"Die Herbstzeitlosen" on the hunt for an Oscar

 The film "Die Herbstzeitlosen" by Bettina Oberli will represent Switzerland in the competition for the 2008 Oscars. The Federal Office of Culture (Bak) has submitted the feature film to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles in the category "Best Foreign Language Film" on the recommendation of its group of experts. "Die Herbstzeitlosen", a story about sprightly senior citizens who open a lingerie store, has met with success in Europe: in Switzerland, around 600,000 admissions have been recorded to date, while in Germany and Austria over 250,000 viewers have seen the comedy to date. According to a press release, Bak selected the film as an Oscar contender due to the universality of its subject matter and the high quality of the screenplay, directing and casting. The fact that the film is also backed by the American Disney group with distributor Buenavista International (Switzerland) was also a decisive factor.
In the "Best Documentary" category, the Bak will support the candidacy of "Shake The Devil Off" by Peter Entell. The film about the closure of a parish in New Orleans six months after the devastating Hurricane Katrina, which celebrated its world premiere at the Locarno International Film Festival in August, will be submitted directly to the Academy by the production company Show and Tell Films.
The nominees in all categories will be announced on January 22, 2008. The 2008 Oscars will take place on February 24 in Los Angeles.