The Zurich Film Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival enter into a strategic alliance. Europe’s most prestigious music festival is on board to present concerts in Zurich as partner of the SoundTrack_Zurich industry event, which takes place during the Zurich Film Festival.
In a bid to further expand its engagement in the field of music, the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) announced the launch of a new congress on music and film this year entitled SoundTrack_Zurich. It now enters into a strategic alliance with the Montreux Jazz Festival for the event. Founded in 1967 by Claude Nobs, the music festival partners with SoundTrack_Zurich to present several concerts, including gigs by the Afro-American Ray Parker Jr., who penned the Oscar-nominated, Grammy Award-winning theme song for the hit movie GHOSTBUSTERS and will be at the ZFF to present the world premiere of the documentary about his life WHO YOU GONNA CALL. Parker Jr. has performed in Montreux on numerous occasions. „The Montreux Jazz Festival is the global music festival scene’s gold standard, which is why we are delighted with this strategic alliance. The Romands will be instrumental in bringing important players from the music scene to Zurich, as well as increasing our profile in the French-speaking world,” explains Christian Jungen, Artistic Director of the Zurich Film Festival.
Similarly, the partnership offers the Montreux Jazz Festival the opportunity to strengthen its position in the German-speaking world. “The ZFF has developed in just 15 years to become one of Europe’s most important film festivals, enjoying a high profile in both the German-speaking world and the USA. This partnership continues the spirit of Montreux and the legacy of Claude Nobs, who acquired all of his skills in German-speaking Switzerland, including his mastery of the German language. The festival’s audio-visual archives, which feature in the UNESCO’s ‘Memory of the World’ register, bear witness to the richness of Afro-American music.” says Thierry Amsallem, President of the Claude Nobs Foundation.
“Music and Film are united!”
The partnership will see Mathieu Jaton, Director and CEO of the Montreux Jazz Festival, chair a panel discussion at the SoundTrack_Zurich event. “The Montreux Jazz Festival has invariably approached the arts and music in their widest sense, and has always championed successful collaborations between various forms of artistic expression. We are thrilled, therefore, by this partnership with the Zurich Film Festival and SoundTrack_Zurich, thanks to which, music and film are now united!” declares Jaton.
Michael P. Aust, curator of SoundTrack_Zurich, believes that the partnership with the Montreux Jazz Festival further reinforces the event’s objective of becoming an important Zurich-based platform in the field of music and film. “I’m delighted with this important alliance. We now have two important pillars, one in the music world with Montreux and one in the film world with the ZFF, that both increase our profile and enable us to access exciting guests.”
The Zurich Film Festival will hold a press conference at Claude Nobs’ chalet in Caux on the slopes above Montreux on September 10, 2020 and unveil his programme in French to the French-speaking part of Switzerland. In addition, the ZFF will screen a music film from this year’s programme at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2021.