| We Are the Faithful | |
| Director: | Michael Koch |
| Producer: | Michael Koch |
| Music: | Nica Giuliani |
| Cinematography: | Andrea Gsell, Michael Koch |
| Editing: | Michael Koch |
| Distributor: | Academy of Media Arts Cologne |
| Runtime: | 9 minutes 20 seconds |
| Country: | Switzerland Germany |
| Language: | Swiss German |
We Are the Faithful (German Wir sind dir treu) is a 2005 documentary short film produced and directed by Swiss Michael Koch. It was premiered at the Hof International Film Festival on 28 October 2005.[1] The film is entirely spoken in Baseldytsch, a Swiss German dialect, but subtitles in Standard German and English are shown.
The film's subject is the stadium culture of FC Basel supporters during a game (FC Basel vs FC Zürich) in 2005 at the St. Jakob-Park and the importance of the chief supporter cheering on the crowd. He is responsible for the atmosphere during the football match. The chief supporter tunes the songs, sets the rhythm, animates and choreographs the fans.
The film was shown at numerous German and foreign film festivals[2] and received several awards, amongst them in Clermont-Ferrand winning the Canal+ Award. On 8 June 2007 the film was also shown at the opening night screening of Rooftop Films in New York City, United States.[3]
The film is heavily disputed amongst supporters of FC Basel. In 2006, the chief supporter denied to agree on any further public presentations.[4]