Controversial Dox

The Forum

Marcus Vetter
Screening time  
21.03. / Saturday, 15:00 - 18:30 Theatre 1 Ticket

Every year, leading figures from international politics, business and academia gather in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. For the forum’s 81-year-old founder Klaus Schwab, it’s all about improving the world through dialogue. But are you going to challenge the status quo if the important meetings behind closed doors are attended exclusively by establishment figures? Marcus Vetter was the first filmmaker to be granted behind-the-scenes access. The impressive procession of princes, presidents and other guests—predominantly male and all fluent in English. But there are also the critical voices like Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, who observes that major companies use the WEF as a distracting sideshow to generate positive PR, while they continue business as usual. During an informal gathering, she goes up to her new arch enemy, President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil. And when 16-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg shows up, it starts looking like Schwab really is doing his best to drag the forum into a new era. Although the question remains whether this approach is benefitting the world, or still mainly the elites in the end.

Marcusvetter

Marcus Vetter

Marcus Vetter, born in 1967, graduated in Economics and Media Theory and Practice. Since 1994 he has been working as a TV editor, producer and director at ARD/SWR in Baden-Baden and Stuttgart. His films have received attention at national and international film festivals and won numerous prizes, among which are three Adolf Grimme Awards – the German Oscar. Among his films are: The Tunnel (1999), War Games (2002), The Unbreakables (2006), My Father the Turk (2006) and Heart of Jenin (2008). His film The Forecaster (2014, co-directed with Karin Steinberger) was screened at 2015 ZagrebDox.

General sponsor

Das Forum

Germany, Switzerland
2019, 115'

Directed by:
Marcus Vetter

Screenplay by:
Christian Beetz, Georg Tschurtschenthaler

Cinematography:
Georg Zengerling

Edited by:
Marcus Vetter, Ana Fernandez Rocha, Michele Gentile

Music:
Marcel Vaid

Producers:
Christian Beetz, Georg Tschurtschenthaler, Caroline Schaper, Karin Koch, Marcus Vetter

Produced by:
Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion, Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion, Filmperspektive

Festivals & Awards:

Signes de Nuit 2019 – Best Documentary Award; IDFA 2019; Dok Leipzig 2019; DocPoint 2020; Solothurn Film Festival 2020; Human Doc Film Festival Poland 2020; Docville 2020; Millenium Docs Against Gravity 2020; Beldocs 2020; Hot Docs 2020; Berllinale 2020;

Contact:

Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion
Heinrich-Roller-Straße 15
10405 Berlin, Germany
T. +493069566910
F. +493069566915
E. berlin@gebrueder-beetz.de 
E. c.schaper@gebrueder-beetz.de