Oscars: Switzerland Submits ‘A Piece Of Sky’ For Best International Film

Switzerland has selected Michael Koch’s Swiss-German language feature A Piece Of Sky as its candidate for the best international film category of the 2023 Oscars.

Set in a remote mountain village, the drama revolves around the against-the-odds-love story between a local woman and an outsider farmhand, who is struck down by a brain tumor that makes his behaviour angry and impulsive.

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The film enjoyed a buzzy world premiere at the Berlinale earlier this year where it was feted with a special mention by the international jury. The feature was warmly received by critics with Deadline’s review describing the work as “both beautifully made and a thing of beauty in itself”.

The feature is produced by Zurich-based production company Hugofilm Features and Germany’s Pandora Film Produktion, with the support of SRF Swiss Radio and Television, SRG SSR and Arte.

International sales are handled by New Europe Film Sales which has sold the drama to more than 10 countries.

Since its Berlinale debut, the drama has been gaining traction on the festival circuit with recent invites to Taipei, Karlovy Vary, Hong Kong, Austria’s Viennale and Mexico’s Guanajuato, where it won best international feature film in July.

The film makes its Swiss premiere in Locarno Film Festival’s Panorama Suisse section on August 9. Local distributor Frenetic Films will release the film in Swiss cinemas on September 1.

Under the rules for the 95th Academy Awards, films submitted for consideration in the best international film category must be theatrically released between January 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The deadline for submission is October 3.

This year’s best international film race appears to be getting off to a slower-than-normal start. Just two titles have been announced so far with Ireland getting the ball-rolling last week with The Quiet Girl.

Last year, 93 territories submitted films.

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