Three Swiss films screened in competition in Aspen (USA)

The 22^nd Aspen Shortsfest in Colorado (April 9-14, 2013) will screen three Swiss films in its International Competition, together with 80 other films from 30 countries. The 15-minute short fiction film “Un mundo para Raúl” (Eine Welt für Raúl) by Mauro Mueller, a Swiss-American coproduction, is in the running for the Best Drama Award. The New York-based film director will present his film at the festival. The animation film “Kali, le petit vampire” by Portuguese director Regina Pessoa – coproduced by Studio GDS, Geneva – is in the running for an award in the Best Animation Competition. SWISS FILMS, the promotion agency has provided support for the Swiss presence in Aspen.

Film by Guillaume brothers about exclusion
The 22-minute animation documentary film “La nuit de l’ours” by Frédéric and Samuel Guillaume, which was honoured with the Swiss Film Award 2013 for Best Animation Film, is also in the running for an award in the Best Animation Competition. The film, which garnered two awards at the Fantoche Film Festival in Baden last September, uses animals to tell the story of people who were victims of social exclusion in Freiburg. “La nuit de l’ours” has already been screened at the festivals in Leipzig and Clermont-Ferrand, and will tour German-speaking Switzerland in conjunction with the Short Film Night Tour 2013, which began in Zurich on April 5.

The Aspen Shortsfest is considered the little brother of the Aspen Filmfest, the annual festival for feature-length films in autumn. The winners of the awards for Best Short Film, Best Animation Film, Best Comedy and the Best Drama qualify for an Oscar nomination in the categories of Live Action Short Film and Animated Short Film.

Geneva, April 8, 2013