St. Moritz Film Festival's Third Edition Explores Time and Image

The third edition of the St. Moritz Film Festival (SMAFF) took place in St. Moritz, Switzerland, under the theme "Meanwhile Histories," focusing on the relationship between time and moving images. Founded and directed by Stefano Rabolli Pansera, the festival featured 40 films and 40 authors in a niche, tailor-made format. The event is held in a sophisticated 108-seat cinema, emphasizing content quality over audience numbers. Winners included Aura Satz for "Preemptive Listening," Eduardo Williams for "Parsi," and Young-jun Tak for "Love Your Clean Feet on Thursday." Curators Leonardo Bigazzi, Adam Szymczyk, and Róisín Tapponi each oversaw sections. The festival also included philosophical discussions, such as Chiara Vecchiarelli's talk on simultaneity and historicity. The next edition's theme will be "Emerging Virtualities," exploring virtuality beyond technology, referencing Deleuze. Plans include year-round screenings and talks. The festival is described as a territorial operation, using cinema as a meeting point and urban acupuncture. Past highlights included a film by Ingel Vaikal on Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation, offering a feminist reinterpretation, and Amei Wallach's detective story on Rauschenberg's Biennale win, examining geopolitical soft power. Andrea Bettinetti revisited Arte Povera outside Germano Celant's framework.