Switzerland sends "Cloudburst" to the 92nd Academy Awards
Switzerland is submitting Michael Steiner's «Wolkenbruch» to the 92nd Academy Awards in the «International Feature Film» category. Whether the box office hit makes it onto the Academy's short list in Hollywood will be decided in December.
The comedy based on the best-selling novel "Wolkenbruch's Whimsical Journey into the Arms of a Chic" by Thomas Meyer was the most successful Swiss film in local cinemas in 2018, with around 300,000 admissions so far. The Federal Office of Culture announced the nomination in Locarno on Friday.
Switzerland is sending a film into the race this year that will be very well received by audiences, according to the jury's statement of reasons for its selection. "Where is a person born into and how does he find his own way?" Director Michael Steiner has staged these questions in a "humorous and moving" way.
The film is set in the Jewish-Orthodox milieu of Zurich. At the center of the story, which is peppered with Yiddish dialog, is the student Motti Wolkenbruch (Joel Basman), who falls in love with the "shiksa" Laura (Noémie Schmidt), to the dismay of his mother.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood will publish the Short List in December and the five films nominated for Best Foreign Language Film on January 13, 2020. The Oscars will be awarded on February 9, 2020 in Los Angeles. (SDA/swi)
