About Zurich Avenue

Zurich Avenue was co-founded by Karl Spoerri, Viviana Vezzani and Tobias Gutzwiller. We develop and produce films, television series and documentaries for a global audience. Zurich Avenue is also the investment advisor to SPG3 Pictures L.P.. SPG3 Pictures L.P. is a Guernsey-based fund that invests significant assets on behalf of high net worth individuals.

About Karl Spoerri

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.

Internationally, Universal Pictures acquired the distribution rights and began rolling out the film in several territories, including the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Finland, and Japan. The global release continues into early 2025, expanding Thelma's reach to audiences around the world..

About Viviana Vezzani

Viviana Vezzani holds a Master’s Degree in English Literature and Linguistics from the University of Zurich. Her love for adventure led her to travel the world and work in various jobs across the US and Europe before joining the founding team of the Zurich Film Festival in 2007 where she oversaw the festival’s international industry and publicity outreach and built the festival’s talent and guest departments. As Senior Programmer, she was responsible for the selection of the most prestigious sections of the festival. From 2011, Vezzani served on the festival’s board of management alongside festival co-directors Karl Spoerri and Nadja Schildknecht, helping to shape the festival’s strategic direction and future growth. She stepped down from her role in 2019.

Vezzani also served as head of development at Millbrook Pictures, a production and financing company focused on feature films including Oliver Stone's W. and David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method. 

Vezzani’s producing credits include Bill Pohlad’s Dreamin’ Wild, Coky Giedroyc’s Greatest Days, and Josh Margolin’s action-comedy Thelma. She also served as an executive production on Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall.

Get in Touch

Zurich Avenue AG
Werkgasse 5
CH-8008 Zurich
Switzerland

Please be advised that ZURICH AVENUE does not accept and/or review unsolicited material of any kind. Any unsolicited material will be immediately deleted, destroyed and/or returned unread.