We will know on Wednesday whether Klaudia Reynicke’s “Reinas” or Laetitia Dosch’s “The Trial of a Dog” will go for an Oscar under the Swiss banner. Both films will benefit in one way or another from this new two-stage selection procedure that has just been introduced.
This procedure introduced by Swiss Films, the Swiss film promotion agency, is intended to increase the chances of winning an Oscar in the “International Feature Film” category. Following the example of other countries such as France, Denmark and Sweden, Switzerland has in turn announced a “shortlist”.
In mid-August, the selection committee mandated by the Federal Office of Culture (FOC) announced its pre-selection for the 2025 Oscars: “Reinas”, a coming-of-age story by Swiss-Peruvian filmmaker Klaudia Reynicke, and the Franco-Swiss comedy “Le Procès du chien” by Laetitia Dosch.
Since the pre-selection of “L’enfant d’en haut” by Ursula Meier (2012) and “Ma vie de courgette” by Valaisan director Claude Barras (2016), which won dozens of awards at numerous festivals, the presence of Swiss cinematographic creation at the Oscars was limited. However, there had been successes in the past.
Xavier Koller, for example, won the Oscar for best foreign language film with “Journey to Hope” in 1991, following in the footsteps of French director Richard Dembo who had achieved the same thing in 1985 with “La Diagonale du fou”, a French-Swiss co-production. Claude Goretta’s “The Invitation” (1973) and Markus Imhoof’s “La barque est pleine” (1981) had been nominated in the same category, but had not been selected.
Of animal and man
For her first film, Laetitia Dosch also plays the lead role in “The Trial of the Dog”. She plays Avril, a lawyer who, if she loses in court again, must leave her firm. The fact that her next client is a dog does not help her situation. Cosmos has bitten several people, but he is at the same time the affectionate and faithful companion of Dariuch, a visually impaired man.
For the selection committee, this philosophical comedy “cleverly questions opinions on animal rights and attitudes towards women in modern society, while revealing the convictions, questions and aspirations of those involved in the trial”.
The film was presented last May at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was in the running for the first prize in the “Un Certain Regard” section as well as for the Caméra d’Or.
Lack of prospects
“Reinas” is the first Swiss feature film to have been presented in the main international competition of the prestigious Sundance Festival, to have received the award for best director in the “Generation” section at the Berlinale and to have won the audience award at the Locarno Festival.
In this coming-of-age drama, Klaudia Reynicke tells the story, based on her autobiography, of a mother who wants to leave Lima for the United States with her two daughters, leaving behind their father, who has little to offer them.
This decision is motivated by the economic crisis, massive political unrest and the lack of prospects for a better life in Peru in the 1990s. “Reinas” is a tender and subtly told story by a Swiss director who has already proven that she can touch the hearts of a global audience,” the selection committee wrote.
A path strewn with pitfalls
Although only one film can be sent into the Oscar race, Andreas Bühlmann, Head of Festivals & Markets at Swiss Films, sees advantages for both productions. Especially since stricter conditions apply today.
First of all, a contract with an American distributor, or at least the prospect of one, is necessary to be on the shortlist. What counts is therefore not only the strength of the film, but also the international network and the global package with which the film can be promoted in the United States and among the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
The two-stage system also offers extended visibility. “Until now, a film was chosen in a single screening,” says Andreas Bühlmann. And this was so early in the process that “decisions often had to be made on the basis of assumptions.” In other words: before the jury even knew whether the team behind was well enough placed to have a real chance of winning.
And instead of being able to focus directly on public relations, time and energy were first spent finding a US distributor and building a promotional team.
After the announcement of the Swiss film’s choice on September 25, the Academy of Oscars will unveil the “shortlist” of 15 films from different countries on December 17. And a month later, on January 17, the publication of the nominated titles will follow. The ceremony for the presentation of the prestigious statuettes will take place on March 2, 2025 in Los Angeles.
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