Speakers

© ContrastFilm

Anke Beining-Wellhausen

Film producer, PhD in international copyright law

Anke is the commercial managing director and one of the producers of Contrast Film in Zurich and Bern - one of the leading production houses in Switzerland. She is a former Disney executive, managing director of world sales Global Screen and was part of the management team of German distribution and production companies Senator Film and Kinowelt. As CEO and program director of Teleclub, a Swisscom - now Blue Entertainment - subsidiary, and with her company Utofilm she co-produced over 70 features, docs and series (e.g. HEIDI, THE LITTLE WITCH, QUARTIER DES BANQUES, BLUE NOTE RECORDS: BEYOND THE NOTES).

Anke studied law and political science in Germany, Switzerland and the U.S. and holds a Ph.D. in international copyright law. She serves on the board of Trustees of FOCAL, is a lecturer in film law at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and a member of the "Feature Film" Expert Commission of the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC) and the Swiss Film Producers’ Association SFP.

Yevgeni Birkhoff

Composer, Sound Designer

Yevgeni Birkhoff works as a composer, music producer, and sound designer. He creates music for media and international large scale event productions, composes and produces songs, and engages in the creation of acoustic sound art. Birkhoff's musical diversity is evident in his wide-ranging repertoire, from authentic EDM tracks and Musique Concrète soundscapes to orchestral scores. He has applied his talent and expertise to create tailored music and sound designs for renowned brands and clients such as Mercedes, Porsche, Electronic Arts, the Chinese Ministry of Tourism and Emaar Properties. His sound installations have been exhibited in prestigious institutions worldwide, including the German Rock and Pop Museum in Gronau, the Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood and the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

In 2010, Birkhoff received the Peer Raben Award at "Soundtrack Cologne" for the best music in a short film. Additionally, many of the large-scale events underscored with his music have been recognized with international event industry awards, including the BrandEx Award in 2019, the German Design Award in 2016, and The Special Event 2015 Gala Award.

Recently, Yevgeni Birkhoff has been engaging with real-time media and Artificial Intelligence. He regularly holds lectures and workshops, sharing his expertise in these cutting-edge fields. In his teachings, he contributes his broad knowledge and innovative perspectives on how these technologies can be leveraged in music, audio post and event productions. His insights are highly valued in both academic institutions and industry forums.

Kåre Bjerkø

Composer, Arranger, Musician, Bandleader, Producer

Kåre Bjerkø is a Danish composer, arranger, musician, bandleader, and producer. He began his career as an organist in a small church before studying music at the University of Copenhagen. Although he holds a master’s in Experience Management, he is primarily a self-taught musician. In the 1980s, he played in various rock and pop bands. During the 1990s, he gained recognition for composing music for experimental theater aimed at younger audiences, co-creating a new genre that blended live music with theater. In 1995, Bjerkø started scoring films and TV shows, with his work spanning children's films, thrillers, and TV series. He won a Bodil Award (the danish "Oscar") in 2009 for his film compositions and continues to create theater concerts while teaching film composition at the Danish Film School

© Peter Hertig

Chantal Bolzern

Attorney, Mediator

Admitted to the bar in 1997. In 2003, completed the Master`s (LL.M.) at the Free University of Berlin, majoring in Copyright Law and completed studies as a Culture Manager in 2005. From 2004, worked as a lawyer at SUISA, concentrating mainly on Copyright and Contract Law. 2010 promotion to head of department, responsible for licensing music performances in the German and the French part of Switzerland. Guest speaker at various institutions on Copyright Law and Collecting Societies.

Completed studies as a mediator in 2016. Since 2018 working as an attorney at BKS Attorneys Ltd. and partner since 2021. Co-President of HELVETIAROCKT since March 2018 and President of the Swiss Syndicate Film and Video (SSFV) since 2022, board-member of SUISA since 2023.

Florian Liedel

Gregor Bonse

Re-recording mixer

Gregor Bonse is a re-recording mixer working from Los Angeles and Berlin. He frequently supervises sound teams from the chair of the re-recording mixer and accompanies films and their sonic journey from first draft screenplays to the final mix, always exploring how sound can drive a story.

He is a two-time winner and four-time nominee of the German Academy Award (LOLA) for Best Sound, most notably for the German Oscar entry System Crasher in 2020. His work has been showcased three times in the Cannes Competition with Ayka (Kazakhstan, 2018), Compartment No. 6 (Finland, Golden Globe Nominee, Cannes Grand Prix 2021), and Holy Spider (Iran, 2022). His most recent works include The Outrun (Sundance 2024) and The Assessment (Toronto Film Fest 2024).

