FILM DIRECTORS from Switzerland

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Swiss Film Directors of all time. This list of famous Swiss Film Directors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Swiss Film Directors.

1. Robert Frank (1924 - 2019)

With an HPI of 57.82, Robert Frank is the most famous Swiss Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages on wikipedia.

Robert Frank (November 9, 1924 – September 9, 2019) was a Swiss American photographer and documentary filmmaker. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled The Americans, earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his fresh and nuanced outsider's view of American society. Critic Sean O'Hagan, writing in The Guardian in 2014, said The Americans "changed the nature of photography, what it could say and how it could say it. [ ... ] it remains perhaps the most influential photography book of the 20th century." Frank later expanded into film and video and experimented with manipulating photographs and photomontage.

2. Marc Allégret (1900 - 1973)

With an HPI of 57.73, Marc Allégret is the 2nd most famous Swiss Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Marc Allégret (22 December 1900 – 3 November 1973) was a French screenwriter, photographer and film director.

3. Arthur Cohn (b. 1927)

With an HPI of 57.27, Arthur Cohn is the 3rd most famous Swiss Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Arthur Cohn (born 4 February 1927) is a Swiss film producer and a multiple Academy Award winner.

4. Alain Tanner (1929 - 2022)

With an HPI of 56.51, Alain Tanner is the 4th most famous Swiss Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Alain Tanner (6 December 1929 – 11 September 2022) was a Swiss film director.

5. Henri Colpi (1921 - 2006)

With an HPI of 53.06, Henri Colpi is the 5th most famous Swiss Film Director.  Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Henri Colpi (French: [kɔlpi]; 15 July 1921 – 14 January 2006) was a French film editor and film director.

6. Claude Goretta (1929 - 2019)

With an HPI of 52.06, Claude Goretta is the 6th most famous Swiss Film Director.  Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Claude Goretta (23 June 1929 – 20 February 2019) was a Swiss television producer and film director.

7. Daniel Schmid (1941 - 2006)

With an HPI of 51.62, Daniel Schmid is the 7th most famous Swiss Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Daniel Walter Schmid (26 December 1941 – 5 August 2006) was a Swiss theatre and film director.

8. Eugeniusz Bodo (1899 - 1943)

With an HPI of 49.87, Eugeniusz Bodo is the 8th most famous Swiss Film Director.  Her biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Eugeniusz Bodo (born Bohdan Eugène Junod; 28 December 1899 – 7 October 1943) was a film director, producer, and one of the most popular Polish actors and comedians of the interwar period. He starred in some of the most popular Polish film productions of the 1930s, including His Excellency, The Shop Assistant (Polish: Jego ekscelencja subiekt), Czy Lucyna to dziewczyna?, and Pieśniarz Warszawy. A skilled singer, he became an icon of Polish musical comedy and a "symbol of Polish commercial cinema". In the late 1930s he also became a successful entrepreneur – co-owner of a successful film studio, café, and producers' company. Arrested by the Soviet NKVD in the aftermath of the German and Soviet invasion of Poland, he perished in the Soviet Gulag.

9. Baran bo Odar (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 41.35, Baran bo Odar is the 9th most famous Swiss Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Baran bo Odar (born 18 April 1978) is a German film and television director and screenwriter. He is known for co-creating the Netflix series Dark (2017–2020) and 1899 (2022) with his creative and romantic partner, Jantje Friese. His film Who Am I reached the top of the German cinema charts and was nominated for a German Film Award for Best Fiction Feature Film and Best Screenplay in 2015. Odar directed and co-wrote the film with Friese.

10. Dani Levy (b. 1957)

With an HPI of 41.08, Dani Levy is the 10th most famous Swiss Film Director.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Dani Levy (born 17 November 1957) is a Swiss filmmaker, theatrical director, screenwriter and actor.