- Home
- Latest news
-
Topics
Just the ticket
Keeping a printing tradition alive
More and more train tickets are printed by computers; the traditional card ticket is today rarely used. The Aeschbacher company in Worb near Bern still cuts these and prints them with lead type. [...]
Corporate taxes
Swiss set to tackle divisive fiscal reform
Murder questions
Papers rue failings of house arrest system
Corporate taxes
Swiss set to tackle divisive fiscal reform
Under pressure from the European Union the Swiss government has outlined plans to scrap controversial tax privileges for international firms. But the reform risks undermining the complex federal fiscal system and leading to a major drop in revenue. [...]
Chinese readers react
Profit at the expense of moral values
Safe and sound
Red Cross hostages freed in Yemen
Swiss banking woes
Minister says end to US tax dispute in sight
Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf says a resolution may be not far off to end a long-running dispute with the United States over Swiss banks accused of helping wealthy Americans evade billions of dollars of taxes. [...]
Changes at the top
Surprise shake-up marks Glencore Xstrata meeting
Formula for success
Chinese parents drive baby milk powder boom
New trends
Folk musicians seek inspiration beyond the norm
It’s crowded in the dressing room. And no wonder. A folk trio, a jazz singer and a classically-trained violinist are all relaxing before a joint show. Such genre-bending is common in Swiss folk music today - as is a back-to-roots shift. [...]
Nadja Räss
Breaking the mould as a Swiss yodeller
Rocks on a roll
Huge colourless diamond goes for record
Stem cell research
Cord blood – sound investment or pricey frill?
Umbilical cord blood holds precious stem cells. At some Swiss hospitals, mothers can donate their baby's supply to research. But some labs have privatised the practice, and not everyone is sure it’s worth the cost. (SRF/swissinfo.ch) [...]
Cancer discovery
New imaging gives insight into tumours’ travels
-
In depth
Swiss in Hollywood
Family drama "Sister" enters Oscars race
comments
Young Simon in the Swiss film "Sister" bonds with a wealthy tourist, played by Gillian Anderson. (AFP)
Switzerland has submitted a contender for best foreign language film to the American Oscar awards: acclaimed French-Swiss director Ursula Meier’s latest work, “Sister”, is up for the Hollywood honour.
“Sister” tells the story of 12-year-old Simon who lives with his sister in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The two struggle to make ends meet, and Simon takes to stealing ski equipment from wealthy tourists and re-selling it to teens in the valley to make a meager living.
The drama was recently honored at the Berlin Film Festival with a special runner-up Silver Bear award.
Meier’s first feature film, “Home”, won the Swiss Film Prize for best film in 2009 and a French César nomination for best first film. “Home” was also entered but not nominated as an Oscar contender for best foreign language Film in 2010.
“Sister” is up against a slew of strong contenders from neighbouring countries for the Oscar, including France’s “Intouchables,” Germany’s “Barbara” and Austria’s “Amour”.
The final list of best foreign language film Oscar nominees will be announced January 15, 2013 by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the Academy Awards (Oscars) will be held February 24 of next year.
Meier, a native of Besançon, France, was born in 1971 to a Swiss father and a French mother. She studied in Belgium at the Institute of Media Arts and now reportedly divides her time between Brussels, Paris and Geneva.
2012 Film festival
Cannes showcases Swiss “cries for freedom”
From the dreams of young Swiss revolutionaries in the 1970s to the fantasies of a 50-year-old Lisbon dockworker who wants to run away to Sweden, two very different Swiss films are up for an award in Cannes this year. [...]
Switzerland showcases its cinema in Cannes
Swiss films are not among the gala screenings at this year's Cannes festival, which opens on Wednesday, but the Swiss industry will be much more present than in 2005. [...]
Stars turn out for revamped Swiss Oscar ceremony
Hot on the heels of the Academy Awards in the United States comes Switzerland's equivalent – the Swiss Film Prize. [...]
Encouraging the next generation
Budding Swiss filmmakers learn the ropes
Switzerland’s film output lags behind that of other European countries because it depends on state subsidies, which are very low. The Swiss government allocated just under SFr27 million ($27.3 million) for cinema projects in 2012. [...]
