Oscar nomination for ZHdK graduate film “Parvaneh”

This prestigious nomination marks the peak in the impressive career of the short film “Parvaneh.” It has been screened at numerous festivals across the globe and honoured with numerous awards. Hamzavi had already won the Silver Medal for Best Foreign Film at the 40^th Student Academy Awards with “Parvaneh” in 2013. Moreover, the ZHdK production was also honoured with the renowned First Steps Award for Best Short Film under 25 minutes.

Film director Talkhon Hamzavi, who was born in Teheran in 1979 and grew up in Switzerland, completed her Master studies in Film at the ZHdK with “Parvaneh” in 2012. The short fiction film is a snapshot depiction of a refugee’s fate in Switzerland. Parvaneh, a young Afghan immigrant, lives in a transit centre for asylum in the Swiss Alps. Upon hearing of her father’s illness, she makes her first trip to Zurich in order to send her family money. This is the starting point of various encounters. "It’s incredible. When I began the project, my aim was to tell a brief yet touching story about ‘being a foreigner’,” explains Hamzavi. “Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine our film would make it to the Oscars. I am absolutely delighted ­– and very proud of the film and all those involved in it.” She is currently writing the screenplay for her first feature film.

The film’s executive producer was Stefan Eichenberger, who was enrolled as a student majoring in Film Production at the ZHdK and now manages the Bern office of Contrast Film. The young Swiss producer is tremendously pleased about the film’s success story: “The Oscar nomination is an incredible story! It all began as a short graduate film – and all of a sudden we’re in Hollywood, the film capital of the world. When the film was finished, we hoped that it would be screened at one or two smaller festivals – and now it has a shot at winning the highest award ever for film! Unbelievable!"

A total of 141 short films qualified for a nomination, ten of which were placed on the shortlist by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Five films were ultimately nominated for Oscar in this category. This year, a total of seven Swiss short films were contending for an Oscar nomination.

Talkhon Hamzavi and Stefan Eichenberger will spend three weeks in L.A. participating in various networking events involving the Oscars. “Auf der Strecke” by Reto Caffi was the last short film from Switzerland among the five nominated for an Oscar in the Live Action Short Film category in 2009.

Zurich, January 15, 2015