Born in Bielefeld, Germany, Bonse discovered film sound after spending his youth exploring jazz and experimental theater. In 2007, he moved to Berlin to attend the sound program of Film University Babelsberg, graduating summa cum laude. After explorations in production sound, music composition, dialog and effects editing, he soon began to specialize in mixing as way to shape sound, music and story through a holistic lens. The long-lasting mentorship of José Luiz Sasso from São Paulo and Martin Steyer from Berlin has greatly influenced his work.

Nis Bøgvad

Music Supervisor

Music Supervisor and CEO/Founder at Copenhagen Film Music. Co founder Europe in Synch. Director Act in Synch.
With 27 years experience as a music professional, Nis Bøgvad has worked in all aspects of the music business. From Multi-Platinum selling Songwriter, Recording Artist (EMI) and Producer to Head of A&R (EMI Music), Creative Director (Music Sales Group) Executive Producer National TV to Music Supervisor.
Nis has synchronized music to more than 150 commercials, TV series and Films, lately he has been working on "Follow The Money" season 3 and upcoming series for HBO Nordic.
He’s been a returning keynote and panel speaker at A&R Worldwide/Musexpo L.A., Midem Cannes, Sync summit Paris, Spot Festival Denmark; Les Arcs European Film Festival, Sync summit Helsinki, MaMA Conference Paris, London Sync Session, an Artist Mentor at Music Estonia VOLÜÜM mentoring program, Berklee Global Career Summit in Valencia and is among the founding partners of Europe in Synch.

© Reto Caduff

Reto Caduff

Writer, Director

Reto Caduff has made a name for himself internationally with music documentaries such as Krokus - as long as we live (Zurich Film Award), Charlie Haden - Rambling Boy, Lovebugs - Taiwan Jetlag, Conny Plank - The Potential Of Noise (German Documentary Film Award) and Einfach Machen! - She Punks. His passion for film and music started in the mid-80s when, as the boss of an independent record label, he started shooting music videos for his bands due to budget constraints. After moving from Zurich to New York in 1994, he shot music videos and behind-the-scenes videos for major record labels such as BMG/Ariola, Warner Bros. and Sony Music. Back in Switzerland since 2012, he works as a writer and filmmaker for documentaries.

© Damian Derungs

Damian Derungs

Cameraman

Born and raised in Switzerland, Damian's creative journey began with playing the saxophone in jazz and funk bands while also competing as a climbing athlete. His artistic direction shifted after purchasing his first camera, leading to early film assignments. Over the next decade, he gained experience as a first camera assistant, lighting technician, and director of photography. After completing around 200 video clips and short films, his debut feature, SEPTEMBER BABIES, premiered in Swiss cinemas earlier this year.

Daniel Dettwiler

Sound & Mixing Engineer

Daniel Dettwiler is a renowned Sound & Mixing Engineer based in Switzerland, specializing in recording and mixing acoustic music, particularly for film. After studying Audio-Design at the Academy of Music in Basel, he founded Idee und Klang Studios, known for its impressive collection of historic microphones and high-end analog audio equipment. Daniel has recorded and mixed soundtracks for numerous films, including The White Massai, Das Blaue vom Himmel, Huck Finn, Heidi, and The Diary of Anne Frank. Notably, he also contributed as a co-sound engineer to the soundtrack of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. His collaborations span across esteemed artists and ensembles such as ECM, Herbert Grönemeyer, and the London Symphony Orchestra. Beyond his engineering work, Daniel is an educator, lecturing at Musikhochschule Basel and the University of Arts in Zürich.

Mara Deuschle

Sync Manager

Mara Deuschle has been working in the music industry for over a decade as a concert promoter and artist manager around Switzerland, during her business studies at the University of St. Gallen. Eager to develop her perception of the music industry on an international level, Mara moved to Denmark for her master’s degree in Management of Creative Industries at Copenhagen Business School.

Currently based in Copenhagen while still working with Swiss artists as a manager, Mara started working in music licensing in 2021 and she is now the global sync manager for APL Publishing. Her main focus at this Nordic music publisher is representing their catalogue for all types of visual media on an international level, working together with broadcasters such as ARD, SRF and the BBC, and acquiring placements on programs like VICE on Showtime in the US.

