Swiss documentary filmmaker Peter Liechti has been awarded the prize for best documentary at the 22nd European Film Awards for his film “The Sound of Insects”.
This content was published on
1 minute
The 58-year-old St Gallen native is the first Swiss to win a European Film Award. The prizes were handed out in Bochum, Germany on Saturday evening.
A three-member Russian-Austrian-French jury selected Liechti’s film from a shortlist of ten European documentaries. Liechti received the Prix Arte for what the jury called “an exceptional narrative about life and death”.
The film is based on the novel “Miira ni narumade” by Japanese writer Masahiko Shimada.
Shimada’s novel examines on the diary of a 40-year-old man who committed suicide by starvation. According to the man’s notes, he had taken his life in the summer. A hunter found his mummified corpse the following winter.
Liechti called the award “the greatest recognition” of his career. Previous films include “Signers Koffer” (1996), “Namibia Crossings” (2004) and “Hardcore Chamber Music” (2006).
Other winners included Michael Haneke, who won best film, best director and best screenwriter for his film “The White Ribbon”, Kate Winslet for her role in “The Reader” and Tahar Rahim, who won for his role in the French film “A Prophet”.
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
Director Polanski begins ‘chalet arrest’
This content was published on
The 76-year-old traded the confines of jail near Zurich on Friday for house arrest at his CHF1.6-million ($1.6 million) chalet in the chic Alpine resort after posting bail of CHF4.5 million. Polanski will remain there until officials decide whether to extradite him to the United States, where he is wanted for sentencing in a case…
This content was published on
Vachon, whose works include the Oscar-winning Boys Don’t Cry, spoke to swissinfo ahead of the ceremony at which she was awarded the Raimondo Rezzonico Prize for major art house producers. Her two-decade career also includes Far from Heaven and most recently I’m Not There, about Bob Dylan. Locarno’s artistic director Frédéric Maire has called her…
This content was published on
Despite a lack of funding, Swiss films are quality productions, he says. Swiss Cinema Day was initiated in 2006 when the outgoing artistic director, Frédéric Maire, took charge of Switzerland’s largest film festival. Despite the usual arguments about who receives what financially in the film branch from the Swiss authorities, the Swiss cinema industry can…
This content was published on
Roman Polanski has a long history in the cinema as both an actor and director, starting in his native Poland in the 1950s. His best known films include Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown and The Pianist.
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.