Thomas Imbach (b. 1962) is an independent filmmaker based in Zurich/ Switzerland. With his production company Bachim Films he produces his own work. All of his films have been released theatrically. He has won numerous awards for his work, both in Switzerland and abroad.
In his work, Imbach has consistently probed the boundaries between film and video, documentary and fiction, cinema tradition and cutting-edge technology. Imbach was one of the first filmmakers to make extensive use of the consumer camcorder (Hi8, DV) for the big screen. At the same time, he continues to blend digital images with classical 35mm film footage. With Well Done (1994) and Ghetto (1997) he established his trademark audio-visual style based on a combination of cinema-verité camerawork and fast-paced computer-controlled editing. Happiness is a Warm Gun (2001) marked a new phase in his career, combining the methods developed in his documentary work with fiction elements and professional actors.

PDF's
Director's Portrait (German / English)

FILMOGRAPHY

2007
I WAS A SWISS BANKER, 35mm, 80 Min.
Underwater fairy tale of a Swiss Banker
Premiere at the 57th Int. Filmfest Berlin

2005/2006
LENZ, 35mm, 98 Min.
Contemporary adaptation of Georg Büchner‘s „Lenz“
Premiered at the 56th Int. Filmfest Berlin 2006

2007 February/March
happiness is a warm gun The Films by THOMAS IMBACH
Retrospectives in Berlin (Arsenal) and Vienna (Votiv–Kino)

2006
LENZ AM BERG, 35mm; DVD exhibition copy, 3-channel-projection with DVD-Synchronizer,
film installation, Kunstaus Zurich: In the Alps, 6. Oktober 2006 – 2. Januar 2007

2002
happy too, Digi-Beta, 60 Min. “happy too” parallels the Kelly-Bastian relationship with the struggles of actors Linda Olsansky and Herbert Fritsch in “Happiness is a Warm Gun”
- Premiered at the International Filmfestival Locarno 2002

2001
HAPPINESS IS A WARM GUN, 35mm, 96 Min.
Feature film on the death of German’s „Green Queen“ Petra Kelly
- Nominated for Golden Leopard 2001
- Nominated for Best Swiss Film 2002
- Official Selection Berlinale 2002
- Zurich Film Prize
- Quality Award (Federal Office of Culture)

2000
Die Kamera als Sonde (The camera as a sonde), Beta-SP, 60 Min.
Portrait on Thomas Imbach by Christoph Hübner for WDR/3SAT

1998
NANO-BABIES, 35mm (Cinemascope), 45 min.
Science-Fiction essay on babies of high-tech researchers for SFDRS/3SAT

1997
GHETTO, 35mm, 122 min.
Docudrama with teenagers on the sunny side of Zurich's Gold Coast
who are trying to break into the world of work.
- Best Documentary, International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg
- Premio Giampaolo Paoli, International Film Festival Florence
- Zurich Film Prize
- Quality award (Federal Office of Culture)

1994
WELL DONE, 35mm, 75 min. Documentary on employees of a Swiss
high-tech bank corporation.
- FIPRESCI-Prize in Leipzig, (Prix de la Critique Internationale)
- Zurich Film Prize
- Quality award (Federal Office of Culture)

1991
RESTLESSNESS, 16mm, 56 min. Feature film about three
homeless people, riding the rails between Zurich-Bern-Basel.
- Nominated for Max-Ophüls-Prize 1991
- Quality award (Federal Office of Culture)

1988
SCHLACHTZEICHEN, 16mm, 54 min.
Docudrama on the Swiss Army.
- Quality award (Federal Office of Culture)