Milena Fessmann

Music Supervisor, Radio host, Film producer, DJ

Since 1991, Milena Fessmann has worked as a full-time DJ (2001-2014 Radio Eins After Work Lounge, Trompete/Berlin, European Film Awards 2015 etc.) and has worked for various radio stations. Since 1997 she works for Radio Eins/RBB with her own weekly show called "Free Falling".

In 1989 she founded CINESONG and has been working as a music supervisor on more than 500 films and series.

She is moderator of several national events and panels such as Reeperbahn-Festival, c/o pop Cologne, Soundtrack Cologne/Zurich and many more. Milena Fessmann teaches music supervising and copyright clearing at film schools such as DFFB Berlin, KHM, FFF and is advisory board member of the World Soundtrack Academy and Member of the European Filmacademy.

She founded a film production company called Sugar Town Filmproduction Gmbh & Co.kg in 2011. Its first project was "The Potential of Noise- Conny Plank" by Stephan Plank and Reto Caduff. Fessmann is executive-producer of "When Hitler stole Pink Rabbit", directed by award-winning director Caroline Link.

The newest documentary project “Don't talk! Do it- She-punks from 1977 until now” about female punk and the new wave in german speaking territory from 1979-89 is in pre-production.

Photo: Jürg Lauber

Adina Friis

Composer

Adina Friis (*1988) is a jazz pianist, singer, songwriter and composer for film and theatre. She studied jazz piano, singing and composition in Lucerne, Zurich and Copenhagen.

Her main musical project is the jazz trio "Luumu", with which she transforms her most personal thoughts and ideas into art. Since 2010 she has been playing concerts in Switzerland and abroad. Since 2015 she has been writing the music for various theatres and from 2017-2019 she was responsible for the musical design of the "Berner Reden" at the Konzerttheater Bern.

In 2020 she had the chance to demonstrate her skills as a film composer for the film "Eden for Everyone" directed by Rolf Lyssy."

In 2023 her first full evening composition "Leben in Anbetracht der Endlichkeit" for choir and chamber orchestra was performed in 4 cities throughout Switzerland.

She is currently working on a collaboration with an animated filmmaker who will bring Luumu's music on screen while the band plays the songs live on stage.

For the last four years she's been a speaker at Soundtrack_Zurich.

Marielène Froidevaux

Music Supervisor

Marielène Froidevaux co-founded the international publishing house Black Stellar Music based in Zurich, working on top as Music Supervisor and Artist Manager. Back in 2019 she started supervising on film productions and has been involved in numerous projects since. The 39-year-old is furthermore highly engaged in music policy issues, fair payments for artists as well as AI development in music on legal, political, social and creative aspects. She cooperates closely with the tech start up Ontiko and recently joined the Brand Partnership Agency LOY. 

Adi Frutiger

Composer

After graduating as a decoration designer, Adrian Frutiger worked as a production designer for the film Night of the Jugglers (1996), directed by Michael Steiner. There, he also ventured into film music, creating the score for the same project. This first work in media won him the European Prize at the Film Music Biennale in Bonn in 1996.

Frutiger's musical prowess has been showcased in a diverse range of films, including Michael Steiner's My name is Eugen, Grounding: the last days of Swissair, Sennentuntschi, Wolkenbruch's Strange Journey into the Arms of a Chic Woman, and Early Birds (co-composed with Martin Villiger); Der Büezer's Hans Kaufmann; Mirjam von Arx's Virgin Tales, and many more. 

His latest works for TV include Davos 1917 and Wilder.

© Gabriel Hill

Stefan Haupt

Director, producer, script writer

Born in Zurich in 1961, Stefan Haupt has been working since 1989 as an independent film and theatre director. In 1998 he founded his own production company, Fontana Film. His feature film debut UTOPIA BLUES (2001) was honored with the Zurich Film Prize and the Swiss Film Award.

ELISABETH KÜBLER-ROSS (2003) is one of the most successful Swiss documentary films to date, with some 300,000 viewers throughout Europe. THE CIRCLE (2014) won the Teddy Award and the Panorama Audience Award at the Berlinale, four Swiss Film Awards and was the Swiss entry at the Oscars that year.

For his feature film ZWINGLI (2019) he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Zurich. His latest work is going to be STILLER (2025), based on the novel by Max Frisch.

