Preliminaries for the Swiss Film Prize 2006: Nominations and jury

16.11.2005

The nomination committee of nine has selected fifteen films and six actors and actresses for the Swiss Film Prize 2006. The artistic quality of the films, their audience appeal and the diversity of the film – making in terms of genres and styles are all taken into account. The jury, headed by two – times Oscar winner Pietro Scalia, awards prizes for the following categories: “Best Fiction Film”, “Best Documentary Film”, “Best Short Film”, “Best Performance in a Leading Role” and “Best Performance in a Supporting Role”, as well as awarding the “Special Jury Prize”. Since 1998, the national Film Prize has honoured film makers for their achievements and promoted the Swiss film industry. Since 2004 nominations also receive a financial award. CHF 200,000 will be awarded to the Film Prize winners and CHF 280,000 to the nominees. The ninth award ceremony will take place on Wednesday, 18 January 2006 in the “Reithalle” in Solothurn in the presence of prominent figures from the fields of culture, politics and industry.
(The entire dossier of information concerning nominations can be downloaded as a pdf. You will find it at the end of this text. Further information and images Swiss Film Prize)

Nominations (each of which receives CHF 20,000) for the prize in the category of „Best Fiction Film“ are “Fragile” by Laurent Nègre, “Mein Name ist Eugen” by Michael Steiner, “Ryna” by Ruxandra Zenide, “Snow White” by Samir and “Die Vogelpredigt” by Clemens Klopfenstein, and in the “Best Documentary film” category, also awarded CHF 20,000 each, “Exit, The Right To Die” by Fernand Melgar, “Gambit” by Sabine Gisiger, “The Giant Buddhas“ by Christian Frei, „Jo Siffert Live Fast – Die Young“ by Men Lareida and „My Courtyard” (Klingenhof) by Beatrice Michel. The nominations for “Best Short Film”, each of which receives CHF 10,000, are “Frohe Ostern” (Happy Easter) by Ulrich Schaffner, “Herr Goldstein” by Micha Lewinsky, “La limace” by Anthony Vouardoux and Tania Zambrano-Ovalle, “Falling Star” (Staila crudanta) by Pascal Bergamin and “Terra incognita” by Peter Volkart. Any film screened this year at major film festivals at home or abroad or shown in cinemas was eligible for nomination. The prizes for “Best Fiction Film” and “Best Documentary Film” are CHF 60,000, the “Best Short Film” being awarded CHF 30,000.

Nominations – each receiving CHF 5,000 – in the category of “Best Performance in a Leading Role” are: Carlos Leal for his role as Paco in “Snow White” (Director: Samir), Max Rüdlinger as Max in “Die Vogelpredigt” (Director: Clemens Klopfenstein) and Sandra Utzinger as Andrea Stamm in “Steinschlag” (Director: Judith Kennel). The nominees – each awarded CHF 5,000 – for the “Best Performance in a Supporting Role” are: Marthe Keller as Emma in “Fragile” (Director: Laurent Nègre), Zoé Miku as Wanda, also in “Snow White” and Mike Müller as Father Eugen in “Mein Name ist Eugen”. The prizes for “Best Performance in a Leading Role” and “Best Performance in a Supporting Role” are CHF 15,000

Nominations were made by a committee selected by the Federal Department of Home Affairs (cf. Enclosure). 95 films – a total of about 85 hours – were up for nomination.

A jury selects the prizewinners in the various categories and also awards the “Special Jury Prize” (CHF 20,000) for an outstanding artistic contribution in one of the nominated works. The following public figures make up the jury: The cinematographer Sévérine Barde (“Stupid Boy”), Martin Blaney, journalist, Screen International office in Berlin, Hervé Dumont, Director of Cinématèque Suisse, Ulrike Koch, director (“Die Salzmänner von Tibet” (The Saltmen of Tibet), “Ässhäk” (Ässhäk: Tales From The Sahara), the producer Alfi Sinniger, Catpics Coproductions (“Journey of Hope” by Xavier Koller, Oscar 1991), Christina Trezzini, journalist (Italian Swiss Broadcast). The jury is chaired by the editor Pietro Scalia who grew up in Switzerland and is among the best in Hollywood: Best Editing Oscar 1991 for “JFK” and 2001 for “Black Hawk Down” and Oscar nominations for “Good Will Hunting” (1997) and “Gladiator” (2000).

The Swiss Film Prize is under the auspices of the Federal Department of Home Affairs – represented by the Federal Office of Culture – in collaboration with the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR idée Suisse), SWISS FILMS, den Solothurn Film Festival, the Nyon International Film Festival „Visions du Réel“ and the Locarno International Film Festival. SWISS FILMS is responsible for the promotion of this national award.

The Swiss Film Prize 2005 went to Greg Zglinski in the „Best Fiction Film“ category for “Tout un hiver sans feu” (One Long Winter Without Fire). Stefan Schwietert was awarded the prize for his documentary “Accordion Tribe” and Alexander Meier for the short film “Cheyenne”. Roeland Wiesnekker was awarded the prize for “Best Performance in a Leading Role” and Johanna Bantzer the prize for “Best Performance in a Supporting Role”, both of them for their roles in the film “Strähl”. The prize for the “Best Animated Film” awarded for the first time in 2005 and then every two years, went to the film “Un’altra città” (Another City) by Carlo Ippolito. The “Special Jury Prize” was awarded to Filip Zumbrunn for lighting and camera work in the film “Strähl”.

Zurich, 15 November 2005

The Nomination Committee

Nominations

Announcement and EDI (Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs) ordinance relating to the Swiss Film Prize
Newsletter