Samuel Laprand is a Swiss film director and producer based in Sion, Valais. He is the founder of Focusline Production, a Swiss production company specialised in narrative commercials and branded content for ambitious brands. His work bridges storytelling and brand strategy, directing projects like Miloo – Marco Odermatt and the Magic Pass series, and producing commercial work for clients including McDonald’s, Volkswagen, Valais Tourism, Emmi, and Fisherman’s Friend.
Samuel was born in Switzerland in 1997 and has built his career as a Swiss film director inside the country’s film and commercial production landscape. He graduated as a Mediamatician with a Swiss Federal Certification in 2017, and in 2020 joined Mcqueen Films in Zurich, one of the leading commercial production companies in Switzerland. His first major project there was Made in Bern – Wintersymphony with Swiss film director Fabian Weber.
In 2024, still with Mcqueen Films, he worked in the production team on the Switzerland Tourism campaign “Falling for Autumn” featuring Roger Federer and Mads Mikkelsen, directed by Traktor, the Swedish duo twice named the most award-winning directors in the world. Seeing a narrative commercial of that calibre come together on a Swiss set shaped the philosophy Focusline runs on today: advertising that earns audience attention the way a short film does.
In 2025 and 2026, Samuel worked with TUNA production in Zurich as film director and producer, alongside internationally recognised directors including Max Fisher on McDonald’s – Value, and StyleWar, the Swedish directing duo Oskar Holmedal and Martin Sjöström, on Valais Tourism – Avatar and Fisherman’s Friend TV commercials.
Working alongside directors of that calibre sharpened Samuel’s own eye as a director, shaping how he approaches story, performance, and craft on his own projects. Producing at that level also meant holding the line on delivery quality from pre-production through post-production. It’s also what gives him a grounded sense of what’s realistic on set: budgets, schedules, crew logistics, and the dozens of small decisions that shape what ends up on screen. When he directs, his treatments are built around what can actually be delivered, not just what looks good on paper.
Portrait by Pierre Daendliker
Samuel works across two roles on most Focusline projects, and the combination is intentional.
As a Swiss film director, he directs narrative commercials and branded content films where story comes before product. Recent directing credits include Miloo – Marco Odermatt, the Magic Pass series (Gstaad and Meiringen), the HC Martigny sponsoring film, and the Vincent Michel × Jasmine Cammarota branded content. He also writes and directs his own spec work, including Swift Shift for Alpina Bank and Born to run for On Running.
His directing approach is built around character and emotional territory. The script is worked out from what the audience should feel, not from the product features the brand wants to list.
His short film Family Dystopia, written and directed in 72 hours during a Kino Kabaret in Switzerland, went on the international festival circuit. It won Best Drama at Paradise Film Festival, was selected at Lift-Off 2023 and Nuit du Court Métrage 2023, and took second place (audience) and third place (jury) for Best Short Film at Festival La Fine Equipe in Villars-Gryon.
Samuel produces films for other directors. Producer credits include McDonald’s – Value, Volkswagen California, Fisherman’s Friend, Emmi, Swift Guad – Chemin de croix, and Nausicaa – La Panthère. He also produces his own projects, including both spec films for Alpina Bank and On Running. On most commercial productions, he works under the supervision of executive producers, contributing to production planning, on-set coordination, and delivery.
Producing also means working hand in hand with creative agencies. Agencies need a production partner who understands the rhythm of a campaign, the role of the creative team, and how decisions get made on a client’s side. Samuel has spent years inside that workflow, which removes a lot of the friction that can come with it.
in film production
delivered across Switzerland and internationally
largest production scale
collaborated with, from startups to global brands
Samuel’s training goes beyond directing. In 2018, he trained under French film director Guillaume Desjardins in Paris, sharpening his approach to narrative structure and actor direction. He has also completed specialised colour grading courses with Davide Greco of the Colorist Society International (CSI) and Cullen Kelly, one of the most respected colourists and trainers in the industry.
None of this is about being a colourist or a DP for hire. It’s about learning the craft in 360° in order to become a better director. A director who understands how an image is lit, framed, and graded can properly communicate it with their crew. It shortens the distance between what gets written in the treatment and what shows up on screen.
Samuel is based in Sion, in the heart of the Swiss Alps. Most of his recent work has been shot somewhere in Switzerland, on projects for Magic Pass, Volkswagen, HC Martigny, Miloo, and Vincent Michel. Valais and the wider Alps often play a role in the work, and for a lot of Swiss brands the Alpine setting is part of the brand story. Working with a Swiss film director who lives and shoots in that landscape year-round changes what’s possible on set.
When a project calls for it, Samuel draws on a network of trusted director and producer partners in Zurich to strengthen the team, particularly for work rooted in the German-speaking market. The right collaborator on a project often adds more than any single person can.
Since 2022, Samuel has been an active member of Valais Films, the professional association of audiovisual professionals in the canton.
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People. Samuel’s approach as a Swiss film director comes from a narrative and storytelling background, shaped by cinema, and cinema is always about human beings. That’s the thread running through every project: the character, the emotion, the moment someone watches and recognises something of themselves on screen. Even in a 30-second commercial, the goal is to make the audience feel something human before anything else happens.
That focus on people is what makes the brand message land. When viewers connect emotionally with a character, they carry that feeling over to the brand behind the film. It’s not story instead of brand, it’s story in service of brand, built on the belief that audiences remember how a film made them feel long after they’ve forgotten what it was selling. It’s the same approach Focusline applies across all of its narrative commercial.
Two formats, both story-driven. Narrative commercial are brand films built around a character, a tension, and a reason to care, designed to earn attention the way a short film does rather than interrupting for it. Branded content goes one step further, building a longer-form brand world audiences can step into. Both formats share the same goal: making viewers feel something before the brand message lands. Samuel focuses on these two because they are where cinematic craft actually moves the needle for a brand, rather than just looking expensive.
Samuel is fluent in English and French. He can follow conversations in German and Swiss German on set and communicate informally with crew and clients in the German-speaking market, but he doesn’t claim to work at production level in German. Client-facing discussions in German are handled through his Zurich partners when needed.
Yes. His productions regularly shoot across Switzerland, with a home base in Sion, Valais. Depending on the project, Samuel brings in trusted partner producers from Zurich or elsewhere when their expertise strengthens the work. International shoots are handled case by case.
The fastest way is to book a callDiscuss your project with Samuel or email samuel@focusline.ch. Most conversations start with a short call about the brief, the brand, and what the film actually needs to do.