I'm Marcial Sommer, a Swiss filmmaker and photographer based in Thun, at the foot of the Bernese Alps.
I started in photography in 2015, moved into film a couple of years later, and have been working full-time as a freelancer since 2018. I co-founded and ran a production company with a friend for three years, before relocating to Thun to be closer to the mountains and the disciplines that shape most of my work.
My focus is documentary and outdoor sports, with commercial, event, and portrait work alongside. I've directed and self-produced two feature documentaries — one on permaculture in Hawaii, the other on highlining — both of which travelled the international festival circuit. A more recent highline short took Best Film at the Boulder Highline Film Festival 2024.

Outside of work, I'm a paragliding pilot, climber, and highliner, with years of ski touring, trail running, and mountain biking behind me. Doing these sports myself is what lets me shoot them from the inside — keeping up with the athletes, knowing the terrain, and being in the right place at the right time.

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