THOSE WHO WORK and CHRIS THE SWISS are the winning films of the Swiss Film Award 2019
Two debut films – THOSE WHO WORK by Antoine Russbach and CHRIS THE SWISS by Anja Kofmel – dominated the Swiss Film Award 2019, with each of these two coproductions winning three awards. THOSE WHO WORK received the trophies for Best Fiction Film, Best Screenplay and Best Performance in a Supporting Role; CHRIS THE SWISS those for Best Documentary Film, Best Film Score and Best Film Editing. The international multi-award-winning short documentary film ALL INCLUSIVE by Corina Schwingruber Ilić was honoured as Best Short Film. Beki Probst received the Honorary Award for her dedication to national and international cinema. The Swiss Film Awards were presented in Geneva on March 22.
22.03.2019
The director and screenplay writer Antoine Russbach won with his first feature-length fiction film THOSE WHO WORK (Box Productions, World Sales: Be For Films) in the categories of Best Fiction Film and Best Screenplay. Pauline Schneider was honoured with an award for her performance in the role as Hilde in the category of Best Performance in a Supporting Role. The socio-critical drama about today’s working environment, starring Belgian actor Olivier Gourmet in the leading role, celebrated its world premiere in the Cineasti del presente section at the Locarno Film Festival 2018. The Swiss-Belgian coproduction was screened at numerous international festivals, including CPH:PIX in Copenhagen, FIFF Namur and Premiers Plans Festival in Angers, where Russbach won the Audience Award. With five nominations, THOSE WHO WORK was one of the favourites of the Swiss Film Award 2019.
Also honoured with three awards was CHRIS THE SWISS by Anja Kofmel (Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion, World Sales: Urban Distribution International), in which the director investigates the mysterious circumstances that led to her cousin Chris’s death during the Yugoslav Wars. The animated documentary was honoured with an award for Best Documentary Film, Best Film Score (Marcel Vaid) and Best Film Editing (Stefan Kälin). Anja Kofmel’s first feature-length film premiered in the Semaine de la Critique in Cannes 2018 and was subsequently selected by numerous renowned international animation and documentary film festivals, such as the Animafest in Zagreb, Annecy International Animated Film Festival, DOK Leipzig or IDFA in Amsterdam. Thus far, CHRIS THE SWISS has been screened in cinemas in Switzerland (First Hand Films), in France (Urban Distribution International) and Germany (Real Fiction Filmverleih). At the beginning of 2019 the Swiss-Croatian-German-Finnish coproduction received a nomination at Prix Lumières in the category of Best Film from a Francophone Country.
ALL INCLUSIVE is Best Swiss Short Film
Following screenings at such leading international festivals as Venice, Toronto, Sundance and IDFA, as well as numerous awards like the Golden Dove at DOK Leipzig or most recently the Special Jury Recognition at SXSW Festival in Austin, the short documentary film ALL INCLUSIVE by Corina Schwingruber Ilić (Freihändler Filmproduktion) has now been honoured in Switzerland as Best Short Film. Since its world premiere in August 2018, ALL INCLUSIVE has been invited to more than 70 festivals.
In the other short film categories, SELFIES by Claudius Gentinetta (Produktion: Gentinetta Film) won Best Animation Film and BLACK HOURS by Wendy Pillonel, graduate from the Zurich University of the Arts (production: Peacock Film AG, ZHdK), in the category of Best Graduation Film.
Judith Hofmann and Joel Basman as Best Actress and Actor
The Swiss film and stage actress Judith Hofmann won the Swiss Film Award for Best Actress for her role as Ruth in THE INNOCENT by Simon Jaquemet. Joel Basman won Best Actor for his performance in the role as Motti in WOLKENBRUCH. The 29-year-old actor was Switzerland’s Shooting Star of European Film Promotion at the Berlinale in 2008 and won the German Film Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in the film WIR SIND JUNG. WIR SIND STARK by Burhan Qurbani in 2015.
WOLKENBRUCH by Michael Steiner was the most successful Swiss films in Swiss cinemas in 2018, with ticket sales amounting to over 275,000 to date. THE INNOCENT by Simon Jaquemet was selected for the renowned competitive section Platform at the Toronto International Film Festival and was screened in the Main Competition at the San Sebastian International Film Festival and the International Film Festival in Rotterdam in the Bright Future section, among others.
Peter Indergand honoured for his camerawork in ELDORADO
The Swiss Film Award for Best Cinematography went to Peter Indergand for his achievements in the documentary film ELDORADO (director: Markus Imhoof). Indergand has already won a number of international awards for his camerawork, including the Special Jury Award for Cinematography at Sundance Film Festival 2018 for GENESIS 2.0 or an Emmy® nomination for Best Camera 2004 for WAR PHOTOGRAPHER, both films by Christian Frei.
The costume designer Monika Schmid and the production designer Su Erdt were honoured with the Special Academy Award for their compelling historical design in the fiction film ZWINGLI (direction: Stefan Haupt).
Beki Probst, the former head of the international film market in Berlin, received the Honorary Award in recognition of her outstanding life’s work “as a culture mediator of international calibre”. Probst founded the European Film Market in Berlin in 1988, which developed into one of the leading film markets for the European film industry.
The Swiss Film Award is produced by the Federal Office of Culture FOC in partnership with SRG SSR and the Association Quartz Genève Zürich and organised in collaboration with SWISS FILMS, the Swiss Film Academy and the Solothurn Film Festival.
SWISS FILMS, March 22, 2019
Winners of the Swiss Film Award 2019
Best Fiction Film: THOSE WHO WORK by Antoine Russbach, Box Productions
Best Documentary Film: CHRIS THE SWISS by Anja Kofmel, Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion
Best Short Film: ALL INCLUSIVE by Corina Schwingruber Ilić, freihändler Filmproduktion
Best Animation Film: SELFIES by Claudius Gentinetta, Gentinettafilm
Best Screenplay: THOSE WHO WORK by Antoine Russbach
Best Actress: Judith Hofmann, as Ruth in THE INNOCENT
Best Actor: Joel Basman, as Motti in WOLKENBRUCH
Best Performance in a Supporting Role: Pauline Schneider, as Hilde in THOSE WHO WORK
Best Film Score: Marcel Vaid for CHRIS THE SWISS
Best Cinematography: Peter Indergand for ELDORADO
Best Film Editing: Stefan Kälin for CHRIS THE SWISS
Best Graduation Film: BLACK HOURS by Wendy Pillonel (ZHdK)
Honorary Award: Beki Probst, cinema expert and cultural mediator
Special Academy Award: Monika Schmid (costume designer), Su Erdt (production designer) for their historical design in ZWINGLI