05/09/2006

As part of Canadian Retrospective - The Films Of Peter Mettler, the 31st Toronto International Film Festival (September 7-16) will present the atypical and evocative filmography of Swiss/Canadian director Peter Mettler.

The director’s films, considered impossible challenges, belong to Canadian cinema of the 1980s, along with those by Atom Egoyan, Bruce Mc Donald, Patricia Rozema and Robert Lepage.

A cross between documentary and fiction, his kaleidoscopic, experimental and intuitive explorations form the visions and wonder of its characters. "I truly think the camera is like a musical instrument, in that you address the subjects you want to film," he said.

A book dedicated to his work, Making the Visible Invisible, was published in 1995. Winner of several prizes, his unusual films have already been the subject of several retrospectives.

All of his features will be screened at Toronto: Lancalot (1980), Scissere (1982), Eastern Avenue (1985), The Top of His Head (1989), Tectonic Plates (1992), Picture of Light (1994), Balifilm (1997) and Gambling, Gods and LSD (2002).

Although Mettler, 48, was born and has lived most of his life in Canada, he has always kept close ties with Switzerland, where he resides for periods and is still a citizen. Several of his films have also been produced or co-produced by Switzerland.

(Translated from French)