About Zurich Avenue

At Zurich Avenue, we aim to create films that are both meaningful and entertaining—never boring. At least, that’s the goal. Sometimes things don’t go as planned, but we always strive to make stories that resonate.

Karl Spoerri

Karl co-founded the Zurich Film Festival in 2005. As artistic director of the festival, he led it to become the largest fall festival in the German-speaking world with over 130,000 visitors and 160 films screened each year. Spoerri is also the founder of the Zurich Summit, the most important industry event of the Zurich Film Festival. In 2014, he initiated the film magazine "Frame" in collaboration with NZZ am Sonntag. Karl and his business partners sold the festival and the associated marketing company Spoundation Motion Picture AG to NZZ Mediengruppe AG, and he resigned from his position as artistic director of the ZFF in 2019.

In his career as a producer, Karl worked on David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method with Keira Knightley, Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender. With Zurich Avenue, Spoerri was executive producer on films such as Julian Schnabel's At Eternity's Gate with Willem Dafoe, David Lowery's The Old Man & the Gun with Robert Redford and Casey Affleck, Harmony Korine's The Beach Bum with Matthew McConaughey, Snoop Dogg and Isla Fisher, and Roland Emmerich's Moonfall.

Karl produced Bill Pohlad's Dreamin' Wild with Casey Affleck, Zooey Deschanel and Beau Bridges to the big screen. The film celebrated its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival 2022 and was released by Roadside Attractions in the USA in summer 2023. Zurich Avenue also co-developed the acclaimed Netflix production Nyad starring Jodie Foster and Annette Bening together with Black Bear Pictures. Nyad celebrated its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival and screened at all the fall festivals before the film was successfully launched on Netflix.

Karl co-developed Untitled John Lee Hancock Film - the highly anticipated feature film directed by John Lee Hancock, starring Jonathan Bailey, Laura Dern, David Duchovny, Greg Kinnear, and LaKeith Stanfield. Netflix acquired worldwide distribution rights. The film wrapped production in August 2026 and is currently in post-production.

Karl produced the action comedy Thelma with June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey and Clark Gregg. Thelma had its World premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it received exceptional critical acclaim. With a 98% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes based on over 190 reviews, the film resonated strongly with both audiences and critics alike.

Following its successful festival debut, Thelma was released in the U.S. by Magnolia Pictures over the summer of 2024, where it quickly became an independent box office sensation, grossing over $10 million.

Thelma was successfully released internationally by Universal Pictures, rolling out in key territories such as the UK, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Finland, and Japan. The film resonated with audiences worldwide, cementing its success across multiple markets.

Karl served as Executive Producer and, through Zurich Avenue, led the Swiss production of A Talent for Murder, Anton Corbijn’s psychological thriller starring Helen Mirren and Alden Ehrenreich. The film had its World Premiere at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, followed by its Swiss Premiere at the 2026 Zurich Film Festival. FilmNation Entertainment handles international sales, with Bleecker Street releasing the film in the U.S. Following its acclaimed festival debut, A Talent for Murder is set for an international theatrical release.

About Viviana Vezzani

Viviana Vezzani holds a Master’s Degree in English Literature and Linguistics from the University of Zurich. Her love for adventure led her to travel the world and work in various jobs across the US and Europe before joining the founding team of the Zurich Film Festival in 2007 where she oversaw the festival’s international industry and publicity outreach and built the festival’s talent and guest departments. As Senior Programmer, she was responsible for the selection of the most prestigious sections of the festival. From 2011, Vezzani served on the festival’s board of management alongside festival co-directors Karl Spoerri and Nadja Schildknecht, helping to shape the festival’s strategic direction and future growth. She stepped down from her role in 2019.

Vezzani also served as head of development at Millbrook Pictures, a production and financing company focused on feature films including Oliver Stone's W. and David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method. 

Vezzani’s producing credits include Bill Pohlad’s Dreamin’ Wild, Coky Giedroyc’s Greatest Days, and Josh Margolin’s action-comedy Thelma. She also served as an executive production on Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall.

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Zurich Avenue AG
Werkgasse 5
CH-8008 Zurich
Switzerland

Please be advised that ZURICH AVENUE does not accept and/or review unsolicited material of any kind. Any unsolicited material will be immediately deleted, destroyed and/or returned unread.