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FESTIVALS / AWARDS Switzerland

Beyond the Horizon and The Journey – A Story of Love win big at the Swiss Film Award

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- Despite the cancellation of the ceremony as a result of the Coronavirus crisis (with the prizes set to be awarded at the Locarno Film Festival), the names of the winners have been announced

Beyond the Horizon and The Journey – A Story of Love win big at the Swiss Film Award
Beyond the Horizon by Delphine Lehericey

Firstly, the big favourites for this year’s Swiss Film Award - Beyond the Horizon [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Delphine Lehericey
film profile
]
by Delphine Lehericey (four nominations) and The Journey – A Story of Love [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Fanny Bräuning (three nominations) – walked away with the awards for Best Film and Best Documentary, respectively.

Besides these two prestigious prizes, the Swiss-Belgian co-production which had its premiere in San Sebastian Beyond the Horizon, and the moving work The Journey – A Story of Love which was already in possession of the Prix de Soleure 2019, also scooped the award for Best Screenplay (which went to Joanne Giger for Beyond the Horizon) and Best Film Score (going to Olivia Pedroli for The Journey – A Story of Love), leaving their fellow competitors nigh-on empty-handed. Another favourite, Paradise War – The Story of Bruno Manser [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Niklaus Hilber
film profile
]
by Niklaus Hilber (three nominations), had to settle for the Best Actor trophy, which was won by Sven Schelker.

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The award for Best Actress, meanwhile, went to the young Vienna-born talent Miriam Stein, for her role as Odile in the comedy One-way to Moscow by Micha Lewinsky (which world premiered at the Solothurn Film Festival 2020), while that for Best Supporting Performance went to rising star Cecilia Steiner, who also featured in young Zurich director Hans Kaufmann’s title The Working Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
. The Best Photography trophy was bestowed upon O Fim do Mundo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Basil Da Cunha
film profile
]
by Basil Da Cunha (the only category in which the film was nominated and an accolade it also won at the Les Arcs International Film Festival 2019), with Da Cunha himself earning the film its gong, while Best Editing went to Baghdad in My Shadow [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Samir, courtesy of Jann Anderegg. Both these films made their debut at the Locarno Film Festival.

In terms of animation, it was the short film Average Happiness by Maja Gehrig which received the highest honour, while two films won the Quartz for Best Graduate Film in a tie-break: Isola by Aurelio Buchwalder (Zurich University of the Arts) and Still Working by Juliette Korbel (Lausanne Art and Design School, ECAL).

In order to make up for the cancellation of nominees week, which treats audiences in Geneva (Cinémas du Grütli) and Zurich (Filmpodium) to the very best Swiss films as produced each year, the SSR has decided to organise a special evening event on 27 March intitled “An evening for Swiss film”. The Italian-language TV network RSI will screen Those Who Work [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Antoine Russbach
film profile
]
by Antoine Russbach, Quand j’étais Cloclo by Stefano Knuchel and Amateur Teens [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Niklaus Hilber; French-language channel RTS will offer Fortuna [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Germinal Roaux and The Apollo of Gaza [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Nicolas Wadimoff, and German-language broadcaster SRF will show this year’s Best Documentary champion The Journey – A Story of Love by Fanny Bräuning, as well as I Am The Keeper [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sabine Boss
film profile
]
by Sabine Boss.

The full list of awards is as follows:

Best Film
Beyond the Horizon [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Delphine Lehericey
film profile
]
- Delphine Lehericey (Switzerland/Belgium)

Best Documentary
The Journey – A Story of Love [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Fanny Bräuning 

Best Animated Film 
Average Happiness - Maja Gehrig (short film)

Best Screenplay
Joanne Giger – Beyond the Horizon

Best Actress
Miriam Stein - One-way to Moscow

Best Actor 
Sven Schelker - Paradise War – The Story of Bruno Manser [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Niklaus Hilber
film profile
]
(Switzerland/Austria)

Best Supporting Performance
Cecilia Steiner - The Working Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]

Best Film Score
Olivia Pedroli - The Journey – A Story of Love

Best Photography
Basil Da Cunha – O Fim do Mundo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Basil Da Cunha
film profile
]

Best Editing
Jann Anderegg - Baghdad in My Shadow [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(Switzerland/Germany/UK/Iraq)

Best Graduate Film (ex aequo)
Isola - Aurelio Buchwalder 
Still Working - Julietta Korbel

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(Translated from Italian)

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