New Swiss film put forward for Oscar

A scene from Xavier Koller's film "Gripsholm". Cinergy

Switzerland has nominated "Gripsholm" - the new film by one of the country's best-known directors, Xavier Koller - for an Oscar in the category of best foreign film.

Koller already has one Oscar to his name after winning the best foreign film award for “Reise der Hoffnung” (Journey of Hope) in 1991.

“Gripsholm”, a biography of the German poet, Kurt Tucholsky, opened at Swiss cinemas earlier this month to mixed reviews.

Koller said he chose to make a film about the Berlin-born writer because: “Tucholsky was an incredibly multi-faceted character, full of life and yet deeply depressed. He was a fervent literary opponent of the Nazis.”

Critics have described the film as a hybrid of comedy and tragedy. Koller responded by saying it was his “full intention to produce a sad comedy and a light-hearted tragedy at the same time, in line with Tucholsky’s own thinking”.

There is also a touch of romance in the film, offering an insight into the loving relationship between Tucholsky and his partner, Lydia.

The title of the film is taken from an anecdotal tale, “Schloss Gripsholm”, written by Tucholsky when he was in Sweden in the early 1930s.

swissinfo with agencies