19/03/2012 - Despite an overwhelming presence of Germanic films among those nominated for the 2012 Quartz awards, it was Latin cinema that made its mark when the awards where announced on March 17.

On Saturday March 17, Lucerne held Swiss cinema’s 2012 Quartz film awards ceremony. And what a surprise it had in store. Despite the overwhelming number of Germanic films nominated this year, it was Latin cinema that, once again, did much better when the awards were announced.

Over the last twelve months, Swiss cinemas had been dominated by Swiss German films, including two major productions, Eine wen iig, dr Dällebach Kari [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Xavier Koller and Der Verdingbub [+see also:
trailer
interview: Max Hubacher - Shooting Sta…
film profile] by Markus Imboden, repeatedly hits in the box office. It all pointed to a rather uneventful evening on March 17, when the year’s Quartz awards, Switzerland’s equivalent of the Oscars, were to be awarded at the beautiful cultural and congress centre in Lucerne. But, although the two Germanic films did indeed leave with a few awards (Best Actress for Carla Juri in Eine wen iig, dr Dällebach Kari, Best Actor for Max Hubacher and Best Supporting Actor for Stefan Kurt, both in Der Verdingbub [+see also:
trailer
interview: Max Hubacher - Shooting Sta…
film profile]), the evening’s great winner was Swiss Italian.

With no less than three Quartz – Best Fiction Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Photography – Summer Games [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rolando Colla
film profile] by Rolando Colla outdid all predictions to make it to the peak of this year’s Swiss cinema awards. Disappointing, no doubt, for the Germanics, who also saw a Latin filmmaker, Fernand Melgar, walk away with the Quartz Award for Best Documentary for his controversial Vol spécial [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], thus beating his four competitors from German-speaking Switzerland in the category.

Film director Rolf Lyssy, whose remarkable career includes directing the satyrical comedy The Swissmakers, Swiss cinema’s biggest hit in the last fifty years, also received a Quartz award for his life’s work.

(Translated from French)