What inspiring days at the ZFiction 26 Conference in Zurich.
Under the theme Building the Mundane – The Ordinary Glamour of Production Design in Film, the fourth Zurich Feature Film Conference ZFICTION.26 explored the unspectacular as a vital cinematic terrain. Everyday environments, inconspicuous living spaces, mundane street corners, generic offices, and transitional zones form the backbone of narrative reality in film. These seemingly “unbuilt” spaces act as terra cognita for audiences—immediately recognizable and psychologically inhabitable—yet, despite their social and political relevance, they often remain terra incognita in film studies.
At the heart of the conference was the creative challenge of constructing the ordinary: How can production design transform the prosaic into a compelling and credible cinematic environment while preserving the essence of everyday life?
A huge thank you to Silke Fischer and Georg Bringolf for curating such a thoughtful and inspiring program, and to everyone at ZHdK for the warm invitation and excellent organization. My thanks also go to my dear and highly esteemed colleague Reinhild Blaschke for the excellent title of our panel: STRAW INTO GOLD and our incredibly fruitful and playful exchange in preparation to the conference.
some good news to share.
the movie „Late Shift“ received a few awards.
Leonie Benesch was awarded at the 19th Five Lakes Film Festival with the Hannelore Elsner Prize 2025 for her portrayal of Floria.
At the young French Festival du Film de Demain „Late Shift“ got 3 awards: for Best Film Music (Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch),
Best Performance (Leonie Benesch) and Best Film (Lukas Hobi and Reto Schärli, Zodiac Pictures).
Judith Kaufmann received the German Camera Award for her work on „Late Shift“.
The jury particularly praised the precision with which she brought the main character’s restlessness to the screen.
Congratulations to all the award winners. I take this opportunity to highlight the work of my
tireless team; together we transformed an empty spaces into a hospital. This would not have been possible without you.
Thanks to Jana Boenisch: Set Decoration, Jimena Cugat: Propmaster, Viviane Rapp: Assistant to prop master/buyer,
Jessica Schmid: Standby props, Jiacopo Giulini: Driver, Pascal Pendl: LED Specialist, Sebastian Damovsky: Stage,
Peter Scherz and his team: Construction and very importantly, Eva Weymann: Scenic painter, color consultant, and material consultant.
The character of Floria, with her breathlessness, inspired me as a Production Designer deeply.
The shiny white floor, the result of my exploration of the script and the topic of speed, and the question of how to translate
the time pressure under which a nurse’s has to do her work into memorable images. The long corridor leading off the rooms was a key
for me from the beginning. The crucial element: the shine, a floor that is smooth and slippery and, in a way, dangerous. As if Floria were
moving on an ice rink where she could slip at any moment. Furthermore, the lighting in the corridor—which we installed specifically—should
be reflected in the floor, evoking a passing lane...
With these two extraordinary costume designers and film artists, Waris Klampfer @socialdummies and Ramona Klinikowski @ramonakowska , I spend some intense days watching nominees for Achtung Berlin Filmfest 2025 @achtungberlin and while doing this we had the opportunity to exchange over the question, what an award-worthy costume and production design means for us.
We took on this task with a lot of heart and soul, passion and responsibility. At the end of this journey, we elected a movie that surprised us with its complexity and convinced us with its magic.
Once again, we realized the importance of an intensive communication between the heads of different departments as well as a visual vision and that the size of a budget cannot be held responsible for magic happening in a film or not. It is more about attitude and vision if film images are to shine beyond the expected.
Many thanks to the award donors @theaterkunst und @delikatessenfundus , our professional association the @vsk_verband and @norberthingst for his beautiful photographs and of course to the tireless festival directors Sebastian Brose & Regina Kräh and to the one and only @linaeik .
Congratulation to all award winners especially to the collective of the movie “all we ever wanted”, for your awards in the category best costume and production design. @fredericjaeger@charity.collin #maximilianadereya
Let’s talk more about these two important building blocks in filmmaking to expand the possibilities of visual film language.
As the late shift begins at a clinic, Sister Floria (Leonie Benesch) embarks on a relentless race against time.
as if she were trapped in a computer game where someone simply pressed the button: start. and from now on she can’t stop running.
the hospital is a place not of this world, more like a ship in space, a place between life and death.
