Academy Awards 2026

Since last year, a seven-member selection committee with representatives from various sectors of the Swiss film industry has been deciding in a two-step process which film will be the Swiss submission for the International Feature Film category for the 98th Academy Awards®.

From the seven films submitted, the committee has selected LATE SHIFT (HELDIN), THE SAFE HOUSE (LA CACHE), and HANAMI for the final round. The other four eligible films were BAGGER DRAMA by Piet Baumgartner, SAVAGES by Claude Barras, FRIEDA’S CASE by Maria Brendle and THE COURAGEOUS by Jasmin Gordon.

In a second round of deliberations, the committee will make its final decision on one film, which will be announced on August 12.

LATE SHIFT: a thoroughly gripping drama

The film by Swiss director Petra Volpe celebrated its world premiere at the Berlinale as a Special Gala in February 2025. Leonie Benesch stars in the lead role as Floria, a compassionate nurse whose hectic late shift turns into a race against time due to staff shortages. LATE SHIFT sheds light on the shortage of skilled workers in the healthcare sector and is a stirring tribute to a profession that is essential to society, yet little appreciated.

The film ranked in the top 10 of the box-office in Switzerland for weeks and became a major success in German-speaking countries with more than 600,000 ticket sales.

Danish world sales agent Trust Nordisk has sold the film in over 25 territories to date. LATE SHIFT has been screened in cinemas in the United Kingdom and Ireland since the beginning of August, with further theatrical releases in France, Italy and Spain scheduled for autumn.

LATE SHIFT is a Swiss-German coproduction by Zodiac Pictures in Zurich (Reto Schaerli, Lukas Hobi), MMC Zodiac GmbH in Cologne, SRF Swiss Radio and Television, and SRG SSR.

Petra Volpe has been successful as a director and screenwriter in the USA and Europe for many years. Her feature film THE DIVINE ORDER was submitted by Switzerland for the Oscars in 2017. In mid-2025, she completed shooting her English-language debut FRANK & LOUIS. Both films were also produced by Zodiac Pictures.

German actress Leonie Benesch is internationally known for her roles in the Oscar-nominated films THE TEACHERS’ LOUNGE and SEPTEMBER 5. Cinematographer Judith Kaufmann, who has worked with Petra Volpe on multiple occasions, was honoured with the German Camera Award for LATE SHIFT.

LATE SHIFT will be screened at the Locarno Film Festival in Panorama Suisse (August 11th, at 11 a.m., Palexpo FEVI).

THE SAFE HOUSE: political and playful

Lionel Baier’s film THE SAFE HOUSE celebrated its world premiere in competition at this year’s Berlinale and is based on the literary work by French author Christophe Boltanski.

The nostalgic comedy is set in Paris in May 1968. A nine-year-old boy is taken in by his eccentric grandparents and uncles while his parents are out protesting in the streets. When an illustrious guest seeks refuge in the apartment, long-buried family secrets gradually come to light.

French actor Michel Blanc, who died in 2024, excels in his final role as the loving grandfather of this eccentric family. The renowned theatre and film actress Dominque Reymond plays his wife. Liliane Rovere – known from the hit series CALL MAY AGENT and EMILY IN PARIS – plays the Russian-born matriarch of the family.

Lionel Baier has established himself as a director of European renown throughout his career, with his films regularly selected for major international festivals. For example, VANITY (2015) was screened in ACID Cannes, SHOCK WAVES – FIRST NAME: MATHIEU (2018) at the Berlinale and CONTINENTAL DRIFT (SOUTH) 2022 in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs Cannes.

THE SAFE HOUSE was produced by Bande à part Films, Lausanne (Agnieszka Ramu) with Red Lion Luxemburg and Les Films du Poisson, France, as well as RTS and SRG SSR. World sales are handled by Paris-based World Sales MK2 Films. THE SAFE HOUSE has been sold in approximately 10 territories worldwide. In France and French-speaking Switzerland, it has already been seen by over 170,000 cinemagoers.

THE SAFE HOUSE will be screened at the Locarno Film Festival in the Panorama Suisse section (August 12th, at 11 a.m., Palexpo FEVI).

HANAMI: a quiet yet powerful coming-of-age story

Director Denise Fernandes presented her feature-film debut HANAMI as a world premiere in the Cineasti del Presente Competition in Locarno. She was honoured with the award for Best Emerging Director and received a Special Mention for her debut film. The Ticino-based director has a Cape Verdean background and shot HANAMI, like her short film NHA MILA, which was screened in Locarno in 2020, on the Cape Verdean islands.

The film tells the story of Nana, who was abandoned as a baby by her mother Nia on a remote volcanic island. When Nana develops a high fever, she is sent to the foot of a volcano for treatment, where she encounters a world suspended between dream and reality. Years later, when Nana is a teenager, Nia returns.

Over the course of its successful career, with screenings at 40 festivals around the globe, the film has garnered numerous further awards, including the Ingmar Bergman International Debut Award at the Göteborg Film Festival, the Roger Ebert Award at the Chicago Film Festival and the Best Feature Film Award at IndieLisboa.

The film was produced by Geneva-based Alina film (Eugenia Mumenthaler, David Epiney) in coproduction with O Som e a Fúria in Portugal, ventura film in Ticino, and RSI Radiotelevisione svizzera. World sales are handled by World Sales MoreThan Films in Spain, which has sold HANAMI to distributors in Brazil, France, Sweden and Germany, among others.

SWISS FILMS supports Oscar campaign

On behalf of the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (FOC), the promotion agency SWISS FILMS coordinates the selection process for the official Swiss entry in the International Feature Film category of the Academy Awards and provides financial and communications support for the promotion campaign for the Swiss selection.

The shortlist, comprised of 15 films from the various countries that have been submitted for the International Feature Film, will be announced by AMPAS on December 16, 2025. The five nominees will be announced on January 22, 2026. The 98th Academy Awards® (Oscars®) will take place in Los Angeles on March 15, 2026.

Contact SWISS FILMS:
Andreas Bühlmann, Head of Festivals & Markets
abuehlmann@swissfilms.ch

Statements by the selection committee
 

HELDIN (LATE SHIFT) by Petra Volpe, Zodiac Pictures

A thoroughly gripping drama set in an understaffed surgical ward of a Swiss hospital. Petra Volpe centers her film around tireless yet overworked nurse Flora (masterfully interpreted by Leonie Benesch) who tries to keep everything afloat during one hectic late shift. A modest and devoted protagonist rises to become the heroine of her tense surroundings, making the point about the incredible challenges healthcare workers around the world are facing every day (and night).

LA CACHE (THE SAFE HOUSE) by Lionel Baier, Bande à part Films

A rare kind of a film: intellectually sharp, emotionally accessible, and touched with humour. In LA CACHE, Lionel Baier explores deep themes of memory, family and historical trauma. The adaptation of a novel by Christophe Boltanski is carried by a strong cast, including Michel Blanc in his final role. The film is marked by Baier’s unique cinematic voice: political and playful. Never didactic or heavy, it invites reflection while remaining anchored in emotion and cinematic joy.

HANAMI by Denise Fernandes, Alina Film

A poetic and deeply human debut, HANAMI by Denise Fernandes is a quiet yet powerful coming-of-age story with a touch of magic realism. Set on an island, the film explores themes of migration and identity, while standing out for its remarkable visual sensitivity and emotional precision. A pure cinematic gesture, showing extraordinary control of tone, space and storytelling. Beautifully acted and elegantly restrained, Hanami is a discovery that lingers long after the credits roll.