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ZURICH 2023

Series review: Davos 1917

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- The most expensive Swiss series to date keeps its promises by offering up a parallel universe where a group of international spies compete to conquer the world

Series review: Davos 1917
Dominique Devenport in Davos 1917

Presented in a world premiere within the Zurich Film Festival’s Special Screenings section, this six-episode Swiss series directed by Jan-Eric Mack, Anca Miruna Lăzărescu and Christian Theede invites us to look at the past with a critical eye, facing up to grey zones we’d (too) often rather ignore. A historical, fictional series based on real events, Davos 1917 revolves around a strong and courageous heroine who will do anything to win (back) her independence. More determined than ever to live her life in accordance with her deepest desires, nurse Johanna Gabathuler (played by Dominique Devenport) finds herself embroiled in a spy conspiracy with international implications. There’s a high price to pay and it’s risky to say the least, but the heroine in Davos 1917 will do anything it takes to find her daughter and, ultimately, secure her freedom.

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Written by Adrian Illien, Julia Penner, Thomas Hess and Michael Sauter, Davos 1917 is set in Europe in the First World War. Despite the horrors of the war, the elegant spa town of Davos doesn’t seem to have lost any of its paradisiacal air. But unspeakable secrets hide behind this oasis of peace, where a calm quiet envelops its inhabitants who have flocked here to make the most of the spa treatments and winter sports. Behind the scenes, neutral Switzerland is fast becoming a battle ground where secret agents hired by world powers compete to conquer the world. At the heart of this incandescent magma is Johanna Gabathuler, a nurse whose newborn daughter, conceived with a German soldier, has been taken away from her by her family. In an attempt to win back her freedom and the right to bring up her child, Johanna suddenly finds herself sucked into a mortal game with the German secret services. Forced against her will to take part in an espionage project with potentially disastrous consequences, the heroine of Davos 1917 becomes the central piece in a Machiavellian wargame.

Davos 1917 is a lavish and captivating, intimist drama set in a world dominated by ambiguity and power games with unexpected implications. Shot in an incredible location in the majestic Swiss Alps, the series follows a young woman forced to confront the folly of her time, a thoroughly modern heroine who has no intention of bending to patriarchal rules which would see her docile and subdued. In fact, a personal tragedy drives her to rebel against society and her family who refuse to accept her life choices. Hired as a spy by the German secret services, Johanna must fight to win back her independence, quite literally placing her life on the line. Ultimately, the film approaches highly topical themes as if ghosts from a past which isn’t actually that far off.

As stressed by Ivan Madeo and Stefan Eichenberger of Contrast Film, Davos 1917 encourages the audience to think about the First World War and the role Switzerland played in the conflict, and the decision to place a strong woman fighting for her own ideals at the centre of the story, a woman like many others, who faces up to the tragedies of war with determination and courage, proves an especially astute choice. The series’ protagonists combine forces, specialising in the art of espionage and liberating themselves from the yoke of men who think they know everything. Free to act, in a kind of pact between women, the heroines of Davos 1917 take back control of their lives, which they’re usually forced to endure.

Davos 1917 is produced by Contrast Film, Letterbox Filmproduktion, Amalia Film, SRF Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen and ARD Degeto, while Global Screen are managing international sales.

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(Translated from Italian)

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