Written and directed by Petra Volpe
DOP: Judith Kaufmann
Editing: Hansjörg Weissbrich
Music: Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch
Sound: Marco Teufen
Sound Design: Gina Keller
Production Design: Beatrice Schultz
Costume Design: Linda Harper
Makeup: Marc Hollenstein
Casting Corinna Glaus
Producers: Reto Schaerli, Lukas Hobi
Production Compagny: Zodiac Pictures Ltd, MMC Zodiac GmbH
familie is nich, tv movie, 2023, 89 min.
a lot of things were designed, and built for this film. it started with the winter garden that was built to replace the living room, which was described in the script. the new space served as an extension to the kitchen and giving it something mysterious and created beautiful depth, perspectives and light possibilities. the technical drawings by the art director: fabienne müller i realy love. first, they fulfill all technical aspects and at the same time they breathe my design.
and in terms of the sustainable aspect of green shooting, we worked almost exclusively with existing material. in relation to the amount that was built, a maximum of 10% of new material was purchased. we found the rest on eBay classifieds and collected elsewhere.
art direction / technical drawings fabienne Müller
#productiondesign #technicaldrawings #perspective
familie is nich, tv movie, 2023, 89 min.
with a tv project like this, there’s not really enough time to make drawings, nor is there a budget to get a concept artist involved.
nevertheless, a draft is of great importance for the entire process. i have adopted a quick method, something between collage and drawing, which ideally includes surfaces, colors, details and lighting moods.
#drawing #collage #productiondesign #draft #sketch
familie is nich, tv movie, 2023, 89 min.
with a tv project like this, there’s not really enough time to make drawings, nor is there a budget to get a concept artist involved.
nevertheless, a draft is of great importance for the entire process. i have adopted a quick method, something between collage and drawing, which ideally includes surfaces, colors, details and lighting moods.
#drawing #collage #productiondesign #draft #sketch
„familie is nich“ tv movie
when anne’s gate get destroyed by the postman and falls off its hinges, life enters the yard and anne is defenselessly exposed to it.
mother and daughter, anne and julia, are more similar than both of them think.
anne lives outside of society as a self-sufficient person, in an enchanted house, a castle in a deep sleep, surrounded by seemingly insurmountable walls.
julia maintains an alternative lifestyle in the city, both live outside of social conventions and are neither at all bourgeois and conformist, and it happens, that they clash with those around them, or come into conflict with the law.
the connecting element is julia’s child tilda and the family-owned forest.
written and directed by nana neul
cinematographer bernhard keller
produced by julia rappold, lieblingsfilm gmbh (münchen)
#productiondesign #postman
„familie is nich“ tv movie
the design process begins while reading the script.
after a longer phase of research and initial ideas and sketches, the creative process intensifies even more during the location inspection, when i have the chance to work closely with one of my most important partners. during this valuable time with the director and the dop on the places we’re considering for the story/characters, i find from time to time furniture, pictures, curtains, props that inspire me and i would love to include in the picture, rather instinctive. sometimes there are finds, like in this case the inflatable paddling pool, which i am allowed to take with me straight away, without knowing exactly where i would use the pool. i just thought, this could be a great relic of julia’s, that’s left over in her mothers house. it could appear somewhere and always remind anne of her daughter, who she hasn’t spoken since 10 years. thanks to the amasing collaboration together with director and dop, the pool was integrated into the plot, so that the production design could support the story in a subtle way. obviously, i also found the window decoration and the picture: „woodever“ during the location tour and used it in the set. #pool #productiondesign #instinct
„familie is nich“, tv movie, 2023
the fence that keeps the outside world away from anne and runs around her property with a length of around 55 meters and was supposed to have a walkable gap. it was built from everything that was left over, such as old corrugated iron, old wood or rusted panels.
mother and daughter, anne and julia, are more similar than both of them think.
anne lives outside of society as a self-sufficient person, in an enchanted house, a castle in a deep sleep, surrounded by seemingly insurmountable walls.
julia maintains an alternative lifestyle in the city, both live outside of social conventions and are neither at all bourgeois and conformist, and it happens, that they clash with those around them, or come into conflict with the law.
the connecting element is julia’s child tilda and the family-owned forest.
„familie is nich“ tv movie, 2023
the forest takes on a mythological role in this movie, it is a place of longing for anne and a link to jan and their previous life as a family.
mother and daughter, anne and julia, are more similar than both of them think.
anne lives outside of society as a self-sufficient person, in an enchanted house, a castle in a deep sleep, surrounded by seemingly insurmountable walls.
julia maintains an alternative lifestyle in the city, both live outside of social conventions and are neither at all bourgeois and conformist, and it happens, that they clash with those around them, or come into conflict with the law.
the connecting element is julia’s child tilda and the family-owned forest.
“family is not” is an old-fashioned story and at the same time a modern legend or fairy tale.
it is the story of the healing power of forgiveness.
