The Forum

The Forum
Director: Marcus Vetter | 115 min | 2019 | Germany, Switzerland

“One of the most priceless moments in documentary cinema this year.”
Vladan Petković, Cineuropa

In times of rampant populism and growing mistrust of the elite, director Marcus Vetter is the first filmmaker to go behind the scenes of 81-year-old Klaus Schwab's controversial World Economic Forum.

Vetter tracks Schwab over a period of two years, as Schwab works to achieve his mission: to improve the state of the world. Can Schwab's vision bear fruit and contribute to solving global problems? Or is it just another part of the problem?

A procession of princes, presidents and other guests — mostly male and all English-speakers — reinforces preconceptions about Schwab's initiative. But there are also critical voices at the table: Greenpeace's Jennifer Morgan, former US vice president Al Gore, and teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg.

Throughout, Schwab keeps things moving forward, answering Vetter’s questions about the WEF’s impact and partners.

Is Schwab doing his best to drag the event into a new millennium? And does his approach benefit the world or the elites who attend the forum?

Previous festival selections include:
DOK Leipzig
IDFA