13th Zurich Film Festival opens with tennis film BORG/McENROE

Before the screening began, the honorary guests Federal President Doris Leuthard and the Mayor of Zurich Corine Mauch as well as the Festival Co-Directors Nadja Schildknecht and Karl Spoerri welcomed numerous guests from the fields of culture, politics and commerce.

„We Swiss tend to be more inclined towards Björn Borg”, said Federal President Doris Leuthard in her opening speech. She emphasised, „The fact that we are the most innovative country in the world is due to our reliability and stability – but we could also be a little more McEnroe, a little more offensive and bolder. Switzerland should not just sit back and observe and analyse world events, it should introduce some of the character of Switzerland by taking part.”

Said Mayor of Zurich Corine Mauch in her opening speech, „As Zurich’s Mayor and Minister of Culture, I look forward each time to all the surprises the organising committee manages to pack into this festival”. “I welcome the expansion of the kid’s section in collaboration with UNICEF and the addition of new Zurich theatres to the ZFF’s list of venues.”

One of the most exciting tennis duels in sporting history

Wimbledon, July 5, 1980: tennis pros Björn Borg and John McEnroe square up at the Wimbledon final for one of sporting history’s most legendary duels. The 24-year-old Swede and world’s number one ranked tennis player (Sverrir Gudnason) is feeling exhausted and burned out. The 20-year-old New Yorker (Shia LaBeouf) is determined to beat him. The two opponents go on to deliver a nerve-racking and grinding battle in one of the most suspense-packed matches in tennis history.

BORG/McENROE portrays the two tennis icons as they prepare for the Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon. While Borg gets ready for the duel with his trainer Lennart Bergelin (Stellan Skarsgård), McEnroe continues to hit newspaper headlines. The movie was shot in Borg’s hometown of Södertälje near Stockholm in Sweden, and further in Gothenburg, Stockholm, Prague, London and Monaco.

BORG/McENROE will screen again at the ZFF on Wednesday (04.10.) and on Friday (06.10.). Distributed by Ascot Elite, BORG/McENROE hits cinemas in Switzerland on October 12.