Year after year, the Zurich Film Festival draws some of the brightest names in cinema, and its 21st edition promises no exception. This autumn, the green carpet will welcome a glittering line-up including Dakota Johnson, Colin Farrell, Russell Crowe, Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, Alexander Skarsgård, Wagner Moura, James McAvoy and Anthony Mackie. 

They will be joined by celebrated filmmakers and artists such as Noah Baumbach, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Dylan O'Brien, Anke Engelke, Matthias Schweighöfer, Christian Petzold, Marco Odermatt, Ella Rumpf, and — for the third year in a row — Edward Berger.

The festival’s honours will add further sparkle: Russell Crowe will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Claire Foy will be recognised with the Golden Eye for her outstanding career. Swiss producer Anne Walser, known for her long-standing contributions to international cinema, will also be celebrated with the Career Achievement Award.

Beyond the star power on the green carpet, the Zurich Film Festival is defined by its programme, and this year it reaches a new milestone. A total of 114 films will be screened across 359 showings, including 21 world, 4 international and 16 European premieres, making this the festival’s most ambitious line-up to date.

The Gala Premieres promise to draw international attention, blending auteur cinema with Hollywood gems primed for awards season. Festival Director Christian Jungen highlights ‘Roofman’, ‘Tuner’ and ‘Christy’ as standout European premieres of American films, with Channing Tatum, Leo Woodall and Sydney Sweeney each delivering what he calls career-best performances — the kind of turns that could well earn Oscar nods.

The programme also shines with major international titles: ‘After the Hunt’, a US-Italy co-production from Luca Guadagnino stars Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield; the eagerly-awaited ‘Bugonia’ from Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, reuniting him with Oscar winner Emma Stone; ‘The Wizard of the Kremlin’, a French production by Olivier Assayas, featuring Paul Dano and Jude Law; and finally, ‘Rental Family’, set in Tokyo, is a US-Japan co-production starring Brendan Fraser.

Further highlights include ‘The Smashing Machine’, with Dwayne Johnson in a transformative role, and ‘The Lost Bus’, led by Matthew McConaughey. In Rebecca Zlotowski’s ‘A Private Life’, Jodie Foster makes her first return to French auteur cinema in more than two decades, leading a captivating thriller that is already sparking buzz. The festival also honours German cinema with three prestigious world premieres: ‘The Life of Wishes’, ‘Time We Lost’ and ‘Momo’.

As an official partner of the Zurich Film Festival, ASMALLWORLD brings its members access to experiences that cannot be found anywhere else. While much of the programme is already at capacity, a select few gatherings remain open.

The festival begins with Opening Night on 25 September, where Dakota Johnson and director Michael Angelo Covino will present ‘Splitsville’. Johnson will also be honoured with the Golden Eye award for her performance and career achievements. While tickets to the ceremony itself are now sold out, ASMALLWORLD Members can still secure access to the Opening Night After-Party at the Kongresshaus Zurich. 

From 11:00 pm, the celebration unfolds with exclusive entry, a midnight snack, and an open bar running until 2:00 am — the perfect setting to connect with fellow members and keep the night alive after the curtain falls. Find out more and secure tickets here. 

The following week, on 29 September, ASMALLWORLD hosts an evening that combines elegance with cinematic prestige: the Private Flying Dinner and Gala Premiere of ‘Bugonia’. The night begins at the NZZ Festival Lounge with an intimate Apéro Riche, where members will enjoy two and a half hours of complimentary food and drinks in a setting reserved exclusively for the ASMALLWORLD group. 

Afterwards, the evening continues with the Gala Premiere of Yorgos Lanthimos’s highly anticipated ‘Bugonia’, starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons and Alicia Silverstone. This darkly inventive remake of the South Korean sci-fi comedy ‘Save the Green Planet’ is already one of the most talked-about films of the season. A limited number of tickets remain available, ensuring the evening will be one of the most sought-after occasions of this year’s festival. Further details and ticket access are available here. 

As the city prepares to welcome filmmakers, actors and audiences from across the globe, the Zurich Film Festival enters its 21st edition with more ambition than ever before. Eleven days of premieres, tributes and conversations will transform Zurich into a hub of creativity and glamour, celebrating cinema in all its forms. 

For the full programme and further information, visit the official ZFF website here.