Zurich was and remains home to influential commercial enterprises. Four short films made between 1914 and 1945 recall the guild system, provide insight into the semi-industrial manufacture of leather products, illustrate production processes in the machine industry and demonstrate how the financial sector works. They trace the transition from a small-scale commercial economy to an industrialised and internationally networked economy. At the same time, they reflect the respective power relations. Economic and industrial films in particular served the interests of their respective clients. Added value and global interdependencies appear in an entirely positive light. Efficient production, goods from European colonies and profitable export markets appear as a natural part of national strength. The negative aspects of these structures and their consequences for people and the environment, however, remain invisible. Three critical perspectives from the 1930s, 1970s and 1980s contrasted this with other realities.  

Zürcher Frühjahrs-Festtage April 1914 (Zurich Spring Festival April 1914) was probably produced by the German company Welt Kinematograph (Freiburg i. Br.) as a Ciné-Journal Suisse contribution. It shows celebrations surrounding Zurich's Sechseläuten festival and the inauguration of the new main university building on 20th April 1914, a few months before the outbreak of the First World War. The Sechseläuten parade is still organised today by the Central Committee of the Zurich Guilds. As an association of craftsmen and merchants, the guilds shaped the economic, political and cultural life of the city for centuries. The theme of the parade was ‘Images from the history of academic life’. Stereotypical and racist representations of other cultures, such asblackface costumes, reflect the prevailing power and economic relations of the time. Although Switzerland itself did not have any colonies, it was deeply involved in colonial structures economically, culturally and in terms of personnel.

The film Die Lederfabrikation (Leather manufacturing) vividly documents the processing of animal hides into leather in Meilen on Lake Zürich, guiding viewers through key stages of production such as soaking, dehairing, tanning, rolling, and cutting. Since 1723, the Wunderly family had owned the tannery, which was expanded into a factory during the 19th century. An intertitle in the film highlights the importance of leather processing for the Swiss economy. During the existence of the company Wunderly & Co. — from 1771 to 1931 — leather production in the rural areas of the Canton of Zurich was an important branch of the economy, though it declined in significance over the course of the 20th century. The film was presumably made in 1923, only a few years before the tannery’s closure in 1931.

Solidarität (Solidarity) was the title given by amateur filmmaker Robert “Boris” Risler to a short film that was made in 1934 documenting a relief effort for the unemployed during the global economic crisis of the 1920s and 1930s. Using simple means, the film, made with limited resources, shows people waiting to be provided with sauerkraut, sausages or clothing. An intertitle simply states: «For the unemployed». Due to expensive film stock and complex production, there were hardly any private film productions at that time. The work of Robert Risler, an activist with the Socialist Workers' Youth of Zurich and member of the Social Democratic Party, is one of the few exceptions. Solidarität is part of a small body of film work that also includes the film Der rote Tag, made in the same year, which deals with the struggles of the labour movement. From the 1930s onwards, the medium of film increasingly developed into a propaganda vehicle for trade unions, the Social Democratic Party and left-wing cities.

«When a factory is working at full capacity, the company's shares will also be in demand and prices will rise. When the federal railways were electrified, large factories such as Brown Boveri, Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon and Schweizerische Lokomotivfabrik Winterthur had work lined up for years to come. This encouraged people to buy such shares, and prices rose. »

Die Börse als Barometer der Wirtschaftslage, 1939

«Stock prices are therefore closely tied to the pulse of economic life. The stock exchange serves as a barometer of the economy. »

Die Börse als Barometer der Wirtschaftslage, 1939

Die Börse als Barometer der Wirtschaftslage (The Stock market as a Barometer of the Economic Situation, 1939) was commissioned by the Zurich Stock Exchange and screened at the Swiss National Exhibition (Landi) in Zurich in the same year. It was realised by a representative of the avant-garde: the German artist and Dadaist Hans Richter turned to film in the 1920s and worked as a director and producer in exile in Switzerland during the Second World War. Die Börse als Barometer der Wirtschaftslage is one of the better-known commissioned films that explored new and experimental forms of representation.

The first part of the film unfolds as a historical narrative: from simple systems of exchange to the development of markets, trade fairs, and global commercial relations, leading up to the immaterial flows of money, it traces a continuous process of economic evolution. In rapidly edited sequences, Richter shows the frenetic activity on the stock exchange floor in the film’s second part. Screams, gesticulating hands and nervous faces combine to create an image of overload and dynamism. The third part illustrates the connection between high and low economic production and globally controlled price fluctuations on the stock market.

«Through its branches and agencies, Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon is connected to the whole world. As a result, a large proportion of its products have found their way to foreign countries. »

Die Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon und ihre Erzeugnisse, 1945

Founded in 1876, Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon produced tools and machines and played a key role in the development of electric locomotives. The promotional film Die Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon und ihre Erzeugnisse (Oerlikon Engineering Works and its products, 1945), directed by Max Haufler and produced by Gloriafilm, shows the central production areas and manufacturing steps, from assembly and welding to the export of finished machines. The film conveys an image of efficiency, precision and technological expertise. In the context of the post-war period, it also serves as an economic policy statement: Switzerland as an export nation, its industry as a guarantor of stability and progress.

Unlike earlier industrial films, Die Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon und ihre Erzeugnisse also focuses on the workers: it highlights their professional skills, efficient cooperation, training opportunities within the company and the close ties between management and the families working across generations. In 1967, the factory was taken over by Brown, Boveri & Cie. Today, the MFO Park on the former factory site serves as a reminder of the deindustrialisation that continues to shape Zurich to this day.

The short film Arbeiterehe (Worker’s Marriage), made by Robert Boner in 1973, is neither a commissioned work nor a documentary film created in the context of social movements or intended to contribute to socio-political debates in an educational manner. The only fictional film in the exhibition uses simple images to depict the everyday life of an Italian working-class couple in Switzerland and their daily routine between night shifts and cleaning jobs. The man comes home tired from the factory, and shortly afterwards the woman leaves the house to go to work. Their life together is reduced to a few evening hours in cramped living conditions.

Produced within the politically left-leaning milieu of the Filmcooperative Zürich, the film adds a crucial aspect that was omitted in other works: Switzerland’s economic success was based to a significant extent on the exploitation of foreign workers, who lived and worked under partly inhumane conditions. Filmed during a period of growing public debate around migration, family reunification, and so-called “overforeignization,” Arbeiterehe represents a new, critical perspective on migration and labor. In this context, it also highlights those who lacked access to film production — and who, as a result, often remained invisible.

Kennet Sie d’Erklärig vo Bern (Do you know the Declaration of Bern?, 1970) is a documentary street survey that was conducted by the development-policy NGO Erklärung von Bern (EvB), known today as Public Eye. The film was part of the organization’s early public outreach, which, since its founding in 1968, has advocated for global justice and a critical examination of Switzerland’s role in world trade. Pedestrians are asked if they are familiar with the «Erklärung von Bern». This simple approach forms the starting point for a critical reflection on North-South inequalities and Switzerland's economic ties with the so-called ‘Third World’.

Unlike traditional informational films commissioned by the state or industry, Kennet Sie d’Erklärig vo Bern takes a decidedly political stance. It is an early example of the development policy engagement of NGOs, church groups and grassroots organisations in Switzerland in the 1970s.

For the publication Nützliche Filme: Zürcher Stadt-, Land-, Filmgeschichten, Heidi Brunner wrote an article on colonialism in the film archive. In addition, a historical text by Hans Richter was republished with an introduction by Yvonne Zimmermann, to be found online in Repérages – Journal of the Cinémathèque suisse.