Team

Direction

Rachel Schmid

Rachel Schmid
Managing Director
+41 21 312 68 40
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Rachel Schmid is the director and head of studies of FOCAL. She began her career as a production manager of stage plays in 1986 and later moved towards film production. In 1999 she attended an international training course and specialised in project development. In this capacity, she counselled countless screenwriters, production companies, film funds, training programmes and festivals in Switzerland and abroad.
Before working at FOCAL, she served the film industry as Head of MEDIA Desk Switzerland and as deputy director of ZHdK’s MA in performing arts. As a development expert, she also worked as the Swiss Federal Office of Culture delegate at Eurimages and as a committee member of various film funds.
Rachel Schmid studied economics, German philology and drama at the universities of Zurich, Berkeley and Paris. She also has a postgraduate degree in cultural management from the University of Hamburg. She is committed to diversity in the film industry and a member of several gender and diversity commissions.

Sandra Krebs

Sandra Krebs
Executive Assistant
Tél. +41 21 312 68 17
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Services

Anne Perrenoud

Anne Perrenoud
Programs Assistant
Tél. +41 21 312 68 17
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Marleen Germeijs

Marleen Germeijs
Programs Assistant
Tél. +41 21 312 68 17
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Annette Burkard

Annette Burkard
Finance, Accounting and HR
Tél. +41 21 312 68 17
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Siham Sbaï

Siham Sbaï
HR and Social Insurance
Tél. +41 21 312 68 17
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"Nicolas Coutaz"

Nicolas Coutaz
Digital / IT
Tél. +41 21 566 26 17
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Programmes

Angela Rohrer

Angela Rohrer
Head of programmes Switzerland
Tél. +41 21 312 68 17
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Angela Rohrer studied film at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). After completing her studies, she worked for several years as first assistant director and script supervisor for Swiss film and advertising productions. From 2008 to 2016, she was a lecturer at the ZHdK, teaching directing and assistance/production at the Bachelor of Arts in Film section. Angela Rohrer made several short films of her own in her capacity as author/director and editor. From 2010 to 2020, she worked at FOCAL as a freelance course manager and organiser of various seminars, workshops, and other events.


Laura Daniel

Laura Daniel
Head of programmes Europe,
Cooperations and Coachings
Tél. +41 21 312 68 17
Email

Laura Daniel studied German linguistics and literature, Cinema Studies and Philosophy at the University of Zurich and New York University and holds a CAS in Innovation and Change in Cultural Management from the University of Basel. Until 2023 she worked for the promotion agency SWISS FILMS and oversaw developing the Talent & Awards department. 

She was CEO of the Swiss Film Academy from 2010 to 2014. Prior to that, she worked for World Sales Telepool as well as for various film festivals and production companies. 

Laura Daniel is a member of the Swiss and European Filmacademy. She is also president of the board of the Swiss Youth Film Festival.

Fred Guillaume

Fred Guillaume
Head of programme Animation
Tél. +41 26 401 30 32
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Born in 1976, Fred Guillaume has been working in animated film and illustration since 1998. Together with his brother Sam, he has made numerous films in various formats, including MAX & CO (2007), LA NUIT DE L’OURS (2012), LE CONTE DES SABLES D’OR (2015), LE RENARD ET L’OISILLE (2018). Their works have received several awards, including the Swiss Film Prize (Best Animated Film), the Crystal of the Annecy Animated Film Festival (Audience Award) and the Aspen Shortfest Prize (Best Animated Film). In addition to his work in film, Fred is active in the fields of scenography (theatre, dance, opera), museography and mapping. Very interested in new technologies, he also develops tools and initiates research projects in the service of narration. He is a member of the Swiss Film Academy and an expert for Cinéforom.

Stefan Staub

Stefan Staub
Head of programme Scriptwriting
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Stefan Staub studied journalism, film studies and social psychology at the University of Zurich. After graduating, he was responsible for press relations and film promotion at Frenetic Films for two years. He worked as a program attaché for the Solothurner Filmtage and as program coordinator, project manager for industry events and coordinator of the short film night tour for the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur.
In addition, Stefan Staub trained as a screenwriter at the screenplay workshop in Munich. He has been a freelance screenwriter for feature films and series since 2013. Among other things, he wrote the screenplay for the film DER LÄUFER, which was nominated for the Swiss Film Prize in 2018 in the categories “Best Film” and “Best Actor”.

