its community of residents. In this long-term project, the filmmakers went to meet the people who inject life into this neighbourhood and remain determined to fight to preserve this fully-functional housing - but also to resist what the outcome of this demolition will imply: the impossibility of finding a new affordable home in the context of a housing crisis. A joyful chronicle of a resilient neighbourhood awaiting its destiny.
Aurélien Marsais

Felix Hergert
Brunaupark, 2024
Mussies Zimmer, 2021
Drummer, 2017
Drande, 2016
Taking the Dog Out, 2015
Dominik Zietlow
Brunaupark, 2024