Renato Horvath

Music Supervisor

Renato Horvath (Hungary) founded Eastaste Music, a sync agency, in 2012. Its main focus is music licensing, music supervision, and consulting rights owners, and filmmakers alike. Over the years, he has licensed songs for nearly 150 commercials/films from domestic and foreign performers and authors. His specialty is licensing well-known foreign compositions and covers as well as difficult-to-find compositions. Affiliations: UK & European Guild of Music Supervisors member; partner in the Europe in Synch Creative Europe program.

Max Knoth

Composer

Born in Hamburg.

Lives in Berlin.

Studied at the Hochschule für Musik Hamburg and the Film & Television Academy Filmuniversität Babelsberg „Konrad Wolf“ in Potsdam-Babelsberg.

Degree as sound engineer for audio-visual media. Max Knoth works as a composer, arranger, and orchestrator. He composes for movies, concerts, theater and recording sessions.

Collaborations include Moby, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Lou Reed, Danny Elfman, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Nils Frahm, Rachel Portman, Howard Shore, Alan Silvestri, David Newman, Tom Tykwer, Christoph Schlingensief, Irmin Schmidt (CAN) and Carsten Nicolai|Alva Noto.

His arrangements are played by Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Resonanz, Stargaze Ensemble, WDR Funkhausorchester, Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg, Staatskapelle Berlin, ORF Symphonieorchester, Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin, and many others.

He has been an associate lecturer at Media Academy Darmstadt and BIMM Institute for many years.

© Dariusz Kowalczyk

Dariusz Kowalczyk

Post Audio Engineer, Music Producer

Dariusz Kowalczyk is a seasoned Post Audio Engineer and Music Producer. His journey into professional audio engineering began in 2002 when he moved to Los Angeles to study sound engineering at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood. After graduating, he started his career as a lead sound engineer at Teddy Riley's producers camp, known for working on Michael Jackson's Dangerous. Soon after, he connected with Supervising Sound Editor Jake Eberle, known for Independence Day: Resurgence, Narc, Suits, and Burn Notice, marking the start of his immersion in the world of film sound. Over the past 25 years, Dariusz has built an impressive portfolio, contributing to over 60 film projects, including theatrical releases across the USA and Europe, as well as globally streamed content on platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Canal+, and HBO.

Michael Künstle

Composer

David Luisi

Producer

Born in 1973 David started a successful career in 1997 in the Digital Communication field. Together with his brother Peter Luisi, and working with the company Spotlight Media Productions, he has produced several feature films; among them BON SCHUUR TICINO, PRINCESS, STREAKER, THE SANDMANN; TV series such us ADVENT, ADVENT, and the late-night show DEVILLE.

Since 2017, he is managing the production company billionwords GmbH for commercial productions.

Ivan Madeo

Film producer

Born in 1976 in Bern (CH). After graduating as a film journalist and psychologist at the University of Fribourg, he has worked as agency producer for some of the largest advertising agencies in Switzerland and Italy. He founded the two production companies Contrast Film Bern and Contrast Film Zurich that have produced several award-winning feature films and documentaries since 2010. Ivan has been a jury member at several film festivals such as Venice Film Festival, Molodist Kyiv, FICG Guadalajara in Mexico, Filmfest Hamburg, Max Ophüls in Saarbrücken. He is EAVE producer, ACE Series alumni and Swiss "Producer on the Move" at the Cannes Film Festival 2017. Member of the European Film Academy, Swiss Film Academy and the Swiss Film Commission at the Swiss Federal Office of Culture. Board member of the Swiss Film Producer' Association SFP and FOCAL, the Foundation for professional training in cinema and audiovisual media. 

© Lisa Lurati

Björn Magnusson

Composer, Artist, Multi-instrumentalist

Björn Magnusson is a composer, artist and multi-instrumentalist of Swiss/Swedish origin, active in the fields of experimental music, film music, engineering/production and especially songwriting.

Solo and with various formations, he has released numerous albums since 2011, played concerts at home and abroad (including Bad Bonn Kilbi, Palo Festival, La Batie Festival Geneve, CMJ Festival New York), composed and produced film scores, and was responsible for the production and technical realization of numerous albums at home and abroad.

After completing his studies in Fine Arts at HEAD Geneva and ZHDK in 2012, he spent extended periods in Berlin and New York. Björn Magnusson currently lives and works in Zurich.

