Swiss culture minister defends SBC at Solothurn Film Festival

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Swiss culture minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider outlined the benefits of a strong Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) while attending the opening of the Solothurn Film Festival.

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“The SBC is indispensable for understanding our country and connecting its regions,” said Baume-Schneider.

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The interior minister, who has responsibility for culture, pointed out that the public service actively supports Swiss cinema, investing in almost 300 festivals every year and reaching more than three million people every day. “The SBC is too important to fail,” she added.

On March 8, voters will decide on an initiative to reduce SBC’s funding. The Federal Council has rejected the initiative.

Against a backdrop of disinformation, Baume-Schneider defended “solid” information and the importance of a strong stage for artists, recalling the role of the public service in democracy.

She also paid tribute to the victims of the Crans-Montana fire disaster. “We have shared a day of national mourning to express our compassion to the families”, she declared, praising the courage of the young people and the professionalism of the hospital teams.

Country in transformation

On the artistic front, the minister noted that this year’s Solothurn Film Festival was focusing on films that questioned the notion of belonging, whether it be family, cultural or national. “The more our country changes, the more important it is not to be lulled into the illusion that we already know everything about Switzerland,” she said.

The festival will feature 164 films, illustrating the vitality of Swiss cinema. According to artistic director Niccolò Castelli, many filmmakers are seeking to go beyond simplistic oppositions to explore more nuanced narratives.

The opening film, The Narrative, for example, revisited the case of Kweku Adoboli, the former UBS trader, giving way to a less clear-cut reading of individual responsibilities and the mechanisms of the financial system.

French-speaking cinema

Cinema from French-speaking Switzerland has a strong presence at this year’s festival, with nine films in competition. Among them are Be Boris by Benoît Goncerut from the Vaud region and A bras-le-corps by Marie-Elsa Sgualdo from Neuchâtel, which won rave reviews in Venice. The family feature film Mein Freund Barry, shot in Valais and Ticino, is another example of inter-regional collaboration.

Geneva filmmaker Edna Politi is also honoured for her work, which has been hailed as an invitation to intercultural dialogue.

True to its tradition, the Solothurn Film Festival also boasts an atmosphere without red carpets, encouraging direct encounters between filmmakers and audiences, at the heart of a festival that defends the collective experience of cinema.

Translated from French by AI/mga

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