Swiss screening of film about Ukrainian exile stopped in China
Olga director Elie Grappe receiving the award for best feature at the Swiss Film Awards last week.
Keystone/walter Bieri
A screening of the film Olga organised by the Swiss embassy in Beijing was cancelled at short notice on Thursday by Chinese authorities, despite the protests of Swiss diplomats.
This content was published on
1 minute
Keystone-SDA/dos
Português
pt
China cancela exibição de filme suíço sobre exílio ucraniano
The reasons given for the last-minute cancellation were first of all the coronavirus pandemic, and secondly the content of the film, the Swiss foreign ministry confirmed on Friday.
The Swiss embassy in China “immediately” protested the sudden cancellation, the ministry said. The private screening was set to be attended by 66 guests, including 10 foreign ambassadors based in Beijing. The event had been planned since last November, as part of a month celebrating French-language culture in China.
The Swiss-French feature Olga tells the story of a 15-year-old gymnast torn between her life in Switzerland – where she is training for the European championships – and Ukraine, where her journalist mother is covering the 2013 Euromaiden protests.
Last week, Olga won the prizes for best feature film, best screenplay, and best sound at this year’s Swiss Film Awards. The film, directed by Elie Grappe, was also Switzerland’s entry for best international feature film at this year’s Oscars.
Since the invasion of Ukraine in February, China has tried to maintain a neutral stance towards the conflict, neither condemning the actions of its strategic partner Russia, nor backing the Western sanctions against Moscow.
More
More
Olga, Elie and Oscar: the story of a remarkable Swiss film debut
This content was published on
Filmmaker Elie Grappe discusses the creative process and success of his debut feature, Olga, which is playing at the 57th Solothurn Film Festival.
Is reforming the Swiss pension system still possible, and if so, how?
Solutions still need to be found to meet the challenge of an ageing population and to improve the pensions of low-paid workers, the majority of whom are women.
Switzerland to step up humanitarian aid to Lebanon and Syria
This content was published on
The Swiss government decided to allocate an additional CHF7 million to the two countries in response to the escalating violence in the Middle East.
Report exposes widespread hygiene issues in Swiss hospitals
This content was published on
A Swissmedic report found that nearly all of the 25 Swiss hospitals inspected had issues with disinfecting, sterilising and packaging of medical products.
Swiss bank Mirabaud closes brokerage unit due to poor performance
This content was published on
The move spanning the bank’s global operations means a loss of 17 jobs, including five each in Switzerland and the UK, and seven in Spain.
Guterres condemns Israel’s plan to label UNRWA a terrorist organisation
This content was published on
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has spoken out against a law proposed by the Israeli parliament that would classify UNRWA as a terrorist organisation.
This content was published on
The Swiss federal technology institute ETH Zurich is the best university in continental Europe, according to the Times Higher Education ranking.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Switzerland unveils its first China strategy
This content was published on
The Swiss government says its first ever China strategy is intended to create “greater coherence" in its relations with Beijing.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.