100 years of Praesens film at the National Museum Zurich
Published: Thursday, Jan 11th 2024, 20:00
Updated At: Thursday, Jan 11th 2024, 20:00
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The National Museum Zurich is dedicating an exhibition to Praesens-Film to mark its 100th anniversary. "Close-up. A Swiss Film History" sheds light on the history of the oldest Swiss film distribution company still in existence.
The exhibition at the National Museum Zurich, which was created in collaboration with the Swiss film archive Cinémathèque suisse, traces the 100-year history of Praesens-Film. Cinémathèque suisse has provided half of the exhibits in the exhibition. Denise Tonella, Director of the National Museum, told the media on Thursday that the exhibition shows how the films produced by Praesens reflected society.
Among other things, posters, photographs and film equipment are on display. The exhibition is organized chronologically. Praesens-Film was founded in Zurich in 1924 by Lazar Wechsler, his wife Amalie Wechsler and Walter Mittelholzer. Wechsler was a Jew from Russian Poland. Although Wechsler had graduated as a civil engineer from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich in 1919, he never worked in this field. Mittelholzer was a media entrepreneur, aviation pioneer and later co-founder of Swissair.
Initially, Praesens produced advertising films. The company supplied around one hundred cinemas with commercials, explained exhibition curators Aaron Estermann and Rahel Grunder during the media tour on Thursday.
Kontroverse Themen
Towards the end of the 1920s, Praesens-Film dealt with a number of controversial topics of the time, such as abortions. The second room of the exhibition is dedicated to the half-documentary, half-fictional film "Frauennot - Frauenglück" (1930) by Soviet director Eduard Tisse, whom Wechsler brought to Switzerland for this topic.
The film was a commissioned production, supported by the Zurich Department of Health and the Women's Clinic at the University of Zurich - and became a huge international success. However, screenings were often banned due to the controversial subject matter. It is estimated that between 60,000 and 80,000 illegal abortions were carried out in Switzerland in the 1930s.
Political films
"Before the outbreak of the Second World War, Lazar Wechsler and his colleagues placed themselves at the service of the spiritual defense of the country," the National Museum's press release stated. In this context, the media and the art world were to emphasize Switzerland's own identity.
The first film from this period was "Füsilier Wipf" (1938), followed three years later by "Gilberte de Courgenay". Both films were directed by Richard Schweizer. The latter film, a fictionalized depiction of the occupation of the border by the army during the First World War, made its protagonist Anne-Marie Blanc the first Swiss film star.
"When the Allied victory became apparent in 1943, Praesens-Film concentrated on the work of humanitarian institutions," the provincial museum said in the press release. Leopold Lindtberg's film "Maria Luisa" is an example of this. The film enjoyed international success and - for the first time ever - was awarded an Oscar for best original screenplay for a non-English language film.
In 1945, "The Last Chance" was released, a film about Swiss refugee policy during the Second World War. The film was produced against political opposition due to the sensitive subject matter. The American press was full of praise and the "New York Times" listed it as one of the ten best films of 1946. Director Leopold Lindtberg, the most prolific of Praesens-Film, received the Peace Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in the same year.
Post-war period, entertainment films
In the post-war period, audiences wanted to see entertainment films that did not deal with political issues. During these years, two "Heidi" films were released that conveyed a new image of Switzerland and its mountain idyll. "Heidi comes home" (1955) by director Franz Schnyder was the first Swiss film to be shot in color.
At this time, production costs were rising and could no longer be covered by entertainment films. Thus began the decline of Praesens-Film. In 1972, discouraged by the death of his wife Amalie, Lazar Wechsler had part of the company archive destroyed. The management of the film company passed to the brothers Martin and Peter Hellstern, who were only involved in the distribution of films. Wechsler died in 1985 at the age of 81. Praesens-Film has been involved in co-productions again since 2009.
The exhibition ends with a station where visitors can take two tickets in the style of classic movie tickets to watch two Praesens films at home: "The Last Hope" and "Heidi".
The Solothurn Film Festival, which begins on Wednesday, January 17, is dedicating the "Histoires du cinéma suisse" section to Praesens-Film. Five films will be shown, including "The Village". The exhibition at the National Museum Zurich can be seen from January 12 to April 21.
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