Carlotta Holy-Steinemann

Carlotta Holy-Steinemann
Head of programme Technical Skills*
www.ssfv.ch
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Carlotta Holy-Steinemann was born in Locarno in 1978 and grew up in Zurich. After a few internships, a.o. with Dschoint Ventschr in Zurich/CH and Factory Film in Rome/IT, she started studying film at the “Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne” (ECAL). In 2006 she completed her studies and graduated from the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK) with a specialisation in photography. She has been working since as a freelance director of photography on documentary films (a.o. SONÈ, Cinedokke/RSI), fiction films (a.o. VERLIEBTE FEINDE, Dschoint Ventschr), series (a.o. STATION HORIZON, Jump Cut Production/RTS), commercials and commissioned films. She shoots in French, Italian and the German-speaking Switzerland as well as abroad. For some years now, she has also been teaching image design at the «F+F Schule für Kunst und Design Zurich».

*includes the following professional groups: Camera, Sound, Lighting & Grip Department, Art, Department, Costume / Wardrobe, Hair / Make up, Stunts, Editing, Postproduction Image / Sound

Claude Witz

Claude Witz
Head of programme Production*
Tél. +41 79 680 75 46
Email
SSFV

Claude Witz studied film and English in Lausanne and obtained a degree in visual communication at the Ecole Cantonale d'Art de Lausanne (ECAL). During and after his training, he worked as a camera assistant and then as a lighting technician on numerous productions in Switzerland and abroad. For more than ten years, he has been active as executive producer and production manager in the different linguistic regions of Switzerland (among others on feature films such as LA DÉRIVE DES CONTINENTS AU SUD (Banditafilms), THE DIVINE ORDER (Zodiac Pictures) as well as on series such as SACHA (Rita Productions), and FRIEDEN (Zodiac Pictures). Claude Witz lives in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

*includes the following professional groups: Production Manager, Production Assistant, Assistant Director, Script Supervisor, Location/Unit Manager

Géraldine Rod

Géraldine Rod
Head of programme Directing - Fiction
Tél. +41 79 489 76 08
www.geraldinerod.com
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Géraldine studied at the University of Art and Design (HEAD) in Geneva and at Concordia University in Montreal, and completed her master's degree in cinema/television at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne (KHM). To date, she has written and directed several short films that have been shown at international festivals, including RAT DE MARÉE, as well as a transmedia series for RTS, LA VIE SUR VÉNUS, co-written with Marina Rollman. At the same time, she has acquired a great deal of experience on fiction shoots, notably as an assistant director. She is a member of the board of ARF/FDS, the Swiss association of directors and scriptwriters. She is currently developing her first feature film.


Martin Skalsky

Martin Skalsky
Head of programme Directing - Documentary
Tél. +41 76 336 10 01
www.martinskalsky.com
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Martin Skalsky is a film music director and composer. He studied contemporary composition at the Zurich High School of Art (ZHdK) and earned a master’s degree in musicology, economics, and computer science from the University of Zurich. Martin composed the music of many documentaries, fiction films and series. In 2019, he directed and produced his first feature documentary film: Cody - the dog days are over. Presented as a world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival in 2019, the film was screened at several international film festivals. It was sold in ten countries and released in theatres in Switzerland and Germany. Martin is currently working on other feature documentary formats as well as on his first feature film.

Barbara Terpoorten

Barbara Terpoorten
Head of programme Acting
Tél. +41 76 441 36 69
Email
www.barbara-terpoorten.ch

Barbara Terpoorten, born in 1974 in Visp/CH, obtained her acting degree from the ZHdK (Zurich University of the Arts). She subsequently acted in several theatres in Switzerland and Germany such as the Schauspielhaus Zurich, Maxim Gorki Theatre in Berlin and the Schauspielhaus in Hamburg. From 2000 to 2008, she was a member of the artist group 400asa.
She appeared in several cinema and TV features, for example in Lenz (directed by Thomas Imbach), Vicious Winter (directed by Marcus Hägg), The Two of Us (directed by Barbara Kulcar), Tatort Borowsky in der Unterwelt (directed by Claudia Garde), Nebelgrind (directed by Barbara Kulcar), End Unsung (directed by Rolf Lindblom).
From 2012 to 2018, she played superintendent Anna Maria Giovanoli in the SRF series Der Bestatter.
In addition to her work as a freelance cinema and theatre actress, she is also a director and the founder of the theatre group Sempione Productions. In 2019, she became a member of the board of directors of FemaleAct, an organisation that is committed to equality and diversity in the field of cinema and stage work.
In 2001, she received the encouragement award from the canton of Valais, and in 2014 the Swiss Television Film Award for her main role in the series Der Bestatter.

