Flood Disaster (film)

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Flood Disaster
Die Flutkatastrophe
First poster of The Flood Disaster (original title of Die Flutkatastrophe)
Directed byRoger Steinmann
Written byRoger Steinmann
Produced byRoger Steinmann
StarringReto Müller, Peter Bürgisser
Release date
  • 17 September 1977 (1977-09-17)
Running time
15 minutes
CountrySwitzerland
LanguageSwiss German

Flood Disaster (German original title ‘Die Flutkatastrophe’) is a 1977 Swiss short by Roger Steinmann. The film was labeled ‘Switzerland's first disaster movie' as depicting a major water dam-break with the subsequent flooding of the metropole of Zurich.[1]

Background[]

The 1937 installed dam created Switzerland largest artificial lake, the Sihlsee. A failure of the dam could lead, according to studies, to an 8-metre (26 ft) high flood wave through the lower Sihl Valley reaching the Altstadt of the city of Zürich, the biggest city in Switzerland, within 2 hours. This threat has led the City of Zürich to develop, publish and test evacuation plans for the affected areas of the city, and especially the area around Zürich Hauptbahnhof railway station.[2][3][4][5]

Production[]

15-year high school-student Roger Steinmann was inspired by Zürich's frequent test-alarms in case of a dam-break. With already several years of filming experience in 1977, he realized the 'would-be'-situation of a catastrophe due to an earthquake.

Some music was borrowed from Doctor Zhiwago, and some sound from Earthquake.[6]

Steinmann cast one lead-role with his class-mate, the future mathematic-professor Peter Bürgisser.

Accolades[]

At the second Swiss Youth Filmfestival (Schweizerischen Jugendfilmtagen) 1977, the film won the first prize.[7][8] For its editing, it won the 'Silver Scissors' by the Union International of Film Amateurs in 1978.[9] Together with an interview with filmmaker Steinmann, the film was aired on Swiss national TV on Nov 4, 1978.[10]

External links[]

The Flood Disaster at IMDB

References[]

  1. ^ "Interview with Filmmaker Steinmann". Archived from the original on 10 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Governmental Flood Rescue Plan" (PDF).
  3. ^ "Wenn der Damm des Sihlsees brechen würde | NZZ". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  4. ^ "20min". m.20min.ch. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Naturgefahren: Wo es in der Schweiz am gefährlichsten ist". Beobachter (in German). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  6. ^ . 10 January 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200110170209/http://www.roger-steinmann.com/images/710_1977-09-13_FLUTKATASTROPHE,_Blick.jpg. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ . 10 January 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200110170136/http://www.roger-steinmann.com/images/710_Aw_1977-09-17_FLUTKATASTROPHE_,_Diploma_Schweizerische_Jugendfilmtage.JPG. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ^ . 10 January 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200110170211/http://www.roger-steinmann.com/images/710_D_1977-09-17_FLUTKATASTROPHE_MASCHINENTIERE,_Press_Release_Jugendfilmtage_with_Awards.JPG. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ . 10 January 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200110170136/http://www.roger-steinmann.com/images/444_Aw_1978-01-21_FLUTKATASTROPHE_Silberne_Schere.jpg. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ^ . 10 January 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200110170209/http://www.roger-steinmann.com/images/710_1978-11-04_DIE_FLUTKATASTROPHE_,_Interview_Swiss_TV_DRS.jpg. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
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