Michel Soutter
Michel Soutter | |
|---|---|
_by_Erling_Mandelmann.jpg) | |
| Born | 2 June 1932 Geneva, Switzerland |
| Died | 9 September 1991 (aged 59) Geneva, Switzerland |
| Occupations | Film director Screenwriter |
| Years active | 1965-1991 |
Michel Soutter (2 June 1932 – 9 September 1991) was a Swiss film director and screenwriter associated with the New Swiss Cinema. After beginning his career in television, he founded Groupe 5 in 1968 to promote French-language filmmaking in Switzerland. He later served on the Feature Films jury at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival.
Life and career
Michel Soutter was born on 2 June 1932 in Geneva.[1] After leaving Collège Calvin, he spent time in Geneva and Paris, working as a cabaret singer and decorative painter.[1] He wrote poetry during this period.[2]
A meeting with filmmaker Alain Tanner in 1960 led Soutter into television and cinema.[1] He began working at Télévision Suisse Romande as an assistant director with Jean-Jacques Lagrange and Claude Goretta, and became a programme director in 1964.[1]
Soutter made television programmes, including biographical profiles and dramas.[1] For television, he later directed a version of Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi in 1976 and the series Condorcet in 1989.[1]
The French New Wave became an important influence on Soutter's approach to filmmaking.[2] Alongside his television work, he founded Groupe 5 in 1968.[1] The group was intended to promote the production of French-language films in Switzerland.[2]
In 1967, Soutter's first feature film, La Lune avec les dents, was booed at the Locarno Film Festival.[1] Audience members left the screening during the film.[2] The film had been made on a very small budget using methods influenced by documentary and television production, and helped lay the groundwork for New Swiss Cinema.[3]
Soutter's film James ou pas was selected for the Directors' Fortnight at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival.[3] In 1972, Les Arpenteurs represented Switzerland at the Cannes Film Festival and received the Grand Prix at Dinard.[1] In 1974, Soutter served as a member of the Feature Films jury at the Cannes Film Festival.[4] His film L'Escapade (1974) was his first 35 mm colour film.[1] In 1977, he made Repérages, a French-Swiss co-production with a comparatively large budget for his work, starring Jean-Louis Trintignant and Delphine Seyrig.[5]
Soutter died in Geneva on 9 September 1991.[1] In 2004, the documentary Une manière de faire examined Soutter's working methods through film excerpts and interviews with collaborators.[6] A digitally restored version of his 1977 film Repérages was presented at the Locarno Film Festival in 2024 as part of its "Swiss Cinema Rediscovered" programme.[7]
Selected filmography
A selection of Soutter's films as director includes:[8]
- Mick et Arthur (1965)
- La lune avec les dents (1966)
- Haschich (1967)
- La Pomme (1968)
- James ou pas (1970)
- Les Arpenteurs (1971)
- L'Escapade (1974)
- Repérages (1977)
- L'amour des femmes (1981)
- Adam et Eve (1983)
- Signé Renart (1985)
- Condorcet (1989)
- L'homme révolté 1966-1973 (1991)
- Le film du Cinéma Suisse (1991)
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Gasser, Bernard (7 June 2013). "Michel Soutter". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (HLS) (in German). Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 de Riedmatten, Emanuelle (24 January 2013). "CINEMAsuisse - Special - Michel Soutter - Rebellischer Poet der Bilder". Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF) (in German). Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- 1 2 "Michel Soutter". Locarno Film Festival. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- ↑ "Michel Soutter". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- ↑ "Repérages". Filmo (in German). Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- ↑ "Une manière de faire". Swiss Films. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- ↑ "The buried treasures of Swiss cinema". SWI swissinfo. 22 August 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
- ↑ "Michel Soutter". Swiss Films. Retrieved 25 August 2026.