Ivan Engler (director)

Ivan Engler (born 1971 in Winterthur, Switzerland) is a Swiss film director, best-known for his 2009 science-ficton movie Cargo.

Career

After short studies in biology and medicine, he leaves the university to learn filmmaking at the ZHdK (Zürcher Hochschule der Künste), where he graduates in 2000. His graduation film "Nomina Domini" wins prizes at several international filmfestivals, among them "Best Foreign Shortfilm", "Best Camera" and "Best Visual Effects", and is nominated for the "Pardi di domani" at the filmfestival in Locarno.

During filmschool, he performs as VJ (video jockey). He creates the visuals for the live shows of the legendary Swiss trip-hop formation "Swandive" and for the snowboard- and skateboard event "freestyle.ch". With his VJ works he also wins several awards, among them the "Newcomer-Award" at the VIPER festival for electronic arts and new media in Lucerne.

After graduation from filmschool he founds the production company "visualscience.net". The company offers services such as film- and video-postproduction and the supervision and creation of visual effects. As producer and director he creates commercials, music videos and corporate films. Since 2007, he also works as freelance creative director.

In the fall of 2009, his feature film debut Cargo opens successfully at the box office in Switzerland. "Cargo" is the first Swiss science-fiction feature film ever made. His credits are director, scriptwriter, editor and postproduction supervisor.