I’m excited to share the release of my latest and last ZHDK project and my first collaboration with poet and architect Michel Kessler. Our work, UNDER THE ICE, merges arthouse sensibilities with genre cinema, inspired by the unrealized “Akashic Records” project by Andrei Tarkovsky. Historical scientist Jonas Stähelin adapted this idea, crafting the screenplay.
UNDER THE ICE follows Sasha Sirkovsky, a data analyst sent to investigate a team of scientists who have mysteriously stopped reporting results while drilling ice cores on the last remaining glacier.
Our international cast—Lena Tronina, Cosima Shaw, Alireza Bayram, and Michael Neuenschwander—brings this story to life, reflecting our ambition to tell epic, imaginative stories from Switzerland. This vision is supported by a remarkable crew, including DOP Natascha Vavrina and production designer Simona Mele, alongside many talented collaborators listed on the poster.
Following our national premieres at the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival and Winterthurer Kurzfilmtage (5. - 10. November) we’re eager to bring this story to an international audience. UNDER THE ICE is more than a short film – it also serves as a pilot for a mini-series and has the potential of a major IP in Switzerland.
