Richard Dindo is an important contributor to the development of the modern documentary. His films have provoked heated debates, partly because of their content matter (anti-fascism, Switzerland in World War II, the Zurich youth revolts), but also because of his passion for the art of remembering. Described variously as the ‘memory composer’, biographer and portraitist, Dindo’s project is above all the redemption of memory as the ultimate form of consciousness. His films are reconstructions of the past, traversing whatever materials and traces of memory are available in order for history to be brought to life.

Dindo was born in Zurich in 1944 to parents of Italian descent. Soon after leaving school at the age of 15, he started travelling, taking odd jobs to pay his way. “I started going to the cinema very early—I went to Paris because I’d heard that you could see films at the Cinematheque Française. Then I married a French woman who supported me for several years. For several years, I saw three or four films a day. I spent years just going to the cinema and reading hundreds of books. That’s how I educated myself”.

Dindo returned to Zurich in 1970 to launch a career which has produced more than 15 feature documentary titles and has put him at the forefront of Swiss filmmaking. He lives and works in Paris and Zurich.

We are pleased to welcome Richard Dindo here as a guest of the Festival. He will introduce a screening of each of his films and answer questions from the audience. They are Une Saison au Paradis, Wednesday 23 June 1999 at 5.45 pm and Ernesto Che Guevara Tuesday 22 June 1999 at 8 pm.