Posted
Biel“Peter K. is a French-speaking name!”
The maniac from Biel is the hero of a German-speaking film which will be shown in cinemas in French-speaking Switzerland in ten days with French subtitles. Meeting with its director Laurent Wyss.
Peter K. found himself facing authority following succession disputes.
lematin.ch/Vincent Donzé
His role is played by Manfred Liechti, nominated for the Swiss Film Prize.
lematin.ch/Vincent Donzé
French-speaking first name and German-speaking last name: the director Laurent Wyss embodies Biel’s bilingualism in the studios of the regional TV “TeleBielingue”, where he is program director, but also at the Atomic Café, where he takes a break to talk regarding cinema. “Did you know? Peter K. and a French-speaking name”, laughs the author of the film “Peter K. – alone once morest the State”, inspired by a news item that occurred in Bienne in 2010.
A French-speaking name, Peter K.? “This identity was conveyed to the end by the French-speaking media, while the German-speaking media mention his full name”, remarks the filmmaker from Biel. He chose the punchiest name: he even wanted to title his film soberly “Peter K.”, but the production added “alone once morest the State” to identify the character who rebelled once morest authority, when his sister caused the auction of the house inherited from their parents.
penniless
The run of the madman who fled following shooting at the police lasted ten days, enough to give body and rhythm to a feature film. Local media praised “Peter K. – Alone Against the State”: best film of the year for the “Bieler Tagblatt”, while the 46-year-old director was nominated by the weekly “Biel Bienne” to become “ Bienne of the year” with a film shot “without a penny in your pocket, with bits of string and a single recipe: resourcefulness”. Actor Manfred Liechti is nominated nationally for the Swiss Film Prize 2023 in the category “best male interpretation”.
Laurent “Lolo Wyss” has directed two feature films ” once morest all odds”, notes “Biel Bienne”: “Manche Hunde müssen sterben” in 2014 and “Peter K. – Alone once morest the State” released last year, following seven years of unpaid or poorly paid work. “But the actors and technicians were all paid at the usual rate,” says the director.
Twelfth week
In Bienne, the film found its audience: released on November 10, it is still showing, in the twelfth week! In Bern too, the public responded, bringing the number of spectators to 8,500. But the French-speaking release of February 8, with previews from February 3, is vital for the director: the milestone of 10,000 spectators is equivalent to to federal support for the following film…
In French-speaking Switzerland, the film will be subtitled: “A dubbing? Financially, it’s downright impossible!”, exclaims Laurent Wyss who gave a role to his daughter. Will the French-speaking public respond? “It’s my hope, with the universal story of an ordinary citizen who defends his freedoms once morest bureaucracy”, replies the director. “The forced sale of an inherited house is quite common…”, adds Laurent Wyss.
In his world
In Thun prison, inmate Peter K. watched Laurent Wyss’ film on a computer screen, alone in a room. After congratulating him, the prisoner sentenced in 2013 to stationary therapeutic measures because of his delusions criticized the director. “He is definitely locked up in his world, withdrawn into himself,” notes the filmmaker.
“He will never come out of prison: he feels as good there as in a retirement home”, supposes Laurent Wyss. The director from Bienne does not foresee a “Peter K. II”, unless he escapes…. Without a career plan, he is reading a screenplay of a hundred pages, looking for characters that come out of the computer, with a universal message.
