Three feature films shortlisted for the Swiss contribution to the Oscars

Petra Volpe's homage to nursing staff celebrated its world premiere at the Berlinale in February. The film "Heldin", starring German actress Leonie Benesch in the leading role as nursing specialist Floria, focuses on a late shift. Due to a lack of staff, it is hectic and becomes a race against time.

With "Heldin", director Petra Volpe is in the running for a Foreign Oscar for the second time after her feature film "Die göttliche Ordnung" (2017). The Swiss-German co-production "Heldin" was a success in cinemas in German-speaking countries with more than 600,000 admissions. The film has also been showing in the UK and Ireland since the beginning of August; theatrical releases in other European countries such as France, Italy and Spain will follow in the fall.

Nostalgic comedy

With "La Cache", director Lionel Baier from western Switzerland has made a nostalgic comedy set in Paris in 1968. A nine-year-old boy is at his grandparents' house when his parents protest in the street. Then an illustrious guest seeks refuge in the apartment and long-hidden family secrets come to light. Incidentally, French actor Michel Blanc, who died in 2024, can be seen in his last role as the loving grandfather.

"La Cache" also had its world premiere at this year's Berlinale. Lionel Baier is now regarded as a director of European stature and his films are regularly screened at international festivals - most recently "La dérive des continents (au sud)" (2022) at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes.

Coming-of-age story

"Hanami" is the feature film debut of Ticino director Denise Fernandes. The film had its world premiere last year in Locarno in the Cineasti del Presente competition, where Fernandes was awarded "Best Emerging Director".

The director has a Cape Verdean background and shot her film "Hanami" in Cape Verde. It tells the story of Nana, who is left behind as a baby by her mother Nia on a volcanic island. When Nana develops a high fever, she is sent to the foot of a volcano for treatment, where she encounters a world between reality and dream. Years later, when Nana is a teenager, her mother Nia returns.

Two-stage process

In addition to these three films, which are now in the shortlist, "Bagger Drama" by Piet Baumgartner, "Sauvages" by Claude Barras, "Frieda's Fall" by Maria Brendle and "Les Courageux " by Jasmin Gordon were also submitted. The selection was made by a seven-member commission on behalf of the Federal Office of Culture (FOC).

The FOC will announce on August 12th which film will be the official Swiss entry for the "International Feature Film" category, i.e. the Foreign Oscar, in the race for the 98th Academy Awards in Los Angeles. This two-stage selection process has been in place in Switzerland since last year.

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