Zurich Film Festival: Peter Farrelly’s ‘I Play Rocky’ & Channing Tatum Starrer ‘Josephine’ Among Gala Titles

The Zurich Film Festival has announced its first selection of gala titles for this year’s edition, which runs September 9 to October 10. 

Films include the European premiere of Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky, starring Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone, Matt Dillon, Stephan James and more as well as Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan starrer Josephine from director Beth de Araújo. 

I Play Rocky follows unknown actor Stallone, who is writing a screenplay title Rocky that a studio is desperate to acquire. But Stallone refuses to sell the rights – unless he gets to play the lead himself. Despite numerous setbacks and rejections he remains determined to make his dream a reality: playing Rocky Balboa. 

Josephine follows 8-year old Josephine who witnesses a violent crime and her world is out of joint as she tries to find a way to regain a sense of security. Her emphatic mother (Chan) wants to help her process what happened while her father (Tatum) believes in preparing her for the harsher realities of life, but increasingly finds himself overwhelmed with by the situation. 

Further titles include German productions Love, After All by Andreas Dresen and How Can I Help from Doris Dörrie, both of which will world premiere in Zurich. 

BiographyUSA, 2026Director: Peter FarrellyCast: Anthony Ippolito, Matt Dillon, Stephan James, AnnaSophia Robb, PJ Byrne, Toby Kebbell, Tracy Letts, Jay Duplass

Drama USA, 2026 Director: Beth de Araújo Cast: Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan, Mason Lily Reeves 

European PremiereDrama Switzerland, Canada, 2026 Director: Mauro Mueller Cast: Ursina Lardi, Kris Holden-Ried, Djebril Zonga, Fathia Youssouf, Natalie Brown 

On September 2, 1998, the crash of Swissair Flight 111 off Halifax changes the lives of many people forever: relatives struggle for certainty about their loved ones, helpers try to offer comfort, and the residents of the Canadian coast are confronted with the traces of tragedy. As time passes and questions remain unanswered, the film shows how grief connects, relationships change, and new perspectives emerge.

COMPANY Mystery Canada, USA, UAE, 2026 Director: Casey Affleck Cast: Nick Nolte, Ben Mendelsohn, Adelaide Clemens, Scoot McNairy, Emily Alyn Lind, Caylee Cowan 

On a winter night in 1975, a mysterious woman named Evelyn arrives uninvited at a holiday gathering and tells the story of Tom, an aging hermit who rescues a stranded actress during a Colorado blizzard in 1953. To pass the night, the actress recounts an older tale of a farming couple who take in a troubled young drifter as a series of grisly murders spreads fear across the frontier. As the stories intertwine across generations, COMPANY becomes a meditation on grief, vengeance, forgiveness, and the quiet acts of compassion that can heal even the deepest wounds.

POSSIBLE LOVE Drama South Korea, 2026Director: Lee Chang-dong Cast: Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung, Cho Yeo-jeong 

Possible Love follows the intertwined relationship of two married couples facing different paths and hidden desires. Mi-ok (Jeon Do-yeon) lives quietly with her laid-off husband Ho-seok (Sul Kyung-gu) and their young son Cheol until a funeral brings them into the orbit of Ye-ji (Cho Yeo-jeong), a documentary filmmaker chronicling laid-off workers, and her husband Sang-woo (Zo In-sung) – a couple whose affluent lifestyle stands in sharp contrast to their own. When Mi-ok agrees to be filmed, she grows close to Ye-ji, and finds herself uneasily drawn to the unreadable Sang-woo. As their worlds collide, fractures begin to appear in their daily existence. 

World PremiereTragicomedyGermany, 2026 Director: Andreas Dresen Cast: Dagmar Manzel, Joachim Król 

Lore (Dagmar Manzel) and Harry (Joachim Król) have been married for nearly 40 years and there is rarely a moment of silence between them. Old stories, missed chances and the uncertainties of retirement fuel heated discussions. Lore is afraid of growing old and bitter in the garden alongside Harry while he longs for stability and peace. There is only one thing they agree on: Their daughter Gloria has little luck in love. Now, she wants to get married for the third time – this time to a wealthy man who is almost the same age as Harry.

Italy, France, Spain, 2026Director: Nanni MorettiCast: Louis Garrel, Jasmine Trinca, Hippolyte Girardot, Angela Finocchiaro, Melina Åkerman Kvie, Elena Lietti, Andrea Lattanzi, Antonio De Matteo, Nanni MorettiI’ll wait for you, for as long as you want me to. But will it ever happen?

DocumentaryFrance, 2026Director: Michael Dweck, Gregory KershawCast: Enzo Ferraroli, Céleste Kalis, Eric Goettelmann, Patrick Maniere, Guillaume Baroin, Bertrand DevillardBurgundy is one of the world’s most famous wine regions. Through the eyes of novices in hospitality and viticulture, BURGUNDY offers a fascinating glimpse into its unique wine culture, where time-honored traditions live on in rituals centered on luxury and indulgence. Blending documentary and fictional elements, directors Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw pay homage to the remarkable and charming people whose zest for life shapes and preserves this unique region and its centuries-old culture.

HOW CAN I HELP?World PremiereDrama/ComedyGermany, 2026Director: Doris DörrieCast: Angela Winkler, Laura Tonke, Josef Ellers, Via Jikeli, Eugene Boateng, Zoë BaierMrs. Winkler has a fall and becomes a nursing case. Her daughter, overwhelmed by her needs, hires a care robot. After some initial resistance, Mrs. Winkler grows quite fond of him. He takes perfect care of her and keeps her entertained – except that he is also supposed to kill her in case her condition deteriorates further.

World PremiereDocumentary France, USA, 2026 Director: Simon Wallon Cast: Simon de Pury, Jeff Koons, Marina Abramović, Chloe Wise, Lou Zhenggang

A documentary portrait of famed auctioneer Simon de Pury, whose career saw him leading auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Phillips, being the curator of major world collections, an artist, even a DJ, and always being an unavoidable personality “the Mick Jagger of auctions” takes us behind the curtain of the extravagant art market.