Uri Urech
DirectorUri Urech, born 1949 in Basel, is a versatile artist who specializes in experimental and animated film, staged photography, media installations and performance. After studying German literature, philosophy and art history, as well as training in photography, Urech initially worked as a freelance photographer and travelled to Italy, Mexico, the USA and many other countries.
From 1986 to 1989, he studied in the art and media class at the Basel Academy of Art and Design. As a co-founder of VIA AudioVideoFotoKunst and a long-standing member of point de vue audiovisuelle productions Basel, he has realized numerous projects in the areas of directing, cinematography and production. Since 2014, Urech has increasingly focused on his artistic work, often in collaboration with Regula Hurter.
Among his best-known works are the animated film QUITT (2023), the media installation “Uniglory” (2004) and the short fiction film “Hundeöl” (2005). With an experimental approach and interdisciplinary focus, Urech creates artworks that address social, personal and aesthetic issues in innovative ways. In addition to his activities in Basel, he also lives and works in Pumpville, Texas.
Films
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The Jackpot
2015 | 13 min | Shorts
Hansi picked six numbers right and wins the lottery. His friend Frankie is excited and wants half of the winnings. But, where's the darn lottery ticket? Together Hansi and Frankie set out to find the lost ticket, but everyone they ask about it know shockingly little, until the truth comes out. Apparently more than one person had their eyes on claiming the jackpot. And what exactly does Sabine have to do with all of it? (Generale Festival)
Deadlock
1970 | 89 min | Timeless
After a bank robbery, the Bandit Kid is stranded in a Mexican Sierra ghost town named Deadlock. The only inhabitants are Charles Dump and his daughter Jessy. Dump tries to steal the bandit's loot. Klick's psychedelic manhunt in no man's land is acoustically and visually captivating and dramaturgically consistent to the end. Mario Adorf, Anthony Dawson, Marquard Bohm prowl around their prey like cats on the hunt to the soundtrack of Krautrock band CAN. "Finally a film that ticks all the boxes ...
Mann im Spagat: Pace, Cowboy, Pace
2017 | 89 min | Comedy
Cowboy has a vision. He wants to save the planet with his Free Swingers, so he applies for a grant at The Central Agency. They send a representative named Fey of Sweden to approve Cowboy's proposal. She demands results and he decides to stage a charity bicycle rally featuring a roster of Berlin misfits on two wheels. Meanwhile Cowboy‘s neighbor kills his mother‘s budgie and sets the Devil of Hermannplatz on him to sabotage his plans. Pretty bad timing considering that he also has to rescue his ...
A Lost and Found Box of Human Sensation
2010 | 14 min | Animation
A LOST AND FOUND BOX OF HUMAN SENSATION is an award-winning animation film about grief and loss by Stefan Leuchtenberg, based on a poem by Martin Wallner. "The audiovisual experience of A LOST AND FOUND BOX OF HUMAN SENSATION touches its audience deeply. No greater honour can be bestowed on a short film." (Europrix Multimedia Awards Jury) A young man's father dies because of pancreatic cancer and the boy has to cope with the loss. The film begins with the funeral and shows how feelings change ...
Gisela
2005 | 90 min | Drama
A dreary highrise apartment block, inhabited by the less fortunate members of society. In the middle of it all lives Gisela, married, one child, a cashier, unsatisfied and discontent. Georg and Paul, two no longer young petty thieves from the anonymous housing estate, indulge in drinking bouts and sexual boasts and fall under the spell of the married supermarket cashier Gisela. Gisela doesn't say no when the easygoing Georg invites her to his party. There she meets Paul. He's also just hanging out, ...
Holiday
2002 | 81 min | Drama
For the directorial debut of Bond villain Detlef Bothe, the jury of the Förderpreis Deutscher Film spontaneously awarded a special mention including prize money. The film was shot with a minimal budget, digital camera and many helpful friends, almost without a team on 12 shooting days in winter. A group of young city dwellers celebrate New Year's Eve in a Tyrolean mountain hut. They drink, argue and are bored. Despite their disinterest in the local villagers, a conflict arises with 50-year-old ...
Duke Ernest
1993 | 43 min | Animation
Duke Ernst is robbed of his castle as a result of a conspiracy and sent on the first crusade as penance. His journey takes him far beyond known borders into a world full of wonders and dangers. Accompanied by brave knights, he crosses the sea to reach the Orient, where he encounters numerous mythical creatures in his search for the legendary carbuncle: the one-legged Sciopods, the winged Ariasperns, the tiny Pygmies and the enigmatic birds Roch. During his adventures, he finds unexpected allies ...
Eleven Uncles
2010 | 101 min | Independent
It was shot without a budget in just seven days at a Brandenburg country estate using props and costumes provided by various theaters. Among the outstanding ensemble actors participating are Alexander Khuon, Alexander Scheer, Jule Böwe and Adolfo Assor. "A "Hamlet" adaptation that looks as if Herbert Achternbusch and Luis Buñuel had shot it together on LSD and then transformed it with all the finesses of digital image editing into a psychedelic trip that alternately causes giddiness, laughter, ...
The Amber Amulet
2013 | 23 min | Kids & Family
Liam knows everything about the positive energy of gemstones and minerals. At night, dressed as a masked avenger, he wanders the streets seeking to do good deeds in secret. He makes anonymous contact with an unhappy lonely woman and gifts her an amber gem which will lift the curse of her misfortune. Unfortunately, the gem has come from his mother’s jewellery box. She soon discovers it is missing and now she's the one who could do with a knight in shining armour. The short film THE AMBER AMULET ...
Faust 1 Superstar
2015 | 51 min | Drama
Silent movie meets musical in this intense and colourful version of the classic piece by Goethe, FAUST. The devil wagers with God that he can lead Berlin-Kreuzberg musician Faust astray. Faust composes a sure-fire hit and falls for the virtuous Gretchen. Fate is set to take its course. Director Mingus Ballhaus is a graduate of the DFFB - German Film and Television Academy Berlin, who lives and works in Berlin as a filmmaker and drummer. Here Ballhaus is supported by cinematographer Jide Tom Akinleminu ...