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Peter Luisi
Peter Luisi
Peter Luisi
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Peter Luisi (born 1975) is a Swiss film director, producer and screenwriter.[1] His films include Verflixt verliebt (2004), The Fraulein and the Sandman (2011), Bon Schuur Ticino (2023) and The Last Screenwriter (2024).

Key Information

Early life and education

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Luisi grew up in Switzerland as the son of an Italian father and an American mother. After finishing school in Zurich, he studied film and video production in the United States, initially at the University of North Carolina Wilmington until 1996, then at the University of California, Santa Cruz until his bachelor's degree in 1998.[1]

Career

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Production company

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Luisi worked for two years as a film editor in the advertising industry until he founded his own production company Spotlight Media Productions AG in Zurich in 2000.[1][2] His brother, producer David Luisi, is also involved in this production company.[3] Peter Luisi, described by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung as an auteur filmmaker, has since worked as a film director, screenwriter, and producer.[4]

Film career

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In 2004, Luisi made his debut as a feature film director with the comedy Verflixt verliebt, which was nominated for the Swiss Film Award in the Best Fiction Film category and won the Feature Film Award by the Filmfestival Max Ophüls in Saarbrücken.[5][6] Luisi also worked on screenplays without being involved as a director, such as Vitus in 2005 and Länger leben in 2010. Vitus starred Bruno Ganz and premiered at the Berlinale 2006. It won the Swiss Film Award and was shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination in the category Best Foreign Language Film.[7]

Luisi's third directorial work The Fraulein and the Sandman received the Audience Award at the 2011 Filmfestival Max Ophüls[8] and another nomination for the Swiss Film Award for Best Fiction Film. In 2014, Luisi's comedy-drama Unlikely Heroes about asylum seekers rehearsing a performance of Schiller's Wilhelm Tell was released and was honoured with the Audience Award at the Locarno Film Festival.[9] In 2017, his comedy Flitzer was released with the comedian and actor Beat Schlatter as co-screenwriter and leading actor. In 2021, Luisi made his second drama film Prinzessin,[10][11] following Boys Are Us in 2012. Another collaboration with Schlatter took place in 2023 with the satirical film Bon Schuur Ticino, which is about a scenario in which multilingual Switzerland is determined to have only one national language.[12][13] With almost 340,000 tickets sold by then, Bon Schuur Ticino became one of the ten most successful Swiss films of all time in March 2024.[14]

In 2024, Luisi's film The Last Screenwriter was released, which received attention due to its production story. The film script, about a screenwriter who realizes that artificial intelligence can write better than he can, was written entirely by ChatGPT under Luisi's direction.[15][16] Luisi said that he wanted to contribute to the ongoing debate about the use of AI in the film industry and announced before completion that he would release the film online free of charge for this reason.[17] The film was seen as controversial, a London art house cinema cancelled the premiere screening after criticism on the internet.[18][19] In the same year, The Story of Frank and Nina by Paola Randi, which Luisi co-produced with Fandango Media in Italy, premiered at the Venice Film Festival and won the festival's Magic Lantern Award.[20][21]

Television career

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Together with comedians Dominic Deville and Patrick Karpiczenko, Luisi developed the late-night comedy show Deville Late Night, which aired on SRF 1 from 2016.[22] Luisi also worked on the show for several years as a producer and writer. Other television formats realized by Luisi's Spotlight Media were the sketch show Twist – die Sketchcomedy (2013) and the crime comedy miniseries Advent, Advent (2020).[23]

Awards (selection)

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Luisi's films are screened at film festivals around the world. As of 2024, he has received a total of 55 awards and 16 nominations.[24]

Swiss Film Awards

  • 2005: Nominated in the Best Fiction Film category for Verflixt verliebt
  • 2007: Nominated in the Best Screenplay category for Vitus
  • 2011: Nominated in the Best Short Film category for Die Praktikantin
  • 2011: Nominated in the Best Fiction Film category for The Fraulein and the Sandman
  • 2011: Nominated in the Best Screenplay category for The Fraulein and the Sandman
  • 2024: Nominated in the Best Screenplay category for Bon Schuur Ticino

Zürcher Filmpreis (Zurich Film Award)

  • 2004: Award for Verflixt verliebt[25]

