People - 19.08.2026 - 08:30
In October 2022, Luca Schmid and Bianca Schellander crossed the border into Iran in their van. “Protests had just broken out across the country; we were nervous,” recalls 32-year-old Schmid. After a week, the couple from St. Gallen arrived at a disused caravanserai in the desert. “We planned to stay for one night—but it ended up being two months,” says Schmid. They lived there in a community of artists whose way of life and art challenge the regime’s social norms and “thus represent a quiet and patient form of resistance,” as Schmid puts it. Over time, Schmid and Schellander decided to shoot a documentary about the community—using a simple handheld camera and a small drone. “The film is a labor of love, and we’re still in touch with the Iranians today, even though it’s often difficult to reach them.”
On August 28, 2026, SRF will premiere Schmid and Schellander’s documentary series «Für immer und WG». The two are once again both in front of and behind the camera: The series documents the life of an alternative, eclectic flat share with eleven people in the city of St. Gallen. The filmmaking duo lives in this flat share themselves. “Different needs, personal crises, and the unspoken question of whether this lifestyle is still the right one repeatedly put the residents’ idyllic everyday life to the test,” SRF writes in a press release.
Schmid and Schellander have been filming the series since June 2024. St. Gallen television viewers will recognize one or two of the city’s colorful characters in it. “The SRF commission is a validation of my work and has also given me some financial breathing room. Although I was able to make a living from my work before, I also had to take on commercial projects to finance my own," says Schmid. He has been working as a freelance filmmaker since 2019—at the same time, he studied at HSG, where he has also been a staff member since 2018. In 2025, he received a grant from the St. Gallen Cultural Foundation.
Schmid and Schellander have been filming the series since June 2024. Viewers in St. Gallen will recognize a few of the city’s colorful characters in it. “The SRF commission is a validation of my work and has also given me some financial breathing room. Although I was able to make a living from my work before, I still had to take on commercial projects to fund my own initiatives,” says Schmid. He has been working as a freelance filmmaker since 2019—while also studying at HSG, where he has been a staff member since 2018. In 2025, he received a grant from the St. Gallen Cultural Foundation.
At HSG, Schmid studied economics and took a course on documentary film production as part of the HSG Contextual Studies. The HSG Contextual Studies comprises 25 percent of the degree program and focuses on culture, social issues, and history. “That was my first exposure to the subject. Later, I took a storytelling course as part of my studies,” says Schmid. In addition, his studies at HSG enabled him at the time to complete a video training program at the student radio station toxic.fm. “That was quite important for my future career as a filmmaker.”
Schmid transitioned from student to HSG staff member in 2018: At the Media Lab, he continues to support students and faculty with film projects—for example, when faculty members design innovative course content or students produce short films as part of their courses. After earning his bachelor’s degree from HSG, he also completed a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in documentary film at the Bern University of the Arts.
Schmid is always on the lookout for new topics. “As a filmmaker, I enjoy accompanying people who have a passion.” In late September 2026, he will also release a documentary about the last two embroiderers in the Appenzell region in local theaters. "The film follows a father and son during the final months before the workshop closes. In the workshop, a piece of eastern Swiss industrial history becomes tangible. What once shaped the entire region has now almost completely disappeared,” according to the press release.
Schmid’s Iran adventure also came to a small conclusion now, more than four years after filming: “Echo in the Desert” celebrated its unofficial preview this June at the Fusion Festival near Berlin in front of about 150 people. “For the preview, our friends from Iran sent us letters, which we read aloud in the theater. Their already difficult situation has been further exacerbated by the war. At the same time, we sense how much it means to them when people outside Iran take notice, ask questions, and don’t forget their situation,” says Schmid. There is no official theatrical release date for the film yet. At the same time, Schmid does not want to release it digitally due to possible reprisals against the actors and actresses.
Schmid: “The film is finished, but its path to the audience remains difficult and uncertain. The connection to the people in Iran continues—and with it, the responsibility to make their stories visible without putting them at additional risk.”
