The theme of the 2020 edition:
OtherMovie 2020 - Ecology | Sustainability | Climate
Destruction or human distraction?

Leading in some areas and lagging behind in others, the issues relating to ecology, sustainability, and climate change are hotly debated in Switzerland, too.
For its ninth edition, OtherMovie seeks to investigate its main points, starting from the assumption – to be refuted during the festival – that few issues so intimately link us to the world as the production and disposal of waste. We will tackle concerns relating to environmental, social and economic sustainability. There will be the chance to understand how the issue is dealt with in other countries, whether there are alternative solutions that could also be interesting for our context and, conversely, which interventions and collaborations Switzerland implements towards other areas to tackle this problem.
And more: do the various foreign communities living in Switzerland have a different approach when it comes to the environment? Can sustainability become the Swiss value that brings everyone together?


Competition regulations
Subscription to the mandatory competition via the platform: https://filmfreeway.com/submissions. Eventually we also accept digital files transferred via We transfer (or other digital sending methods). Request by email: [email protected]

Without any compensation, with all the material, without prejudice to the indication of the authors. The organization will be able to advertise through press, radio, TV, web, targeted posters, blow-ups, etc ... .. those works that, in the opinion of the artistic direction, have the requisites of opportunity for a public call and have nothing to expect for the above described.
For the reasons of promotion the winning films are offered to the public still in the Spin-Off during the year, without profit.
The works will be part of the festival.

"Sguardo da vicino" short-film competition and 30 'Maximum duration for the contest. Other section and indefinite duration.

The contents of the works presented in the competition must be in compliance with the current legislation on copyright. The Management of the Other Film Festival declines all responsibility in this regard.

Participation in the competition implies the sole personal responsibility of the author for any irregularities in this area. The Artistic Direction reserves with the unquestionable discretion to exclude from the competition.

The finalists of the competition will receive a communication from the organization by April 10, 2020 through our website and the FilmFreeway platform

Who we are
We are a non-profit working group promoting, from Lugano and right across the Italian part of Switzerland, the art of film making in its multifarious nuances and components.
OtherMovie Lugano Film Festival aims to act as a cultural bridge between East and West whilst lending visibility to quality art house cinema.

Why OtherMovie?
The choice of calling it “OtherMovie” reflects the desire to offer its audience a “different” film festival from what is currently on offer in festivals across Ticino and the rest of Switzerland.
The name “OtherMovie” is the final act which lends visibility to a more structured concept that shifts the perspective from where to view the festival.
“Other/Different” because , while the festival is indeed an window on movies, it wishes to use first of all this noble art to discuss and publicize current issues that touch - across a broad spectrum upon our society, times and every culture.

What makes OtherMovie
OtherMovie is:
• An intercultural platform where different cultures meet.
• An’“Agora” (i.e. a meeting place) where current affairs are discussed.
• A lab where movies open up towards other art forms thereby finding the ideal dimension in which to express their own interpretation of current affairs.
• A network of artists and experts who come together in order to reach a greater and better understanding of our society.
• A socially-engaged cultural operator who builds bridges: between East and West, North and South. In our view, art unites different worlds.

The OtherMovie format
OtherMovie’s format defines its very essence:
• The yearly choice of a current affairs theme around which the entire list of events is developed.
• Movies, talks, workshops, concerts, photo exhibitions, performance art and other are scheduled on the basis of the theme of each edition.
• Co-operation with local and international artists, experts and cultural operators.
• Presentation of related events during the year in conjunction with other cultural operators and partners.


The themes so far:
In its first five editions, OtherMovie has put forward the following themes:
2012: “Zero” edition, with disability issues as its main topic
2013: Childhood and Adolescence
2014: Art and Femininity
2015: Freedom of Being
2016: Transitions and Migrations
2017: Violence (un)veiled
2018 EconomicaMente"
2019 "Quo Vadis Familia"
The editions so far: facts and numbers
OtherMovie has managed to grow over the first five editions and gain the respect of film lovers thanks to its themes, the wide range of movies shown and the events it has organized. Here are some significant numbers that mark its success:
• Overall number of spectators per edition: 1000
• Overall number of movies shown per edition: 80 (feature films, shorts and documentary films)
• Overall number of participating countries per edition: 27
• Overall number of festival partners per edition: 10 (Swiss and international).
OtherMovie and the media
OtherMovie has its own website www.othermovie.ch and may be found on social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).
Furthermore, throughout the year OtherMovie gets visibility on the local and international press with various articles, interviews and in advertorials.
We are also active across Ticino all year round by offering our own ‘spin-off’ events or working in conjunction with other local associations. We get radio space too, particularly during the festival which is covered by local radio stations as well as by the state one (RSI – Radiotelevisione svizzera).



For further information, please see : www.othermovie.ch , or email us at: [email protected]

PREMI/Awards
• per il Miglior Film della sezione [S]GUARDO DA VICINO
(Cash Award Value 600 Swiss Francs)
• per il Miglior regia [S]GUARDO DA VICINO
(1st Place: Cash Award Value 500 Swiss Francs )