Delphine Malausséna

Composer

Her musical universe is influenced by a unique personal trait: her passion for mathematics and quantum mechanics, in which she holds a master's degree. A graduate of ENS Louis Lumière, she initially worked as a sound engineer on movie sets before dedicating herself fully to film music.

In 2023, she co-composed the music for Shane Atkinson's 'Laroy,' which won the Grand Prize at the Deauville American Film Festival. She also composed the original scores for the feature film 'Hiver à Sokcho' by Koya Kamura and the series 'Insoupçonnable' by Élie Wajeman. Delphine Malausséna received the award for Best Film Music 2023 at the La Baule festival and the Michel Legrand Emerging Talent Award for her score in Quentin Reynaud's 'En plein feu.'

She was nominated for the César Award for Best Film Music for Jean-Baptiste Durand's 'Chien de la casse' in 2024.

She has recently completed the music for the feature films 'Oxana' by Charlène Favier and 'Cassandre' by Hélène Merlin. She is currently composing the music for the feature film 'Le Roi Soleil' by Vincent Cardona and the HBO series 'Merteuil' directed by Jessica Palud.

Neeltje Mooring

Music Consultant

Since 2007, Neeltje Mooring runs her own company SOLID as a rock and operates internationally as an independent publisher (in collaboration with BMG Rights), sync agent and music supervisor. The core business is bringing music and images together in for instance: TV-series, adds, films and games. Clients include: V2 records, CTM  Publishing, NPO (National Dutch Public Broadcasting Company), Dox Records, The Film Kitchen, Kaap Holland Film, NTR, Key Film, Willy Waltz Noord B.V. and Oak Motion Pictures.

Neeltje is also jury member at the yearly Buma Music In Motion Awards (BMIM) Categories: Best Sync, Best Music in Film, TV Series and Commercials.

Besides this she is a parttime lecturer at Inholland University. She developed the mutual study program: International Music Publishing & Licensing together with Berklee College of Music, Boston (U.S.) She also teached the course: Publishing, Licensing and Distribution, part of the master program at the Faculty Global Music Business at the Berklee campus in Valencia, Spain.

In the past Mooring achieved great success working as a product manager, label manager, and a&r manager for several world known and respected record companies such as Sony Music Entertainment, Epic Records, Double T Music, Idol Media and Flow Records.

She is a 1994 graduate in Design & Communication at the University in Rotterdam and accomplished an associate master degree in Media Psychology & Advertising at NCOI (2016).

(c) LIECHTERWAERK-Tanja Krebs

Matteo Pagamici

Musician, Film composer

Matteo Pagamici is a Swiss musician and film composer. In 2014 he received a nomination for the Golden Eye "Best International Film Music" at the Zurich Film Festival. He is also a Berlinale Talent Alumnus.

His most recent film work includes PLATZSPITZBABY (director: Pierre Monnard), the SRF/Netflix series NEUMATT (director: Pierre Monnard and Sabine Boss) and the French-Swiss series HORS SAISON (director: Pierre Monnard), as well as one of the official 2024 SuperBowl adverts.

©Rebecca Bowring

Nicolas Rabaeus

Composer

Nicolas was born in Geneva in 1984. He studied jazz music in Paris (IMEP) and classical music in Geneva (HEM). He's been working as a composer for more than fifteen years, specializing in music for the moving image.

Known for his versatility and his fast working pace, he has collaborated with many European and Swiss filmmakers, on over fifty projects: feature films, series, documentaries and shorts. His music has been celebrated in many festivals and nominated for numerous awards. 

He has taught "Ear Training” at the HEMU Lausanne, and teaches “Music for the moving image” at the HEM Genève.

Norman Wong

Łukasz L.U.C. Rostkowski

Composer, Music Producer.

His music for Sleepoholic was selected by Oscar winners Emmanuel Lubezki and Alejandro Inarritu for their special VR project Carne y Arena, which received a special Oscar at the 9th Annual Governors Awards. He is the author of many multimedia spectacles and has collaborated with renowned composers (Krzysztof Penderecki, Leszek Możdżer, Jan AP Kaczmarek) and animators, such as Oscar winners: Zbigniew Rybczyński and Tomasz Bagiński. Rostkowski is the author of the soundtrack for the latest film by the creators of Loving Vincent - DK and Hugh Welchman. "Chłopi" is the Polish candidate for the 2024 Oscars in the categories of Best Foreign Language Film, Best Animation, and Best Original Music.

