We Are the Faithful


We Are the Faithful is a 2005 documentary short film produced and directed by Swiss actor Michael Koch. It premiered in October 2005. 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 in 2005 at the St. Jakob-Park and the importance of the chief supporter, Tobias Haufler, cheering on the crowd.
The film was favoured by critics and has been shown at eight short film festivals, amongst them in Clermont-Ferrand winning the Prix Canal+. The film also screened for a sold-out crowd at the opening night screening of Rooftop Films 2007 Summer Series and was later chosen to be a part of the "Doc Shots" program, a collection of the best short non-fiction films from Rooftop's 2007 Summer Series. Various TV stations like ARTE, Canal+ and SF were interested in buying the rights to broadcast, and ARD even planned to broadcast the film during the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
The film is heavily disputed amongst supporters of FC Basel. In 2006, Haufler denied to agree on any further public presentations.

Awards