‘La Mif’ by Geneva’s Frédéric Baillif has been nominated six times for a Swiss Film Prize and ‘The Soul of a Beast’ by Zurich’s Lorenz Merz eight times. The names of the other people who can hope to receive Quartz were announced on Monday evening at the Solothurn Days.
‘La Mif’, winner at the last Zurich Film Festival as well as at the Berlinale, might also be voted best Swiss feature film of the year. He is also seeking trophies in the Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Claudia Grob), Best Supporting Actress (twice with Charlie Areddy and Anaïs Uldry) and Best Editing categories.
‘The Soul of a Beast’ by Zurich director Lorenz Merz is the only Swiss film that competed for the last Golden Leopard in Locarno and received a special mention. It tells the story of a teenage father who falls in love with his best friend’s girlfriend.
This film is in the running for a Quartz in eight categories, as the Federal Office of Culture (OFC) announced on Monday during the ‘Night of nominations’. It was selected in the categories Best Fiction Film, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Performance in a Supporting Role, Best Film Score, Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Sound.
Old Quartz veterans in the running
For the performances of the main actors, the feature films ‘Stürm: Bis wir tot sind oder frei’ by Oliver Rihs as well as ‘Und morgen seid ihr tot’ by Michael Steiner were awarded a total of three nominations. Two-time Quartz winner Sven Schelker (‘Und morgen seid ihr tot’) and ‘Stürm’ actor Joel Basman, who also already has a Swiss film award on his shelf, are in competition with the actor of ‘ Soul of a Beast’ Pablo Caprez.
Marie Leuenberger, who plays Stürm’s lawyer, Barbara Hug, and who has also already won two Swiss film awards, is nominated in the best actress category along with Ella Rumpf (‘Soul of a Beast’) and Claudia Grob (‘La Miff’). ‘And tomorrow you will be dead’ can also hope to win a Quartz in the categories Best film music and Best cinematography.
‘Olga’, the Franco-Swiss co-production by Elie Grappe, spotted at Cannes and which was to represent Switzerland at the Oscars, but which was not retained in the final selection, can once once more hope with two nominations. The story of a young gymnast who tries to find a place in the Swiss national team, while the Maidan revolt breaks out in Ukraine is in the running for Best fiction film and Best screenplay.
Elene Naveriani’s ‘Wet Sand’ and Andreas Fontana’s ‘Azor’ (also nominated for Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Sound) qualified for Best Fiction Film. In the documentary category, ‘Apenas el sol’ by Arami Ullón, ‘Dida’ by Nikola Ilić and Corina Schwingruber Ilić, ‘The Healers’ by Marie-Eve Hildbrand, ‘Ostrov – Die verlorene Insel’ by Laurent Stoop and Svetlana Rodina as well ‘Awakening to Mars’ by Dea Gjionovci are vying for the main prize.
The Swiss Film Prize has been awarded since 1998 by the Federal Office of Culture (OFC). This year, the award ceremony will take place on March 25 in Zurich.
/ ATS