He is the author of many albums and conceptual projects, frequently nominated for the Fryderyk Award. In 2010, he received the "Paszport Polityki" for the "Understanding Poland" project for an "innovative combination of fields and genres". In 2015, under the patronage of the European Capital of Culture Wrocław 2016, he founded the international orchestra Rebel Babel Film Orchestra, of which he became the leader. RBE collaborated with prestigious institutions such as the Universal Hip-Hop Museum in New York, the New Orleans Jazz Museum, the United Nations Organization, the Warsaw Uprising Museum, and many others.

This charismatic creator is appreciated for the scope and daring of his productions, eclecticism, original performances, and unconventional musical solutions. In his compositions, he deliberately transcends numerous genres, creating on the border of nu-jazz, trip-hop, hip-hop, reggae, folk, electronic, and classical music. His greatest passion is combining music with images and words. He has composed and recorded with many outstanding instrumentalists and vocalists, including Katie Melua, Krzysztof Penderecki, Urszula Dudziak, Mum, Leszek Możdżer, Promoe, Rapsusklei, and collaborated with world-class DJ artists such as DJ Qbert and DJ Eprom, as well as prestigious orchestras and brass bands, including Grammy winners Hot 8 Brass Band. He has supported live performances of artists such as Tricky, The Prodigy, Talib Kweli, Coldcut, Massive Attack, and many other world-class artists.

Samira Sahli

Producer

Samira is a producer born and raised in Switzerland, with a degree in International Business Management. She began her film career by interning with the media team of the Basel Film Festival in 2020. The following year, she took on the roles of festival producer and artistic director for the 13th edition. Samira further expanded her experience with Innovative EYE and ZAS Film projects, contributing to a documentary for the Christoph Merian Foundation, managing logistics for a Swiss cinema release tour and setting up the distribution of an international documentary. She also gained valuable skills during an HR internship at the Kempinski Hotel in Berlin. At the age of 24, Samira produced her first feature film, September Babies, under HUB MEDIA AG. Since 2021, she has served as the CEO of HUB MEDIA, where she oversees financing and production for the company’s upcoming projects.

Beda Senn

Music consultant at Swiss Television and producer and conceptual designer of production music for Tonangeber GmbH.

Music consultant at Swiss Television since 2006 and involved in over 600 documentary film projects.

Since 2018 conception & production for new library/production music under Tonangeber GmbH, he is expert in the implementation of new sounds for current and future topics:
What does today's modern urban environment sound like? (Sounds Of Urbanity). What does music have to sound regarding sustainability, the new food movements, healthy and sustainable nutrition and lifestyles? (Organic Food Sounds). How do you create a sound image that depicts the regions of the world in a new and timeless way? Without all the clichés and stereotypes, but with the by integrating the traditional sounds of the regions concerned. What are new alpine sounds? What is the new sound for stories in today's alpine region (including Southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia and the north of Italy and France). Creating sounds that make the colours ring. And much more.

Another important motto: Modern Modular Motif-based Production Music. The goal are minimal and modular structured mood tracks, which have unique and modern sounds as core element and thus on the one hand perfectly underscore fitting and not overloaded but on the other hand have strong motif expressiveness. For each track there are several variations, which may differ in instrumentation of the motif, tempo, time signature etc., but which play around the central element (the leitmotif) in some form. And all this under the aspect of making it as close, touching, high quality and timeless as possible for all kinds of audio-visual productions and suitable for stories in the here and now.

Although music is his life, he never learned to play an instrument well. He spent a few years as a drummer, but never really gained a foothold as a musician. Despite, or perhaps because of it, he has immersed himself (associatively), in what kind of images does music create, which images need which music. He finds the exploration of music exciting. And he has immersed himself in it.

He also sees himself as a diver for musical pearls in the playlists of Tonangeber. He curates and mixes them together.

Andreas Suttner

Cellist, music manager, music consultant for TV, founder of music label Klangidee

Andreas Suttner has studied Violoncello and music tuition and has been awarded as a cellist at several well-known contests.
After completing his MA in Arts Management at City University of London he has turned his attention to music management.

From 2004 he is also working as a music consultant for the film department of Bavarian Television.

In 2007 Andreas Suttner founded the production music label KLANGIDEE and since then is focusing on his work as a composer and producer for filmmusic in TV, radio and web.

