'Early Birds' (WT) Filming Kicks Off on Our First Swiss Co-Production

Zürich/Berlin, December 1, 2022 – In Switzerland, filming has begun on the neo-noir thriller Early Birds (working title) directed by Michael Steiner. The start of filming, which was originally planned for spring, was postponed after the sudden death of its producer Norbert Kneißl.

The Swiss co-production stars top actors from Germany and Switzerland, including Nilam Farooq and Anatole Taubman, alongside newcomer Silvana Synovia. The screenplay for the first Netflix co-production with hugofilm features and CH Media Entertainment was penned by Thomas Ritter based on an original by Mathieu Seiler, Cornelia Werner and Norbert Kneißl.

The producers of the neo-noir thriller, which is being filmed entirely in Switzerland, were able to hire a multinational cast. Alongside global name Anatole Taubman from Switzerland (James Bond:Quantum of Solace,Taken) and the famous German former-YouTuber Nilam Farooq (Contra, Freibad, The Four of Us), the cast includes Swiss rising star Silvana Synovia and German actor Burak Yiğit (Stronger Than Blood). Find images of the actors HERE.

ACCESS THE FILMING KICK-OFF PHOTOS HERE.

Marc van den Bosch-Mprah, Manager Content Acquisition at Netflix: “Early Birds (WT) can now get started on its journey. We’re pleased to be working with hugofilm features and CH Media Entertainment as well as successful Swiss movie director Michael Steiner. And with Nilam Farooq, Silvana Synovia, Anatole Taubman and Burak Yiğit we have four phenomenal lead actors.”

Producer Christof Neracher, hugofilm features: “This project was something special for us from the start. A dark, gripping piece that we definitely wanted to create for a big audience. We consider ourselves lucky that Netflix and CH Media are with us, just as before, and that we’re able to bring Norbert’s passion project to life.”

Roger Elsener, Managing Director Entertainment, Member of the Executive Board at CH Media: “Recent months have shown us that Netflix and hugofilm features are very reliable partners. We’re looking forward to the coming filming period and the Swiss cinema and streaming premieres thereafter. The thriller Early Birds adds to our rich portfolio of oneplus movies, series and documentaries and perfectly complements the comprehensive repertoire of our national TV program.”

Michael Steiner, Director, continues: “It is every director’s dream to film with such wonderful actors and strong partners on the production side. I’m really excited that we’re getting started now.”

Early Birds is expected to premiere in movie theaters in Switzerland at the end of 2023. Subsequently, it should be available in Switzerland on oneplus, CH Media Entertainment’s streaming service, as well as worldwide on Netflix. The free-TV premiere will follow later on CH Media’s national TV channel 3+.

About Early Birds

The neo-noir thriller tells the story of Annika (Nilam Farooq) and Caro (Silvana Synovia), two thoroughly different women, who find themselves ensnared in a web of unforeseen circumstances after a night of partying. Together, they run from the police, drug dealers and themselves as two worlds collide before their eyes – their personal freedom threatened by unrelenting violence.

About hugofilm features

Since Vitus (Shortlist 79th Academy Awards), Hugofilm has been one of the key players in the Swiss movie landscape, with over 30 full-length feature films earning international acclaim and distinction. Portfolio highlights include Aloys by Tobias Nölle (Berlinale 2016, FIPRESCI Award), the unusual one-take Tatort episode Die Musik stirbt zuletzt by Dani Levy, and two-parter Private Banking by Bettina Oberli. Two movies, A Piece of Sky (Drii Winter) by Michael Koch (Berlinale 2022, Special Mention/Swiss submission for the Academy Awards 2023) and Jill by Steven Hayes (starring Tom Pelphrey, Juliet Rylance, and Dree Hemingway) are in distribution and feature film Early Birds by Michael Steiner is in production, in collaboration with Netflix and CH Media.

About CH Media Entertainment

With eight national and five regional TV programs (operation) CH Media Entertainment reaches over 1.1 million viewers daily, making it the largest private national TV provider. Since November 2021, CH Media Entertainment has also taken the Swiss streaming community by storm with its streaming service oneplus. CH Media Entertainment is also number one in the private radio sector, with six regional and three national programs reaching over one million listeners daily. Online, CH Media Entertainment informs and entertains users on FM1Today, PilatusToday, ArgoviaToday, ZüriToday and BärnToday, the first regional online portals uniting radio, news, and video content.

About Netflix

Netflix is the world's leading streaming entertainment service with 223 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films, reality and comedy formats, and even mobile games across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.

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