Filmfestival Max Ophüls Prize

  • 2004: Nominated for the Max Ophüls Prize for Verflixt verliebt
  • 2004: Förderpreis Langfilm (Sponsorship Award for feature film) for Verflixt verliebt
  • 2011: Nomination for Best Feature Film for The Fraulein and the Sandman
  • 2011: Audience Award for The Fraulein and the Sandman

Locarno Film Festival

  • 2014: Audience Award for Schweizer Helden

Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival

  • 2011: Silver Méliès Award for The Fraulein and the Sandman

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Functions
1994 Verflixt verliebt Director, screenwriter, producer
2006 Vitus Screenwriter
2006 Love Made Easy Director, screenwriter, producer
2010 Die Praktikantin Director, screenwriter, producer
2010 Länger leben Screenwriter
2011 The Fraulein and the Sandman (Der Sandmann) Director, screenwriter, producer
2012 Boys Are Us Director, screenwriter, producer
2014 Unlikely Heroes (Schweizer Helden) Director, screenwriter, producer
2016 Love and Loopholes Producer
2017 Flitzer Director, screenwriter, producer
2021 Prinzessin Director, screenwriter, producer
2023 Bon Schuur Ticino Director, screenwriter, producer
2024 The Last Screenwriter Director, screenwriter, producer
2024 The Story of Frank and Nina Producer

Television

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Year Title Functions
2002 Feuer oder Flamme (TV movie) Screenwriter
2013 Twist – die Sketchcomedy (TV show) Director, screenwriter, producer: 8 episodes
2016–2019 Deville Late Night (TV show) Producer: 64 episodes, writer: 19 episodes
2020 Advent, Advent (TV mini-series) Producer: 4 episodes

References

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Peter Luisi

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from Grokipedia
Peter Luisi is a Swiss film director, producer, and screenwriter known for his commercially successful films in Swiss cinema and for exploring innovative storytelling approaches, including his direction of The Last Screenwriter (2024), which featured an AI-generated script. Born in Zurich in 1975, Luisi studied film production at the University of California, Santa Cruz, graduating with honors. He co-founded Spotlight Media Productions in Zurich in 2000, through which he has produced much of his work. His debut feature Verflixt verliebt (2004) won the Zurich Film Prize and received recognition at the Max Ophüls Film Festival. He co-wrote the screenplay for Vitus (2006), a major box-office success in Switzerland that was shortlisted for an Academy Award. Luisi has directed numerous feature films, often handling writing and producing duties as well, including The Sandman (2011), which earned him best director and screenplay awards at festivals in Breckenridge and Hoboken, Unlikely Heroes (2014), which won the Audience Award at the Locarno Film Festival, and Streaker (2017), a commercial hit sold internationally to over 50 territories. His later works include Princess (2021), Bon Schuur Ticino (2023; also known as Bonjour Switzerland), which ranked among the most successful Swiss films of all time, and The Last Screenwriter (2024). His films have collectively received over 40 international prizes and multiple Swiss Film Award nominations.

Early life and education

Family background

Peter Luisi was born in 1975 in Zurich, Switzerland. His mother is American. He moved to the United States to pursue film studies.

Education

Peter Luisi pursued his formal film education in the United States. He attended the University of North Carolina Wilmington from 1994 to 1996. He also studied at the North Carolina Institute for Film & Video Production in 1995–1996. He then studied film production at the University of California, Santa Cruz from 1996 to 1998, earning a degree in film production in 1998. He graduated with college and university honors.

Career

Founding of Spotlight Media Productions

In 2000, Peter Luisi founded Spotlight Media Productions AG in Zurich. The company specializes in the production of cinema feature films and television formats. His brother David Luisi is involved as a producer at the company. Spotlight Media Productions has produced multiple prime-time broadcasts for SRF 1 as well as several top-grossing Swiss films. The founding of the company established the foundation for Luisi's independent career, enabling him to serve as director, writer, and producer on subsequent projects.

