“Blame” objectively and calmly shows how the pandemic, fuelled by myths and narratives devoid of facts, helped reshape global politics and paved the way for the resurgence of far-right movements. This courageous and visually stunning political film begins in February 2003 when Hong Kong became the ground zero for SARS. At the time, scientists Linfa Wang, Zhengli Shi and Peter Daszak warned that a novel coronavirus would eventually jump from bats to humans again, but the world failed to listen.

The outbreak of the pandemic (COVID-19) catapulted these three pioneers into an unprecedented media frenzy and a geopolitical blame game. Granted exclusive access to the protagonists, “Blame” responds to shrill, speculative debates with a calm, evidence-based narrative. It explores why humans are so susceptible to sensationalist finger-pointing, and how the modern attention economy rewards doubt over science. Taking us deep into the magnificent world of bats —the most misunderstood mammals on the planet— the film leaves us with a chilling reminder: while we are distracted by outrage and political hearings, the next pathogen is already emerging in nature’s silent laboratory.

Director: Christian Frei

Considered one of today’s most innovative and compelling documentary filmmakers, Swiss director and producer Christian Frei is renowned for films such as “War Photographer” (2001), which was nominated for Best Feature-Length Documentary at the 74th Academy Awards. “The Giant Buddhas” (2005), “Space Tourists” (2009), “Genesis 2.0” (2018) and “Saudi Runaway” (2020) were all screened in competition at the Sundance Film Festival, where Frei won the World Cinema Directing Award in 2010.
From the outset of his career, Frei has built a reputation as an exacting documentarist with an in-depth understanding of his subjects. His films are considered humanistic and universal as well as subtle and insistent. In 2026, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the ZagrebDox International Documentary Film Festival in Croatia.
As a producer, Frei released “Raving Iran” (2016), “Saudi Runaway” (2020) and “Girl Gang” (2022), all of which were directed by Susanne Regina Meures. “Saudi Runaway” and “Girl Gang” were both nominated for a European Film Award. Frei’s film “BLAME” (2025) opened the Visions du Réel International Documentary Film Festival in Nyon, Switzerland, and won numerous awards. It was also nominated for the prestigious Roman Brodmann Prize.
From 2006 to 2023, Frei was an associate lecturer on Reflection Competence at the University of St. Gallen. From 2006 to 2009, he was President of the Documentary Film Commission for the Film Section of the Swiss Federal Office of Culture. From 2010 to 2022, he was President of the Swiss Film Academy.