Lea Gerber-Maurer

Lea Gerber
Head of Stage Pool
+41 21 312 68 17
Email
stagepool.focal.ch

Lea Gerber, born in 1982 in Solothurn, has been working in the film industry since completing her training as a photographer in 2004. She worked in the location and set management of around thirty feature films - including DER FREUND (2007), THE FOSTER BOY (2010), SOMEONE LIKE ME (2011) and various commercials. During her carrier, she repeatedly supervised trainees (stagiaires). From 2015 to 2018, Lea Gerber worked for FOCAL as an organiser of and responsible for seminars on technique-related topics. Since 2018, she is in charge of FOCAL Stage Pool where she commits herself to promoting sustainable young talent in the film industry.

Denis Rabaglia

Denis Rabaglia
Head of Production Value
Email
producationvalue.net

Tamara Tatishvili

Tamara Tatishvili
Head of Medici
Email
focal.ch

 

Board

Mariano Tschuor

Mariano Tschuor
Foundation Council President

Mariano Tschuor, born in 1958 in Surselva (Canton of Grisons, Switzerland), is a journalist, media expert and consultant for strategic communication. From 1982 to 2019, he worked as editor, producer, editor-in-chief and director with the SRG SSR (Swiss Broadcasting Corporation). He was a member of the national board of directors and responsible for, a.o., the SRG film policy. Today, Tschuor has his own company - "Agradora" - organising projects, communication and moderation of discussions for institutions, organisations and companies. He's president of the Foundation "Denk an mich - Ferien und Freizeit für Menschen mit Behinderung" (vacation and free time for people with disabilities).

Mariano Tschuor lives in Laax/GR and Mariastein/SO


Anke Beining-Wellhausen

Anke Beining-Wellhausen
Media Executive / Attorney-at-Law

Anke Beining-Wellhausen was born in Germany in 1964 and studied Law and Political Sciences in Bonn (DE), Geneva (CH) and at Ohio State University (USA). She holds a PhD in law and is admitted to the bar in New York and Germany.

She started her career with the production and distribution companies Senator Film and Kinowelt. After that, and for ten years, she was a member of the leadership team and Head of Legal, Business Affairs and Affiliate Sales of The Walt Disney Company in Munich. From 2011 to 2015 she was manager and programme director of the Swiss digital TV and media platform Teleclub and responsible for its pay TV channels and VOD services. In 2017, she was the CEO of worldwide sales company Global Screen in Munich.

Since 2016, she coproduced - on behalf of Teleclub and via her production company Utofilm whose founder and manager she is - over 60 feature films, documentaries and TV series (e.g. Heidi, Zwingli, Blue Note Record: Beyond the Notes, #Female Pleasure, Quartier de banques).

Anke Beining is a member of the expert commission for feature films of the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, teaches law in the realm of cinema at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and is part of the advisory board of the Journalism Innovators Programs of the Hamburg Media School. Besides, she works as a legal advisor, for example for the ETH Technology start-up Seervision AG.

Anke Beining lives and works in Zurich.


Ivan Madeo

Ivan Madeo
Producer

Ivan Madeo was born in 1976 in Berne (CH). After graduating as a film journalist and psychologist at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, he worked as a creative director and producer for some of the largest advertising agencies in Switzerland and Italy.

He then directed short films until he founded the production company Contrast Film (Berne/Zurich) in 2009 which produced several award-winning fiction films and documentaries - The Circle (Der Kreis, 2014), Wonderland (Heimatland, 2015), Midnight Runner (Der Läufer, 2018), Storm (Stürm, 2019), Caveman (2021) and many others - as well as TV productions, such as the Zurich ‘cases’ of Tatort.

Ivan Madeo was a jury member at several prestigious film festivals (Biennale Venice, Molodist Kyiv, FICG Guadalajara, Filmfest Hamburg), is an EAVE graduate and was Switzerland’s ‘Producer on the Move’ at the Cannes Film Festival. Besides, he is a board member of the Swiss Filmproducers’ Association SFP as well as a member of the European Film Academy, the Swiss Film Academy and the Expert Commission for Documentaries of the Swiss Federal Office of Culture.

