Fred Baillif (born 1973 in Geneva) grew up in Switzerland and was a professional basketball player for seven years. He then began to study social work in Geneva and then worked in a juvenile detention center. He later moved to New York, where he completed several internships, also working as an assistant on the set of the documentary series The It Factor by day and as a DJ by night. Back in Switzerland, he shot his first documentary, SIDEMAN, and worked as a street worker. This is how he found the protagonists of his documentary film GEISENDORF, which won several prizes. In 2010 he made his first feature film, TAPIS ROUGE. He developed special techniques for working with amateur actors. His latest social drama LA MIF / THE FAM, about a group of teenagers in a residential care home, is nominated in six categories for the Swiss Film Award, including Best Feature Film and Best Screenplay.
Awards (selection)
- Berlinale 2021 Grand Prix Generation 14plus
- ZFF 2021 Prix Golden Eye Focus compétition & Prix œcuménique
- FIFF Namur 2021 Bayard d’Or & Prix Agnès
- Semana internacional de cine de Valladolid 2021 Prix meilleur réalisation & Meilleur montage & Mention spéciale
- Arras Films festivals Atlas d’argent de la meilleure mise en scène
- Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival 2021 Claudia Grob Prix de la meilleure actrice
- Castellinaria Tre Castelli du meilleurfilm& Prix du Public
- Giffoni Mention spéciale