A one-sided film against “scare tactics”: impressions of the film Corona by former SRF presenter Brennwald – Switzerland

Now the movie is here. It holds its premiere on Friday evening at an event venue in Dübendorf. On Friday morning, Brennwald showed the work in front of the media and participated in the discussion. Here are the most important questions and answers about the movie Corona with the title “Unheard of”.

What is the movie “Unheard of” about?

The film transports the audience to the moment when the extraordinary situation in Switzerland was declared. The first thing you see is the federal president Simonetta Sommaruga announcing the state of emergency to the population. Defense Minister Viola Amherd mobilizes the army. From the hood of a jeep, an army cadre swears to soldiers that they will face an emergency. It is a war effort.

This lockdown, which was announced in March, is at the center of the film. Brennwald raises the question of whether this was proportionate. He also accuses the media of “alarming.” They would have focused on increasing numbers and spectacular images.

Brennwald also casts doubt on whether the measures taken, such as school closures or a ban on visits to nursing homes, are proportionate. At the end of the film, the thesis is made that the population is probably better protected by its own defense system than previously assumed.

Who appears in the movie?

Brennwald focuses on the victims of the crown measures. Hotelier Benjamin Styger has to end his life’s work and fire his most loyal employee (Mohamed Thasleem). Family members of a corona patient cannot visit them in the hospital.

A man relates that a woman jumped out of the window of a health center because she did not want to live isolated from her relatives (the only exception was her life partner).

Most of the film is debunked by experts who warn of overestimating the virus and underestimating the consequences of the corona measures.

For example, there is the chemist, biophysicist and Nobel laureate Michael Levitt. He tells how he calculated from the beginning that the predictions about the danger of Corona were wrong, but that they were not listened to. Or Pietro Vernazza, chief physician for infectious diseases at St. Gallen Cantonal Hospital, and immunologist Beda Stadler. You make comparisons with the flu, which also kills many people. Vernazza estimates that the corona tests alone would cost a billion francs and expresses the thesis that immunity to the virus is probably greater than assumed.

Schwyz’s doctor, Antoine Chaix, is in awe of a picture from Italy, where an empty museum was disinfected. It bothers him that he has never received a reply to his letter to the Federal Council asking about the proportionality of the measures.
Vascular medicine specialist Daniel Holtz questions the effectiveness of corona tests. They would also work in healthy people and therefore would be of little use. He advises his patients not to do it.

Also featured is former federal epidemic expert Daniel Koch. His now famous relativization of the effectiveness of masks is reproduced. And he says the measures would have been less stringent had it not been for the first outbreak of the virus in China, a totalitarian state.

Participants in crown demonstrations who oppose the restrictions also have their say. You can see them singing the national anthem and waving the constitution at Sechseläutenplatz.

They receive events from Andreas Kley. The professor of state and constitutional law at the University of Zurich problematizes the fact that the parliament has yielded too quickly to the Federal Council without maintaining democratic control.

Shoe designer Ema Krusi is probably little known to the Swiss-German public. He rebelled against the mask requirement at his store in Geneva. He criticizes the media as one-sided, which is why he prefers to express himself through his YouTube channel.

Comedian Marco Rima also makes an appearance. He boasts of his knowledge of Swedish and praises the way the Swedes have dealt with the pandemic.

Who is not in the movie?

Filmmaker Reto Brennwald worries that the discussion about Corona will broaden. The experts who advocated for stricter measures would have more voice in the media than others. That is one-sided.

His film is at least as one-sided as supposedly “the media.” Almost exclusively it allows to speak to experts who consider the measures of the crown exaggerated. Also, the presentation of the statements is not very neutral. You hear Beda Stadler or Daniel Koch say that masks are not a panacea. One should not think that one is absolutely protected with them. This can be seen as an argument in favor of stricter restrictions. In the context of the film, however, the criticism of the mask itself appears.

It would have been good for the film if the opposite position had also been represented. The perspective of people who have lost a family member with Corona is missing. The experts who contradict Vernazza or Stadler do not appear, and Brennwald also stops with critical questions.

Did the leads of “Unheard of” really not hear enough about each other?

Brennwald says the voices should not be denigrated as liars from the crown just because they disagree. In the press interview he also mentions an expert who is afraid to appear in his film. However, his key witnesses, Beda Stadler and Pietro Vernazza, expressed their opinion in various media extensively and repeatedly. Therefore, the title “Unheard” is primarily a marketing gimmick to promote the film.

The criticisms, for example, the content of the letter from the Federal Council of Antoine Chaix, are not new or unheard of. It was widely covered on television and in newspapers.

A central thesis of Brennwald, that the number of infections decreased before the lockdown was imposed, also made its way into the media.

In the talk with the media, Brennwald also admits that the criticism from the media refers mainly to the initial phase of the pandemic. Since then, the discussion has become more diverse.

Is this movie still up to date?

The film was made between June and September 2020. It was the time when there were fewer infections and there were hardly any hospitalizations or deaths. However, right now, infections are increasing rapidly and hospitalizations and deaths are increasing as well. At the same time, Switzerland has a rather lax crown regime by international comparison. The so-called strangers are also on the media stage. So is this movie still relevant? “Yes,” says Reto Brennwald, because the discussion must take place right now, when it comes to taking stricter measures again.

When asked about the current new measures (mask requirement, mini-confinement in Valais), Reto Brennwald held back with criticism. He is not against the measures. You just want to see up close what works and what doesn’t.

Is Reto Brennwald a Crown Skeptic?

The filmmaker is among the “skeptics of the measure.” He was one of the first to wear a mask at Migros in the spring. In talking to the media, he stays away from comedian Marco Rima, who caused a head shake with his Facebook videos and an appearance on Roger Schawinski. Rima appears in his movie, but that was before the second video and Schawinski’s appearance. Today I would question Rima in a more critical and detailed way, he says.

Brennwald’s attitude in conversation is very different from the attitude that appears in his film. Without critical embellishment, the film remains doubtful about any action against Corona that goes beyond hand washing and distance. It also has the tone of a whisper. The errors of the Federal Office of Public Health are reported to dramatic music. In one scene, a musician sings something about “dictatorship” in front of the Bundeshaus, without being contradicted or accused. The movie should be a hit in the “crown rebels” bubble.

But if he addresses Brennwald directly, he retires to his role as a journalist. He only asks questions. He is reluctant to criticize the current restrictions. He says, for example, that the question of masks has not yet been definitively resolved. However, it does not advocate wearing a mask.

For the podium after the film’s premiere, Brennwald has also invited comedian Stefan Büsser, who has spoken out in favor of the crown measures in the past. Here Brennwald catches up on an opportunity he missed on film.

Where will the movie be seen and who paid for it?

The film will be screened for the first time on Friday night. As of Monday it should be activated on the Vimeo platform. There you can see first for a fee and then for free, as Brennwald said on Friday.

The film was financed by small donations. Most of the amounts are small (20 or 50 francs). Some would have donated around 1,000 francs. The movie is two-thirds funded, says Brennwald. When asked, he couldn’t say exactly how high the production costs were.