James Varghese

After completing his MA in Jazz studies at the Zurich school of fine arts (ZHdK) James toured in various bands and projects through Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, United Kingdom, Israel, China, India and Japan. He also produced different artists of various genres anywhere between pop, jazz, experimental and electronic.

In 2018 he founded Quiet Love Records with an adjacent publishing edition and has released artists with international acclaim such as Rosa Anschütz, Robot Koch and Egopusher among others.

Since 2023 he is part of the music supervision team at the Swiss national radio and television corporation SRF, consulting and curating all things music for various formats on radio, TV and online.

© Daniel Villiger

Martin Villiger

Composer, focused on film music

Martin Villiger has composed the music for over 130 films and series. That’s about 450 series episodes and counting.

“I love to bring different people and art forms together and to dare new things.“, Martin says. In addition to songs he writes and produces with pop greats, he has always tried new areas of music. He has, for example, composed the music for a circus show, for installations, numerous commercials and corporate sound for companies. Martin Villiger is also interested in 3D audio like Dolby Atmos, spatial audio for VR (virtual reality) and games. The new feature film “Early Birds” where he co-composed music with the main composer Adrian Frutiger is premiering at this years Zurich Film Festival.

Martin Villiger is helping companies use music to connect to their audience. With Music for their brand and special live Events.

Villiger was born in Glasgow and grew up in Jerusalem, among other places. He feels at home all over the world and speaks six languages. His new concert series “Culture Clash” fits in with this. He is married to Catherine, and together they have four children.

Julien Wagner

Writer and Director

Julien Wagner is a Swiss-born writer, director, and former actor. After starting his career in the entertainment industry as an actor, with a notable guest appearance on a Swiss television show, Julien shifted his focus to writing and directing. His debut as a screenwriter came with the acclaimed short film "Weekend Tide," which premiered at the Bogo Shorts. Following this success, Julien continued his journey with the gripping short film "Quarantine," premiering at the La Shorts. In addition to his directorial work, Julien showcased his production skills as a coproducer of the feature film "Soul of a Beast," which premiered at Locarno in 2020, earning recognition for its powerful storytelling and artistic vision. Julien’s debut feature film, "September Babies," premiered at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and has since been sold and distributed around the globe. Driven by his passion for storytelling, Julien is actively involved in financing several projects and is gearing up to direct his second feature film.

Kathleen Wallfisch

Music Supervisor and former Cellist

Kathleen Wallfisch is a Music Supervisor and former cellist, graduating from The Royal Academy of Music in London. Based in Berlin and London, her company, Music In Vision, contracts musicians for on-camera work.

Recent work includes NAPOLEON / Apple Studios, GLADIATOR 2 / Paramount (both directed by Ridley Scott), and a German documentary, DIE ZEIT VERBRECHEN for X-Filme/Paramount Plus.

© Andreas Wegelin

Andreas Wegelin

CEO of Luisa

Andreas Wegelin studied musicology, art history and law at the University of Bern. He has held various positions at SUISA, the Cooperative Society of Authors and Publishers of Music, since 1987 - first as Assistant to the Director, then as Head of the New Media Department and from 1998 as a member of the Executive Board. He has been CEO of SUISA since 2010. He has also held various positions in foundations, the Swiss Music Council and international umbrella organisations as well as mandates in the field of development aid for collecting societies in Indonesia and Colombia.

Since 2017, he has also been Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mint Digital Services, the joint venture between SUISA and the US company SESAC for licences in online music distribution.

Hugh Welchman

Filmmaker, Screenwriter, Producer

Hugh was awarded an Oscar for producing Peter and the Wolf, which premiered to a sold out Royal Albert Hall and has since had over 200 live orchestral screenings (the most of any film after the silent era).  He co-wrote and co-directed Loving Vincent with his wife DK Welchman. He and DK were nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe. The film won Best Animation at the European Film Awards & Shanghai Film Festival as well as 20 Audience awards. It took $52m at the worldwide box office: it is the best performing Polish film of all time. Their latest film, The Peasants, had 1.9m admissions at the Polish Box Office, the biggest domestic hit for 4 years, and the 10^th biggest film from Europe in 2023. Hugh is currently adapting Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Martin Witz

Director

Born 1956 in Zurich. Studied German and European Literature. Co-founder of Videoladen Zurich. Has worked as a freelance filmmaker in Switzerland and Germany since 1988, initially as a writer and story consultant, then also as a director, mostly for documentaries in the fields of history, politics and art. Member of the Swiss Film Academy.