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Felix Hächler - Swiss distributor of Irina Palm

"To choose the best date"

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What was your distribution strategy for Irina Palm?
When the film won the Audience Award at the Berlin Film Festival, we knew people would like it. We therefore organised a lot of preview screenings to create word-of-mouth publicity before it hit screens. We used the German trailer in its original subtitled version, which was much better than the French version.

What are the film’s selling points as regards marketing?
The presence of Marianne Faithfull especially, but there wasn’t a whole lot to do marketing-wise. The most important was to choose the best date and have good press coverage with excellent reviews. Interviews with Marianne Faithfull were held in Berlin and New York, but not in Switzerland. We spent about €100,000 on promotion, costs of prints included.

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Why was the film released in French cantons on May 9 and in German cantons on June 21?
The Swiss distribution calendar corresponds, always or almost always, to release dates in France and Germany.

How was Irina Palm distributed by Filmcoopi Zürich AG?
We made 14 prints of its original version, subtitled in French and German, which were used in both linguistic regions. The film was only released in arthouse cinemas, both in urban and rural areas.

Do the 65,000 admissions registered at the end of September correspond to your expectations?
Our objective was 60,000 admissions, so it’s a very good result, particularly when compared to that in neighbouring countries. This figure represents 20% of admissions in Germany, despite the fact that the film was successful at Berlin and that it’s a German production. That said, it did do better in German cantons, where it attracted 55,000 filmgoers in 14 weeks.

Why has it not (yet) been released in Italian-speaking Switzerland, in the canton of Ticino?
A release in Italian-speaking Switzerland is justified if exhibitors ask for it, which is what happens when a film has done well in Italy. Since the Italian release was announced for December 9, we could release it at Christmas and buy a dubbed version from the Italian distributor if the film is successful there. If it isn’t successful, we’ll use our prints in their original version, subtitled in French and German. Subtitling costs are very high and the Italian-speaking public prefers dubbing; it’s an Italian habit, and Ticino is still a “cultural province”.

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