Film Three César nominations for Switzerland

SDA

31.1.2025 - 11:21

Claude Barras, director of "Sauvages" with his character from the film. He is one of the three Swiss hopefuls who have a chance of winning a César. (archive picture)
Claude Barras, director of "Sauvages" with his character from the film. He is one of the three Swiss hopefuls who have a chance of winning a César. (archive picture)
Keystone

The animated film "Sauvages" by Claude Barras is not the only Swiss hopeful for the César Award. Geneva actress Souhelia Yacoub and the short film "Las novias del sur" are also nominated for France's national film prize.

Keystone-SDA

Yacoub has been nominated for the César as best female lead actress for her performance in "Planète B", as Swiss Films announced on Friday. The young woman, who has won awards at the Berlinale and has often been invited to Cannes, already had a chance of winning a César in the same category two years ago.

In the science fiction thriller "Planète B", French director Aude Léa Rapin creates a virtual prison. Environmental activists are locked up there by the authorities and psychologically tortured. In the film, Yacoub plays Nour, an Iraqi migrant who lives under the constant threat of deportation.

The 33-year-old actress Yacoub is a former member of the Swiss national rhythmic gymnastics team. The daughter of a Flemish mother and a Tunisian father, she only came to acting later in life.

Another hopeful for Switzerland is the film "Las novias del sur" by Elena Lopez Riera. It has been nominated for best short documentary film. In this Spanish-Swiss co-production, two women of mature age talk about their marriage and sexuality. The short film was shown in Cannes last year as part of the Critics' Week.

It was already known that "Sauvages" by Valais director Claude Barras was nominated for Best Animated Film. This means that the stop-motion film about rainforest deforestation in Borneo is still on course for success. The film was shown in Cannes and Locarno and competed for the European Film Award in Lucerne. It is also currently in the running for the Swiss Film Award.


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