Solothurn honours Swiss cinema ‘pioneer’ Frank Braun

Braun co-founded the popular Riffraff cinema in Zurich in 1998 Keystone

Swiss filmmaker and cinema owner Frank Braun has won the 19th Solothurn Film Festival’s Prix d’honneur for his “inspirational dedication” to film and cinema and a 30-year commitment to a diverse film culture in Switzerland.

In a statement on Wednesday the festival paid tribute to his “pioneering spirit, his willingness to take risks and his unconditional love of the big screen”.

Frank Braun Keystone

Braun is not only programming director of Zurich cinemas Riffraff and Houdini and the Bourbaki in Lucerne, he is also a film director: Islander’s Rest (2015), Schlaf (Sleep, 2010), Die Seilbahn (Cable Car, 2008).

Born in Winterthur in northeastern Switzerland in 1965, Braun is passionate about animated film and in 1995 he launched the international animated film festival Fantoche in Baden. He chaired the festival until 2016.

In 1998, he co-founded the Riffraff Cinema, which has inspired the entire Swiss film landscape with its independent programming.

The Prix d’honneur, worth CHF10,000 ($11,150), has been awarded since 2003 to people who “serve Swiss cinema but out of the limelight”. It will be awarded on January 23 as part of the 56th Solothurn Film Festival, which is set to take place online from January 20-27.