Swiss Film Award 2024

BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD BLACKBERRY is a Swiss-Georgian coproduction by Alva Film Geneva (Thomas Reichlin, Britta Rindelaub). After celebrating its world premiere in the Quinzaine des Cinéastes Cannes 2023, the film has established an impressive international festival career and was sold to numerous countries. BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD BLACKBERRY made the shortlist for European Feature Film of the European Film Awards, and the leading actress Eka Chavleishvili was nominated for European Actress.

In addition to the Swiss Film Award for Best Feature Film, BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD BLACKBERRY received two further awards: for Best Screenplay (Elene Naveriani) and for Best Film Editing (Aurora Franco Vögeli).

The Swiss Film Award for Best Documentary Film went to THE HEARING by Lisa Gerig (Ensemble Film GmbH, Maurizius Staerkle Drux, Eva Vitija). The film celebrated its premiere in 2023 at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen and was screened at Hot Docs in Toronto and at Sheffield DocFest, among others. It was shortlisted for European Documentary Film at the European Film Awards.

Award-winning short films

LA GRAVIDITÉ by Jela Hasler (Langfilm, Olivier Zobrist, Anne-Catherine Lang) won the award for Best Short Film. Hasler already won the same award with her last short film ON SOLID GROUND in 2022. Élodie Dermange’s ARMAT (Nadasdy Film, Nicolas Burlet) won the award for Best Animated Film. Since its premiere at DOK Leipzig, ARMAT has been screened at a number of animation film festivals around the globe.

The award for Best Graduation Film went to CHAGRIN VALLEY. Nathalie Berger’s graduation film from the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) has already won the Swiss Competition Award at Visions du Réel International Film Festival Nyon.

BISONS garners three awards

Pierre Monnard’s BISONS (P.S. Productions, Xavier Grin) was honoured with no less than three Swiss Film Awards: Joseph Areddy for Best Cinematography; film score composer Nicolas Rabaeus for Best Film Score – together with his score for the film THE LAND WITHIN by Fisnik Maxville. Karim Barras won the award for Best Actor for his role in BISONS. The Swiss-French actor will also soon be seen in WINTER PALACE, which Pierre Monnard directed for RTS and Netflix.

The Swiss Film Award for Best Actress went to actress Ella Rumpf for her leading role in the French-Swiss coproduction MARGUERITE’S THEOREM. In France, she has already won the César 2024 for Best Female Discovery (Révélation féminine) as well as the Prix Lumière for this role. Maud Wyler won the award for Best Supporting Actress in the French-Swiss coproduction THE PATH OF EXCELLENCE by Frédéric Mermoud.

The award for Best Sound went to Xavier Lavorel for LA CHIMERA by Alice Rohrwacher (Italy, Switzerland, France), a Swiss coproduction by Amka Films Productions.

Special Academy Award

The Swiss Film Academy presented Sonia Rossier, first assistant director of LET ME GO, with the Special Academy Award, thus honouring “a person and a profession that plays a formative role in the many invisible parts of film production.”

Swiss producer Robert Boner received the Swiss Film Academy’s 2024 Honorary Swiss Film Award. In his long career, he has produced over 50 films, including SMALL ESCAPES by Yves Yersin, feature films by Christine Pascal and Lionel Baier as well as documentary films by Richard Dindo and Jean-Stéphane Bron.

The Swiss Film Awards ceremony took place in Zurich on Friday, March 22, 2024. This honouring of Swiss filmmaking is realised by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture FOC, together with its partners SRG SSR and Association “Quartz” Genève Zürich, and organized in collaboration with SWISS FILMS, the Swiss Film Academy and the Solothurn Film Festival.

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• Press photos for downloading

All winners of the Swiss Film Award 2024:

Best Feature Film

BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD BLACKBERRY by Elene Naveriani (Alva Film Sàrl, Thomas Reichlin, Britta Rindelaub)

Best Documentary Film

THE HEARING by Lisa Gerig (Ensemble Film GmbH, Maurizius Staerkle Drux, Eva Vitija)

Best Short Film

LA GRAVIDITÉ by Jela Hasler (Langfilm - Bernard Lang AG, Olivier Zobrist, Anne-Catherine Lang)

Best Animated Film

ARMAT by Élodie Dermange (Nadasdy Film Sàrl, Nicolas Burlet)

Best Screenplay

BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD BLACKBERRY - Elene Naveriani

Best Actress

Ella Rumpf (Marguerite) in MARGUERITE’S THEOREM

Best Actor

Karim Barras (Joël) in BISONS

Best Supporting Actress

Maud Wyler (Claire Fresnel) in THE PATH OF EXCELLENCE

Best Film Score

BISONS - Nicolas Rabaeus / THE LAND WITHIN - Nicolas Rabaeus

Best Cinematography

BISONS - Joseph Areddy

Best Film Editing

BLACKBIRD BLACKBIRD BLACKBERRY - Aurora Franco Vögeli

Best Sound

LA CHIMERA - Xavier Lavorel

Best Graduation Film

CHAGRIN VALLEY by Nathalie Berger (Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK)

Special Academy Award

Sonia Rossier, first assistant director for LET ME GO

Swiss Film Honorary Award

Producer Robert Boner