The Circle (2014 film)

The Circle (German: Der Kreis) is a 2014 Swiss docudrama film.[1] Written and directed by Stefan Haupt, the film concerns the social network of gay men that developed in Zurich in the 1940s and 1950s, centered on The Circle, a gay publication, and the social events it sponsored. As the police investigate three murders of gay men by rent boys, they scapegoat The Circle and its subscribers for making Zurich an international center of gay tourism.[1]

The Circle
(Der Kreis)
Directed byStefan Haupt
Produced byIvan Madeo, Urs Frey
Written byStefan Haupt, Christian Felix, Ivan Madeo, Urs Frey
Starring
Music byFederico Bettini
CinematographyTobias Dengler
Edited byChristoph Menzi
Release date
  • February 2014 (2014-02) (Berlin)
Running time
102 minutes
CountrySwitzerland
LanguageSwiss German

The film focuses on the story of Ernst Ostertag and Röbi Rapp, a schoolteacher and a drag entertainer, who met through their participation in the publication inner circle and began a lifelong romantic relationship. Interviews with them and other survivors and experts on the era are interspersed with documentary film and photographs as well as a scripted dramatic enactment of the story. The lack of legal proscription against homosexuals and Zurich's growing notoriety provide the context for the growth of a publication that overtly catered to a gay readership while avoiding explicit materials, both in prose and illustrations, in order to meet the standards of Swiss censorship.

The couple are portrayed by Matthias Hungerbühler and Sven Schelker, with documentary interviews with the real Ostertag and Rapp.

Cast
  • Matthias Hungerbühler - Ernst Ostertag
  • Sven Schelker - Röbi Rapp
  • Anatole Taubman - Felix
  • Peter Jecklin - Principal Dr. Max Sieber
  • Marianne Sägebrecht - Erika
  • Antoine Monot, Jr. - Gian
  • Marie Leuenberger - Gabi Gerster
  • Stefan Witschi - Rolf

Release

The film won the Teddy Award for Best Documentary at the 2014 Berlin Film Festival,[2][3] as well as the Panorama Audience Award. North American distribution rights were subsequently acquired by Wolfe Video.[4] It was selected as the Swiss entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.[5][6] Director Stefan Haupt said "it's an honour to represent Switzerland".[7]

See also

References
  1. "The Circle". Screen Daily, February 11, 2014.
  2. "Berlin: Gay Emancipation Docudrama 'The Circle' Wins Teddy Award". The Hollywood Reporter, February 15, 2014.
  3. Review in The Rochford Street Review
  4. "Wolfe Video Acquires 'The Circle,' Winner of Berlin's Teddy Award". Indiewire, February 18, 2014.
  5. "Schwulen-Doku "Der Kreis" wird Schweizer Oscar-Kandidat". orf. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  6. "Oscars: Switzerland Selects 'The Circle' for Foreign-Language Oscar". Hollywood Report. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  7. "Director Stefan Haupt on Swiss Oscar hopeful The Circle". Screen Daily. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
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