Early career (2000–2009)

Peter Luisi began his professional filmmaking career after graduating with honors in film production from the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 2000, he founded Spotlight Media Productions AG, which specialized in feature films and provided the foundation for his early directing projects. His directorial debut arrived in 2004 with the romantic comedy Verflixt verliebt, which he wrote and produced in addition to directing. The film follows an Argentinian biology student mistaken for a renowned director while pursuing an actress, and it starred Pablo Aguilar and Sandra Schlegel. It earned recognition including the Zurich Film Prize for Best Feature in 2004, a promotional award at Filmfestival Max Ophüls, the audience award at International Film Festival Braunschweig, best feature and best director at Rome International Film Festival in 2005, and three nominations at the Swiss Film Prize in 2005 for best film, best leading actor, and best supporting actor. In 2006, Luisi directed, wrote, and produced the ensemble comedy Love Made Easy, featuring Ralph Gassmann, Melanie Winiger, and Academy Award winner Martin Landau. The story centers on a group of socially awkward friends who attempt to orchestrate a romance for one member, facing chaotic interference from various characters. The film was selected as the opening film at Filmfestival Max Ophüls in 2008. That same year, Luisi contributed as co-writer on the family drama Vitus, alongside director Fredi M. Murer and Lukas B. Suter. The film was shortlisted for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

Mid-career (2010–2019)

In the 2010s, Peter Luisi solidified his role as a versatile independent filmmaker, consistently serving as director, writer, and producer on a series of comedy projects. He began the decade with the short film Die Praktikantin (2010), followed by the feature The Sandman in 2011, which he also directed, wrote, and produced. He continued this approach with Boys Are Us in 2012 and Unlikely Heroes in 2014, both of which he handled in the same triple capacity. Luisi's most notable commercial achievement during this period came with Streaker (original title Flitzer) in 2017, a comedy he directed, wrote, and produced that was sold to over 50 territories. Alongside his feature work, Luisi expanded into television. In 2013, he co-directed, wrote, and produced the sketch comedy series Twist – Die Sketch Comedy. From 2016 to 2019, he contributed to the late-night comedy program Deville Late Night as producer on 64 episodes and writer on 19 episodes.

Recent career (2020–present)

In 2020, Luisi served as producer on the four-episode Swiss-German television miniseries Advent, Advent, directed by Natascha Beller and Patrick Karpiczenko. In 2021, he directed, wrote, and produced the drama film Prinzessin (also known as Princess), which centers on an unexpected friendship developing between a man and his young niece after his sister moves into his home. Luisi achieved major commercial success in 2023 with Bon Schuur Ticino (released internationally as Bonjour Switzerland), which he directed, co-wrote with Beat Schlatter, and produced. The comedy about a referendum forcing Switzerland to adopt a single national language sold over 339,000 tickets in Swiss cinemas and ranks among the most successful Swiss films of all time (eighth as of 2025). In 2024, Luisi directed The Last Screenwriter, a science fiction drama whose entire screenplay was generated by ChatGPT 4.0 following his initial prompt to create a story about a screenwriter confronting superior AI capabilities in empathy and human understanding; Luisi emphasized that he made no alterations to the AI-generated text and contributed only in a directorial capacity without claiming screenplay credit. The film's planned world premiere at London's Prince Charles Cinema was cancelled after the venue received around 200 complaints expressing concerns over the use of AI to replace human writers. Luisi described the backlash as stemming from incomplete understanding of the project and positioned it as a contribution to ongoing industry discussions about AI in creative fields. The film was subsequently released for free online viewing. That same year, he served as co-producer on the film La storia del Frank e della Nina, directed by Paola Randi. Through his company Spotlight Media Productions, Luisi has continued to pursue innovative projects, with several features in development including Jump (2025), The Glass House (2026), and Blunt (2026).

Awards and nominations

Major awards and nominations

He has earned several nominations from the Swiss Film Prize, Switzerland's national film award. These include Best Screenplay for Vitus in 2007, Best Short Film for Die Praktikantin in 2011, Best Film and Best Screenplay for The Fraulein and the Sandman in 2011, and Best Screenplay for Bon Schuur Ticino (also known as Bonjour Switzerland) in 2024. His works have also garnered significant recognition at international film festivals. The Fraulein and the Sandman won multiple prizes in 2011, including Best of the Fest for Best Comedy and Best Screenplay at the Breckenridge Festival of Film, Best Director at the Hoboken International Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize for Best Film at the Amsterdam Film Festival, and Grand Prize for Best Feature Film at the New Jersey International Film Festival. More recently, Bon Schuur Ticino won the Prix Walo for Best Feature Film in 2024, along with other festival honors such as Audience Choice Award at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival. Many of Luisi's films, particularly his comedies, have frequently secured audience awards and best feature prizes at events like the Phoenix Film Festival, Route 66 Film Festival, and Traverse City Film Festival.
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