The Swiss luxury watch manufacturer’s passion
for filmmaking has taken it all over the globe. As an official partner, IWC
Schaffhausen already supports international film festivals in Beijing, New
York, Zurich, London and Dubai. With its latest involvement in the Festival du
Film Francophone d’Angoulême, IWC pays tribute to the importance of
French-speaking cinema. “Art, emotion, passion and craftsmanship are the
elements that will always link haute horlogerie timepieces and the world of
filmmaking,” explains IWC CEO Georges Kern. “Every watch tells a story about its
provenance, culture and tradition. Superficially, its job is to tell us the
time, but the message it emits goes far beyond that. It is an individual means
of expression, a work of art that moves us. The interplay of its many parts
reminds us of the way actors, producers and the people behind the camera
painstakingly assemble a cinematic work scene by scene.”
IWC HANDS OUT BEST
DIRECTOR AWARD
Since its founding in 2008, the Festival du Film Francophone
d’Angoulême has established itself as a unique celebration of cinema from
French-speaking countries. Although still relatively young, the festival is an
important platform for budding talent and has established a place for itself
among actors, producers, directors and cinema lovers as one of the industry’s
more important events. For the eighth time, from 25 to 30 August 2015, the
festival will present an exclusive series of films shot in French. After a
rigorous selection process, ten films from France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada,
Switzerland, Africa and the Middle East remain in the running for one of the
coveted “Valois” – the awards presented, among other things, to the best film,
the best director, best actress and best actor. The jury is made up of
high-calibre personalities from the world of cinema. This year, a jury under
the chairmanship of Jean-Hugues Anglade will be among those selecting the
winners. As part of the closing ceremony for the “Valois IWC du Réalisateur” to
honour the best director on 30 August 2015, IWC Schaffhausen will also present
the winner with an exclusive IWC watch and host a dinner under the motto “Pour
l’amour du cinéma”.
HOLLYWOOD STARS TAKE TO THE STAGE FOR IWC
“We’ve been
closely involved with filmmaking and the film industry for years now,” says
Georges Kern, “and maintain close relations with internationally acclaimed
actors and actresses. Our aim is not to use their talent for advertising
purposes, but rather to create joint projects with them that put the spotlight
on our watches.” No less a personality than John Malkovich recently took part
in a short film to relaunch the Pilot’s Watches. The spotlight was on Jean Reno
for the launch of the revised Portugieser line while Kevin Spacey took the lead
role in a theatre piece about the Da Vinci watch family written especially for
IWC. Cate Blanchett was not only present at the launch of theIWC Vintage
Collection, but has also taken part in films and photo shoots with star
photographer Peter Lindbergh in Portofino. Accompanying her were fellow actors
Emily Blunt, Ewan McGregor, Christoph Waltz and Zhou Xun. Apart from this,
watches from IWC have been favourite accessories in countless Hollywood movies
and US TV series.