Ivan Madeo lives and works in Berne and Zurich.


Anja Kofmel

Anja Kofmel
Animation and documentary filmmaker, illustrator

Born in 1982 in Lugano, Anja Kofmel grew up in Adliswil and Hirzel. After her studies at the Lucerne University of Art & Design (Hochschule Luzern HSLU -Design & Kunst), she continued her education at the ‘École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs’ (ENSAD) in Paris from which she graduated with a diploma in visual communication - specialisation in animation film.

From 2015 to 2017, she lived and worked in Croatia and Germany to make her animated documentary film (animadoc) for the big screen, CHRIS THE SWISS. The film was screened at numerous film festivals in Switzerland and abroad and won many awards. Since 2016, Anja Kofmel has been a guest lecturer at the ‘Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg’ in courses on animated documentary, storytelling & research, and since 2019, she has been teaching at the HSLU, in the animation film Master’s programme.

In 2016, she founded Asako Film, an animation studio based in Zurich.

Anja Kofmel is a member of the European Film Academy EFA, the Swiss Film Academy and the Swiss Animation Film Association GSFA.


Denis Séchaud

Denis Séchaud
Sound engineer, sound designer, sound editor

Denis Séchaud was born in Geneva in 1962. After high school, he attended the 'Institut des Arts de Diffusion' (IAD) in Brussels, where he graduated in 1987 with a degree in sound engineering, specialising in film.

Back in Geneva, he co-founded the post-production company Masé Studios in 1992 and has been its managing director ever since.

Since its inception, Masé Studios has been entrusted with the sound post-production of many successful Swiss and international cinema and television films, including Ma vie de Courgette, More than honey, Ceux qui travaillent, Sonita, Pour toujours, Yalda, Le vent tourne, Cellule de crise and Helvetica.

Since 2017, Denis Séchaud has been the president of the Association of Swiss Technical Industries for Film, Video and Sound (FTB/ASITIS) and the president of the AudioVideo Technician (TAV) training programme.

From 2012 to 2020, he was a member of the board of the Sound Design Studio (SDS) in Berne, from 1996 to 2004 he was a lecturer at the 'École Cantonale d'Art de Lausanne' (ECAL) in Vaud, from 2009 to 2015 he was co-director of the Rudolf Steiner School in Geneva and from 2005 to 2019 he was a speaker and technician at several FOCAL seminars.


Michael Steiger

Michael Steiger
Producer

Michael Steiger was born in Berne in 1965. After his studies at the European Business School in Reichhartshausen (DE), he specialised in marketing at Zurich University.

He started his career in 1990, working for Condor Films in Zurich. From 1995 to 2005, he lived in Berne, running the family business Steiger AG. From 2005 to 2015, he was the managing director and associate of C-Films in Zurich. Since 2013, he is the managing director and associate of BearPit Films in Berne and since August 2015, of Turnus Film in Zurich. He produced many box-office hits, such as Night Train to Lisbon (Nachtzug nach Lissabon) by Bille August, I am the Keeper (Dr Goalie bin ig) by Sabine Boss, The Awakeing of Motti Wolkenbruch (Wolkenbruchs wunderliche Reise in die Arme einer Schickse) by Michael Steiner, as well as many TV Movies and series, like Tatort, etc.

Michael Steiger lives and woks in Zurich and in Berne.


Giorgia de Coppi

Giorgia de Coppi
Assistant director, location manager

Giorgia De Coppi was born in Baden in 1963. She graduated in Romance Studies and Art History from the University of Zurich in 1987.

Giorgia de Coppi has worked as an assistant director and a recording director in more than 50 film productions, including Simon Jaquemet’s Electric Child (planned for 2024), Jan Gassmann's 99 Moons (2022), Claudia Reynicke’s Love me Tender (2019) and Paolo Sorrentino’s Youth (2015) as well as Der Goali bin ig by Sabine Boss (2014), Giulias Verschwinden by Christoph Schaub (2009), and Vollmond by Fredi M. Murer (1998).

Giorgia de Coppi is a member of the Schweizer Syndikat Film und Video SSFV.

In 2019, she received the Prix d’honneur at the Solothurn Film Festival.

Giorgia de Coppi lives in Rome.


