Jolly Roger (2003)

2003 • 1h 20m • Documentary, Music

Metacritic

On September 23, 2026

#57106▼ 15053

57106th by Pulse movie online

9.4PULSE

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Synopsis

"Jolly Roger" refers to Roger Schawinski, but also to the iconic black pirate flag with a skull and crossbones. This documentary recounts the straightforward story of Swiss radio pirates who appeared in the 1970s. It centers on Radio 24 during its most active period, when Schawinski's team broadcast from Italy using the world’s most powerful FM station at the time, transmitting from Pizzo Groppera, 130 kilometers to the Zurich area. Using original documents from filmmakers and SRG archives, the film revisits the improbable radio war between the pirates and the government that lasted nearly four years, twenty-four years after it began on November 13, 1979. The people who joined Schawinski's Radio Winkelried in 1979 to change Switzerland’s media landscape recall the highs and lows, the protests, and the constant threat of closure.

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