Věra Chytilová - Two restored medium-length films in Geneva

A screening of two restored medium-length films, THE CEILING and A BAG OF FLEAS, by the Czech filmmaker Věra Chytilová (1929–2014), followed by a discussion with the Swiss filmmaker Stéphanie Barbey, moderated by Loreley Films.

With the support of MAMCO and the Rath Museum.

Shot on 16 mm film as part of her studies at the FAMU film school in Prague, THE CEILING (Strop, 1961) is Věra Chytilová’s debut film, which already demonstrates a great mastery of her craft: she portrays a female lead – a rarity at the time – whose complexity she develops.

The following year, A BAG OF FLEAS (Pytel blech, 1962) depicts mischievous young girls in their strictly regimented boarding school and their lives as factory workers. Věra Chytilová continued her visual experiments and adopted the subjective viewpoint of a newcomer.

Sunday 25 October at 6:15 pm at the Grütli Cinéma.

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Polish Working Women Shorts in Basel

Join us in discovering five Polish female filmmakers and their works from the 1960s to the 1980s, and come write with us about their contribution to the history of cinema! As part of the “ANOTHER HISTORY” series, we’re presenting a selection of short films directed by Polish women filmmakers (including Helena Amiradżibi and Krystyna Gryczełowska) from the 1960s to the 1980s. This program sheds light on the working conditions of women in Poland during that era and shows how they found paths to emancipation.

Saturday, October 17, 2026 at 2:00 pm: Wikipedia Workshop at 6:00 pm: Film screening with our guest, the director Béatrice Minger - Registration: info@loreleyfilms.ch

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LORELEY FILMS AT THE JOURNÉES DU MATRIMOINE IN GENEVA

As part of the Journées du Matrimoine in Geneva (September 12–13, 2026), we organized a Wikipedia workshop on the theme “Swiss Female Filmmakers,” led by Flor Méchain, with support from Wikimedia CH and the City of Geneva. We then screened “IL VALORE DELLA DONNA E IL SUO SILENZIO” in the presence of filmmaker Gertrud Pinkus, as well as “UNE AUTRE HISTOIRE” by Tula Roy, in tribute to the recently departed director.

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Wikipedia workshop and screenings in La Rochelle FEMA

Loreley Films was at the FEMA – La Rochelle Film Festival 2026 for a Wikipedia workshop and two screenings of films by directors Leda Laius (Estonia) and Gertrud Pinkus (Switzerland). We worked together to write articles about the female directors and their films being screened at FEMA. In collaboration with Les Ateliers Femmes et Féminisme (Nantes) and with the support of WIKIMEDIA FRANCE. Thursday 2 July at 2.30 pm at La Coursive.

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Wiki Atelier and Screenings around Vivian Ostrovsky

Loreley Films has been invited to collaborate with the BPI - Cinémathèque du documentaire in Paris to highlight contribution of women directors from 1970s to the cinema history - with the example of Vivian Ostrovsky who passed on this heritage with her non-profit Ciné-Femmes. The Wikipedia Atelier is a collaborative event to write about women film festivals of the 1970s. With the support of WIKIMEDIA FRANCE. On Saturday, June 20 at 2pm at the BPI followed by two screenings: L'AGGETTIVO DONNA & QUELQUES CREATRICES: Le Temps d'Emma / Woo Who ? May Wilson / Selfportrait.

→L'Aggettivo Donna

Ciné-club #4 in Geneva

Our 4th screening will show a cult film: NIGHTSHIFT (1981) by Robina Rose, with our guest, French-Swiss filmmaker Callisto McNulty, and the #cine Genève association. The flim takes us into the night at a hotel in Portobello, in West London, a hotspot of the Swinging Sixties. The receptionist, played by punk icon Jordan (Pamela Rooke), witnesses a parade of unusual and ghostly characters. Like a mosaic, the film is a spellbinding waking dream. “Nightshift is a revelation that unfolds slowly and finds its rightful place alongside Chantal Akerman and Marguerite Duras.” (Sarah Cooper). Tuesday, June 9th 2026 at 8:30 pm.

→Nighshift at the Grütli cinema in Geneva

A new initiative

Loreley Films is taking part in the launch of a new project as a guest curator. ANOTHER STORY is an initiative, supported by the Creative Europe programme, which aims to rethink the history of documentary cinema by highlighting the work of European female filmmakers who have been overlooked by the dominant narratives of cinema.

→Presentation of Another Story

Ciné-club #3 in Geneva

JULIETTE DU COTE DES HOMMES by Claudine Bories – A nice re-discovery of this film on the big screen, restored in 2023! Join us in the company of filmmaker Céline Pernet, who will share her interpretation of the film in light of her own film Garçonnières (Visions du réel 2022).

Giving men a voice in 1980, after the second wave of feminism, was a real challenge. "I’ve always wanted to find out more about men, to hear them talk about their own world, about “what it’s like to be a man” - so said Claudine Bories.

→Juliette du côté des hommes aux Cinémas du Grütli à Genève

On March 8th: Wikipedia Session + Film in Bern

What a wonderful and inspiring International Women's Day we celebrated this past March in Bern! We wrote collectively new articles about women directors from Bern, Switzerland, and beyond. Afterward, we gathered at the Rex Kino to watch DONNA: WOMEN IN REVOLT by Yvonne Scholten, who joined us live online for a Q&A session. With support from Who writes his_story, Bern für den Film, Suissimage, Rex Kino Bern, The Eye Filmmuseum and Wikimedia CH.

→DONNA: WOMEN IN REVOLT by Yvonne Scholten

Ciné-club #2 in Geneva

A gem on the big screen! We screened Gertrud Pinkus's A WOMAN'S GREATEST VALUE IS HER SILENCE (Il valore della donna è il suo silenzio) for our second session of the ANOTHER STORY film club. We were joined by documentary filmmaker and journalist Rachel M'Bon. Wednesday 3 December 2025 at 6.15 p.m.

→Home expo of the Cinémathèque suisse "Breaking the silence"

L'art des yeux ouverts - Editathon and Screenings in Paris

We organized an editathon on Judit Elek and Hungarian female directors with Les sans pagEs, Le Deuxième Texte, Violette and Co and the Cinémathèque du documentaire as part of the retrospective dedicated to Judit Elek. Programme: Wikipedia workshop at Violette and Co, followed by a presentation by Loreley Films of A Hungarian Village and A Simple Story at the Forum des images. (photo credit: István Bucsányi)

→About Judit Elek

MAESTRA Ciné-club in Montreuil

At the invitation of programmer Melissa Blanco, we will be screening a restored version of Helke Sander's DIE DEUTSCHEN UND IHRE MÄNNER (1989) on Sunday 19 October at 4pm. This will mark the start of the new season of this film club dedicated to female directors, which was launched in 2023. At Cinéma Le Méliès, 12 Place Jean Jaurès, 93100 Montreuil.

→MAESTRA Programming

Ciné-club #1 in Geneva

We are organising a screening on Thursday 2 October at the Cinémas du Grütli as part of the Une autre histoire cycle, which gives female directors a platform to present little-known or forgotten films from the history of cinema. Our guest Elene Naveriani will present a 1972 film by Yannick Bellon, QUELQUE PART QUELQU'UN, to open this cycle.

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