Karl Spoerri

Biography

Karl Spoerri 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. Spoerri and his business partners sold the festival and the associated marketing company Spoundation Motion Picture AG, the current owner of the "Frame" cinema in Zurich, to NZZ Mediengruppe AG, and he resigned from his position as artistic director of the ZFF in 2019. In his further career as a producer and executive producer, Spoerri 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. As a producer, he brought 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 Spoerri co-developed Monsanto, a highly anticipated film starring Glen Powell, Anthony Mackie, and Laura Dern, directed by John Lee Hancock. The project generated significant buzz at the 2024 Cannes Market, leading to an impressive pre-sale deal with Netflix for worldwide distribution. The streaming platform secured the rights for over $30 million, making it one of the largest deals at Cannes that year. Spoerri also 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. In spring 2025, Spoerri was involved in the feature film Switzerland, a psychological thriller starring Helen Mirren and Alden Ehrenreich, directed by Anton Corbijn. The film is currently in postproduction.