Three Swiss films in the running for the European Film Awards
The European Film Academy has announced all the films in its preliminary selection for the European Film Awards. Two Swiss productions have made the shortlist for the preliminary selection of the “European Oscars”, one is already nominated.
25.10.2016
Among the 15 documentary films in the EFA Documentary Selection is the Swiss-German coproduction “Europe, She Loves” by Jan Gassmann (2:1 Film, Zurich; Lüthje Schneider Hörl FILM, Munich; arte). This intimate documentary portraying four couples celebrated its world premiere in the Panorama section at the Berlinale and won the FFF Documentary Talent Award at the DOK.fest Munich. World Sales have been acquired by Autlook Filmsales.
“Köpek” by Esen Isik (production: maximage, Zurich) has made the EFA Feature Film Selection, which comprises 50 fiction films from 33 countries. Isik’s film has already been honoured with two Swiss Film Awards: one for Best Fiction Film as well as Best Actress for Beren Tuna. Due to the cast’s brilliant performance in “Köpek”, the film can hope for further EFA nominations in the Acting category. This feature film debut by director Esen Isik is also likely to garner nominations in the Director or Screenwriter categories.
Also in the Feature Film Selection is the French film “Quand on a 17 ans” by André Techiné, starring Switzerland’s Shooting Star Kacey Mottet Klein in a leading role.
Switzerland’s great success “My Life As A Zucchini” by Claude Barras (Rita Productions, Geneva) has already received a definite nomination in the Animated Feature Film category. The Swiss-French coproduction is also Switzerland’s official candidate in the running for an Academy Award for Foreign Language and is up for a nomination in the Animated Feature Film category. “My Life As A Zucchini” made its critically acclaimed world premiere earlier this year in the Director’s Fortnight section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. It went on to win both the Grand Prize (Cristal) and the Audience Award at the 2016 Annecy International Animation Film Festival. It will be the opening film of DOK Leipzig and can be seen in Swiss, Belgian and French Theatres starting this October.
The more than 3,000 members of the European Film Academy (including 150 from Switzerland) will nominate their favourites in the categories of European Film, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenwriter by the beginning of November. These nominations will be announced at the Sevilla Festival de Cine Europeo on November 5, 2016. A seven-member jury will present further awards in seven additional film-technical categories.
The 29th European Film Awards will be celebrated on December 10, 2016, in Wroclaw, Poland, this year’s European Capital of Culture.
SWISS FILMS, 25.10.2016