Best Swiss films receive accolades

“Coeur animal” (Animal heart), a drama about a dysfunctional farming couple, has won the top award for the year's best fiction film.

Antonio Buil, who played one of the main characters in the French-language film, was named best actor. “Quartz” awards were given in nine categories.

Marie Leuenberger won best actress for her role in the German-language production, “Die Standesbeamtin” (The registrar).

Best documentary was “The Woman with the 5 Elephants”. It is a portrait of Svetlana Geier, considered the greatest translator of Russian literature into German. The filmmaker accompanies the 85-year-old as she travels back to the places of her childhood in Ukraine – her first such trip since the Second World War.

An Honorary Award was presented to Genevan film director Claude Goretta. Goretta’s films for the cinema and television have played a crucial role in shaping Swiss filmmaking and are internationally recognised, the organisers of the Swiss Film Prize said.

This year was the first time that members of the Swiss Film Academy voted on both the nominations and prizes in the eight categories. The jury comprised academy members appointed by the Federal Culture Office.

swissinfo.ch and agencies