Fernand Melgar

Directing

Fernand Melgar

Born

1961-07-04 (65)

Place of birth

Tànger, Morocco

Known for

Directing

Credits

23 titles

Né en 1961 dans une famille de syndicalistes espagnols exilés à Tanger au Maroc. Il accompagne clandestinement ses parents qui émigrent en Suisse en 1963 comme travailleurs saisonniers. Il participe à la fondation au début des années 80 le haut lieu de la culture underground de Suisse romande, Le Cabaret Orwell. Après y avoir programmé de la vidéo de création, il devient, en autodidacte, réalisateur et producteur indépendant. À partir de 1983, il bricole des films expérimentaux et des reportages iconoclastes pour la télévision. En 1985, il rejoint l’association Climage et y réalise une dizaine de documentaires, aujourd’hui films de référence sur les questions d’immigration …

Known for

Kulturplatz poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Kulturplatz

2004

No artwork available
NR

Randy, a young teenager, enters a gym. Shirtless for the weigh-in, he is told he will be fighting in the "paperweight" category. In the locker room, he waits alongside two friends who have come to cheer him on. The time draws near; under the watchful, anxious gaze of his veteran coach, Randy listens to final words of advice and prepares for his first boxing match.

The Fight

2003

Remue-ménage poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Remue-ménage

2002

The Fortress poster
6.7

The personal stories of the people from all around the world waiting for a decision in an asylum-seekers centre in one of most restrictive countries in the world, Switzerland.

The Fortress

2008

The Shelter poster
6.2

It is winter at an emergency shelter for the homeless in Lausanne. Every night at the door of this little-known basement facility the same entry ritual takes place, resulting in confrontations which can sometimes turn violent. Those on duty at the shelter have the difficult task of “triaging the poor”: the women and children first, then the men. Although the total capacity at the shelter is 100, only 50 “chosen ones” will be admitted inside and granted a warm meal and a bed. The others know it will be a long night.

The Shelter

2014

Prud'Hommes poster
NR

"Prud’hommes" is an immersion into the heart of a judicial court that handles disputes between employers and employees. This specific jurisdiction is a place of confrontation where the tensions, suffering and revolts that span the world of employment are exposed. In search of justice or recognition, employees speak out and face their employer face to face. This unique theatre plunges us into a real human drama and forces us to reflect upon today's society.

Prud'Hommes

2010

Series credits

Behind the camera

No artwork available
NR

Randy, a young teenager, enters a gym. Shirtless for the weigh-in, he is told he will be fighting in the "paperweight" category. In the locker room, he waits alongside two friends who have come to cheer him on. The time draws near; under the watchful, anxious gaze of his veteran coach, Randy listens to final words of advice and prepares for his first boxing match.

The Fight

2003

No artwork available
NR

Randy, a young teenager, enters a gym. Shirtless for the weigh-in, he is told he will be fighting in the "paperweight" category. In the locker room, he waits alongside two friends who have come to cheer him on. The time draws near; under the watchful, anxious gaze of his veteran coach, Randy listens to final words of advice and prepares for his first boxing match.

The Fight

2003

Remue-ménage poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Remue-ménage

2002

Remue-ménage poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Remue-ménage

2002

The Fortress poster
6.7

The personal stories of the people from all around the world waiting for a decision in an asylum-seekers centre in one of most restrictive countries in the world, Switzerland.

The Fortress

2008

The Fortress poster
6.7

The personal stories of the people from all around the world waiting for a decision in an asylum-seekers centre in one of most restrictive countries in the world, Switzerland.

The Fortress

2008

The Shelter poster
6.2

It is winter at an emergency shelter for the homeless in Lausanne. Every night at the door of this little-known basement facility the same entry ritual takes place, resulting in confrontations which can sometimes turn violent. Those on duty at the shelter have the difficult task of “triaging the poor”: the women and children first, then the men. Although the total capacity at the shelter is 100, only 50 “chosen ones” will be admitted inside and granted a warm meal and a bed. The others know it will be a long night.

The Shelter

2014

The Shelter poster
6.2

It is winter at an emergency shelter for the homeless in Lausanne. Every night at the door of this little-known basement facility the same entry ritual takes place, resulting in confrontations which can sometimes turn violent. Those on duty at the shelter have the difficult task of “triaging the poor”: the women and children first, then the men. Although the total capacity at the shelter is 100, only 50 “chosen ones” will be admitted inside and granted a warm meal and a bed. The others know it will be a long night.

The Shelter

2014

The Shelter poster
6.2

It is winter at an emergency shelter for the homeless in Lausanne. Every night at the door of this little-known basement facility the same entry ritual takes place, resulting in confrontations which can sometimes turn violent. Those on duty at the shelter have the difficult task of “triaging the poor”: the women and children first, then the men. Although the total capacity at the shelter is 100, only 50 “chosen ones” will be admitted inside and granted a warm meal and a bed. The others know it will be a long night.

The Shelter

2014

Prud'Hommes poster
NR

"Prud’hommes" is an immersion into the heart of a judicial court that handles disputes between employers and employees. This specific jurisdiction is a place of confrontation where the tensions, suffering and revolts that span the world of employment are exposed. In search of justice or recognition, employees speak out and face their employer face to face. This unique theatre plunges us into a real human drama and forces us to reflect upon today's society.

