The 5th November at the cultural space of the Maison du Diable in Sion, the Fellini Foundation inaugurated the exhibition Ruben Östlund – La montée des marches, in the presence of the President of the Bourgeoisie of Sion, Nathalie Chavaz-Constantin, Patrick Elsig, bourgeois councillor, the head of the Culture and Education Department of the city of Sion, Pierre Alain Hug, the vice-president of the General Council of the city of Sion, Jean Pierre Bodrito, the Foundation Board, partners and friends of the foundation from all over Switzerland, including Ticino, as well as numerous guests. The official part began with a greeting from Ruben and Sina Östlund, sent on the same day from their residence in Mallorca in the form of a video clip. Ruben Östlund is busy in his studio editing his next film, entitled The Entertainment System Is Down.

The President of the Fellini Foundation, Stéphane Marti, welcomed guests to this world premiere exhibition and expressed the foundation’s gratitude to its institutional supporters, in particular the Bourgeoisie of Sion, owner of the Maison du diable (antea Domus ruris Supersaxo), and the city of Sion, not forgetting the Lycée-Collège des Creusets. He noted that this exhibition is part of the foundation’s 2025 Cultural Programme, chosen to support the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity. The Fellini Foundation is the only Swiss institution participating in this programme. The president shared the messages of encouragement that have been sent to the foundation this year by the UNESCO Directorate-General.

All speakers emphasised the importance of this cinematic work, both for its stylistic modernity and its satirical dimension. With a selection of iconic photographs and audio and video documents, the exhibition will highlight the films and characters that brought the Swedish master to the highest international acclaim, such as the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (The Square in 2017, Triangle of Sadness in 2022), and then again in 2022, the European Film Award for Triangle of Sadness, among many other awards conferred by the Seventh Art. Grandesso Federico, journalist and curator of the exhibition, interviewed the two directors several times, and the texts of these conversations are available in the exhibition. On the initiative of Ruben Östlund, and in cultural collaboration with the Roy Andersson Archives, a space is reserved for a tribute to this prince of black humour, who is also a leading figure in Scandinavian cinema and whom Ruben Östlund considers one of his most important living mentors.

The Fellini Foundation is exhibiting previously unseen documents, including drawings from the Swedish master’s archives. The photographs of Ruben Östlund’s films were taken by Sina Östlund, Ruben’s wife and an artist featured in the previous exhibition, which also had its world premiere at the Fellini Foundation’s cultural space in Sion on 1 July: Sina Östlund – Obscura. The exhibition space presents, in conjunction with the photographic work staged by Antoine Barras, and via QR codes, a sound itinerary for smartphones, video clips, reviews and academic studies with direct access, as well as, in the projection space in the basement, the making-of films, kindly made available to the public by Ruben Östlund.