Valérie Cuénod

Valérie Cuénod
Actress, speaker, theatre director, communication trainer

Valérie Cuénod was born in Geneva in the 1960s. She graduated from the Swiss Acting Institute Zurich in 1994, which then took her to the ZAV Talent Agency in Munich. From 2014 onwards, she undertook further training as a rhetoric lecturer and professional speaker.

After a promising start to her career in the title role of Lysistrate in ARISTOPHANES (1996) at “Masken-Spiele Augst” and several offers from municipal theatres, she took a family break. From 2006, Valérie Cuénod played the episodic role of Lola Riemer in the ARD series DAS GEHEIMNIS DEINES DEINES VATERS and the antagonist Anna Wagner in the German cinema production OSTZONE. She appeared in MARMORERA by Markus Fischer, in Urs Odermatt's DER BÖSE ONKEL and in HIMMELFAHRTS-KOMMANDO by Dennis Ledergerber. On stage, she has performed modern female characters such as Hannah Ley in WIR LIEBEN UND WISSEN and historical roles such as ANNA PESTALOZZI. She has directed over a dozen plays such as DIE PHYSIKER and DIE NASHÖRNER with celebrities, professionals and amateurs. Her voice can be heard in the SRF production SCHRECKMÜMPFELI (2022), among others.

Valérie Cuénod is engaged in the “Schweizer Syndikat Film und Video SSFV” association, where she’s a member of the board of the film acting professional group since 2014.

Valérie Cuénod lives in Baden.


Thomas Isler

Thomas Isler
Documentary filmmaker, video artist, lecturer

Thomas Isler was born in Basel in 1967. He studied philosophy, history and sociology at the University of Basel before completing, in 1992, a filmmaking course at the School of Design Bern. He then completed a diploma in film/video design HFG at the Zurich University of the Arts.

Thomas Isler has been working as a freelance documentary filmmaker and video artist since 2000. His documentary Marchand d’art, Ernst Beyeler (2007) was shown at the Montréal International Festival of Films on Art, among others. His Wir kamen, um zu helfen (2013) was nominated for the Prix Soleure. With his documentary Die Demokratie ist los! (2014), Thomas Isler won the third competition of “Migros Kulturprozent” in the category Swiss documentary film.

In addition to his work as a filmmaker, Thomas Isler teaches at F+F Zurich, ZHdK and ZHAW. He is also a member and on the board of the “Verband Filmregie und Drehbuch Schweiz ARF/FDS”.

Thomas Isler lives with his family in Zurich.


Christoph Zahner

Christoph Zahner
Education and further training

Christoph Zahner was born in 1962. He obtained a Master of Science in biology from the University of Zurich in 1981. Towards the end of his university education, he began working as an instructor in the field of computer science, an activity he pursued as a freelancer from 1993 to 1996.

Christoph Zahner gained his extensive knowledge in the field of education and further education through several years of work, among others at ProDidacta Zurich (programme manager), the “Wirtschaftsinformatikschule Schweiz” in Zurich (course manager, later school operations manager) and the “Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund Zurich” (Management & Business product manager, later as head of Product Management Languages and Trainers, most recently as Management & Economy division manager).

Christoph Zahner is an examination expert at the Swiss Association for Management Training (SVF-ASFC). He lives in Zurich.


Alessandra Gavin-Müller

Alessandra Gavin-Müller
Film director, screenwriter, trainer

Born in Zurich, Alessandra Gavin-Müller grew up in Lugano. After studying art history and English and American literature at the University of Geneva, she graduated from the London International Film School.

She gained experience with several films and audiovisual projects as an assistant to the British film director Peter Greenaway and continued her further education by attending FOCAL courses in Switzerland. Alessandra has been working with Radiotelevisione Svizzera di Lingua italiana RSI since 1996 and has realised over 20 documentaries to date. These include TU NON MI LASCERAI MAI SOLA (2022) and IL PRES: MARCO SOLARI (2023).

Alessandra has also been directing her own films in various genres since 1994. Some of these have received particular attention : The documentary DÓNDE ESTÁ SARA GÓMEZ? (2005) was screened at the "Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano" in La Habana and was awarded the "Prix S. Gómez". The drama BARBARA ADESSO (2019) won "Best Feature Award" at the VailFilmFestival (USA). Alessandra Gavin-Müller also contributed the short film LUTTO SOSPESO IN TEMPI INCERTI to the Collezione Lockdown (2020).

Alessandra Gavin-Müller lives with her family in Ticino.


Pictures by © Ayse Yavas


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