Prud'Hommes

2010

Special Flight poster
6.4

Switzerland still carries out special flights, where passengers, dressed in diapers and helmets, are chained to their seats for 40 hours at worst. They are accompanied by police officers and immigration officials. The passengers are flown to their native countries, where they haven't set foot in in up to twenty years, and where their lives might be in danger. Children, wives and work are left behind in Switzerland. Near Geneva, in Frambois prison, live 25 illegal immigrants waiting for deportation. They are offered an opportunity to say goodbye to their families and return to their native countries on a regular flight, escorted by plain-clothes police officers. If they refuse this offer, the special flight is arranged fast and unexpectedly. The stories behind the locked cells are truly heartbreaking.

Special Flight

2011

Special Flight poster
6.4

Switzerland still carries out special flights, where passengers, dressed in diapers and helmets, are chained to their seats for 40 hours at worst. They are accompanied by police officers and immigration officials. The passengers are flown to their native countries, where they haven't set foot in in up to twenty years, and where their lives might be in danger. Children, wives and work are left behind in Switzerland. Near Geneva, in Frambois prison, live 25 illegal immigrants waiting for deportation. They are offered an opportunity to say goodbye to their families and return to their native countries on a regular flight, escorted by plain-clothes police officers. If they refuse this offer, the special flight is arranged fast and unexpectedly. The stories behind the locked cells are truly heartbreaking.

Special Flight

2011

Special Flight poster
6.4

Switzerland still carries out special flights, where passengers, dressed in diapers and helmets, are chained to their seats for 40 hours at worst. They are accompanied by police officers and immigration officials. The passengers are flown to their native countries, where they haven't set foot in in up to twenty years, and where their lives might be in danger. Children, wives and work are left behind in Switzerland. Near Geneva, in Frambois prison, live 25 illegal immigrants waiting for deportation. They are offered an opportunity to say goodbye to their families and return to their native countries on a regular flight, escorted by plain-clothes police officers. If they refuse this offer, the special flight is arranged fast and unexpectedly. The stories behind the locked cells are truly heartbreaking.

Special Flight

2011

At the Philosophers’ School poster
6.9

The first experiences for five mentally handicapped children entering school, who will have to learn how to get along with the others: an almost impossible task, as they seem to be closed to the outside world. But gradually, the class takes shape before our eyes as the students move towards and against everything, much to the amazement and delight of their parents.

At the Philosophers’ School

2018

At the Philosophers’ School poster
6.9

The first experiences for five mentally handicapped children entering school, who will have to learn how to get along with the others: an almost impossible task, as they seem to be closed to the outside world. But gradually, the class takes shape before our eyes as the students move towards and against everything, much to the amazement and delight of their parents.

At the Philosophers’ School

2018

Exit: The Right to Die poster
6.3

Switzerland is presently the only country in the world where suicide assistance is legal. Exit: The Right to Die profiles that nation's EXIT organization, which for over twenty years has provided volunteers who counsel and accompany the terminally-ill and severely handicapped towards a death of their choice.

Exit: The Right to Die

2006

Exit: The Right to Die poster
6.3

Switzerland is presently the only country in the world where suicide assistance is legal. Exit: The Right to Die profiles that nation's EXIT organization, which for over twenty years has provided volunteers who counsel and accompany the terminally-ill and severely handicapped towards a death of their choice.

Exit: The Right to Die

2006

Le monde est comme ça poster
6.0

The film recounts the fates of five of the protagonists of the film “Special Flight” following their expulsion from Switzerland. Having been wrenched away from the country in which they had lived and from their children because they had no papers, they are found again in Senegal or Kosovo, in Gambia or Cameroun, destitute and cut off from their families, sometimes even having been tortured upon arrival. This film broaches the private lives of these broken men and testifies to the brutality of a migration policy that is common in Switzerland and in Europe.

Le monde est comme ça

2013

Le monde est comme ça poster
6.0

The film recounts the fates of five of the protagonists of the film “Special Flight” following their expulsion from Switzerland. Having been wrenched away from the country in which they had lived and from their children because they had no papers, they are found again in Senegal or Kosovo, in Gambia or Cameroun, destitute and cut off from their families, sometimes even having been tortured upon arrival. This film broaches the private lives of these broken men and testifies to the brutality of a migration policy that is common in Switzerland and in Europe.

Le monde est comme ça

2013

Le monde est comme ça poster
6.0

The film recounts the fates of five of the protagonists of the film “Special Flight” following their expulsion from Switzerland. Having been wrenched away from the country in which they had lived and from their children because they had no papers, they are found again in Senegal or Kosovo, in Gambia or Cameroun, destitute and cut off from their families, sometimes even having been tortured upon arrival. This film broaches the private lives of these broken men and testifies to the brutality of a migration policy that is common in Switzerland and in Europe.

Le monde est comme ça

2013

Album de famille poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Album de famille

1994

Classe d'accueil poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Classe d'accueil

1998