Zurich, September 15, 2026
On the occasion of the presentation of Wim Wenders' documentary FROM INSIDE OUT – DIE ARCHITEKTUR DES PETER ZUMTHOR, the Zurich Film Festival (September 24 – October 4, 2026) honors the production and distribution company DCM and its co-founders Marc Schmidheiny, Christoph Daniel, Dario Suter and Joel Brandeis as well as Swiss managing director Stephanie Candinas with the Career Achievement Award for their long-standing commitment to film culture.
International productions with Swiss success – thanks to DCM: Founded in 2008, the company has a knack for bringing films not only to a broad audience but especially to a young Swiss audience. Headquartered in Berlin and Zurich, DCM is known as a film distributor and production studio behind Oscar-winning films such as THE ARTIST, MOONLIGHT, and most recently I'M STILL HERE, as well as the family-entertainment blockbusters BIBI & TINA and SCHULE DER MAGISCHEN TIERE.
In 2013, DCM expanded its business into Switzerland with the feature film KON-TIKI and has since brought an ever-growing lineup to cinemas and subsequent distribution stages. With a fine sense for the varying audiences a film can reach, DCM has established itself as one of the most defining forces in Swiss film distribution, contributing significantly to the visibility and dynamism of Swiss cinema with hits such as WOLKENBRUCH and BON SCHUUR TICINO. This summer, the DCM-produced series HEIDI wrapped filming in the Bergell valley and will air on SRF next year.
With the acquisition of Ascot Elite Entertainment, DCM has taken a decisive step in its company history, clearly positioning itself as growth-oriented and as the largest independent player in Swiss film distribution, underscoring the company's ambition and powerful impact in an increasingly consolidated market.
DCM at the Zurich Film Festival
The history of DCM and its founders has been closely tied to that of the Zurich Film Festival since the very beginning. Their very first feature production, WAFFENSTILLSTAND, celebrated its European premiere at ZFF in 2009 and was honored with the Audience Award. This year, too, they return to the festival as producers of Wim Wenders' documentary FROM INSIDE OUT – DIE ARCHITEKTUR VON PETER ZUMTHOR. Over the years, the festival and the film company have developed in parallel, driven by a shared passion for cinema and the entrepreneurial goal of making an impact beyond Switzerland's borders. Like the Zurich Film Festival, DCM is a local player with international reach: from Switzerland, the founders have built a firm footing in the German-speaking market while cultivating close ties with US partners such as A24. The Zurich Film Festival is delighted to present the Career Achievement Award to DCM – the first Swiss film company to receive this honor – and to the people behind it.
«DCM is a company run by film and cinema lovers, and it has brought a breath of fresh air to the German-language film scene», explains Christian Jungen, CEO of the ZFF. «The founders always act entrepreneurially and in the interest of the films. Much like us at the ZFF, they have a great passion for good American independent film, for German cinema and for Swiss film. With the acquisition of Ascot Elite, they made a spectacular move and are now ensuring that exciting auteur films continue to reach a large audience in cinemas as the largest indie player in the German-speaking market. With our Career Achievement Award, we want to thank the DCM team for what they have accomplished so far and encourage them in their continued commitment with the new company», says Christian Jungen, CEO of the Zurich Film Festival.
«At the 5th edition of the Zurich Film Festival, in our hometown, we had the first-time chance to be guests as producers with a film, and we immediately fell in love with this unique festival. Since then, we've watched as industry giants, role models and cherished colleagues were honored for their work on the ZFF stage, and we have celebrated alongside them. To now stand on this stage ourselves and receive a price is both an honor and motivating for us. Because after the initial shock – caused by the misunderstanding that this was a Lifetime Achievement Award, which we feel far too young for – this is instead an incentive for the next chapters and films that will hopefully keep bringing us back to ZFF», says Marc Schmidheiny, co-founder and partner of DCM.
Alongside Wim Wenders' latest work, the 22nd Zurich Film Festival will present further films from the DCM Film AG catalogue, including the world premiere of Frauke Finsterwalder's EUROTRASH. |
