Barbara Buser – the city curator

Barbara Buser – the city curator

Sorry, this entry is only available in DE, FR and IT.

Die preisgekrönte Basler Architektin Barbara Buser rettet Gebäude vor dem Abriss und baut sie mit recyceltem Material um. Sie verwandelt ehemalige Industrieareale in urbane Lebensräume, die für einen sorgsamen Umgang mit unserer Umwelt und miteinander stehen. So sind in Winterthur, Basel und Zürich öffentliche Räume entstanden, die zukunftsweisende Begegnungsorte sind. Als Frau, die in einer Männerdomäne erfolgreich ihren eigenen Weg geht, ist sie ein Vorbild für die junge Generation, die sich für eine nachhaltigere und gerechtere Welt einsetzt. Barbara Buser ist eine Pionierin der Nachhaltigkeit, die durch ihre Weitsicht, ihren Durchsetzungswillen und ihre unbändige Schaffenskraft beeindruckt.

Kalari Kid

Kalari Kid

Sorry, this entry is only available in DE, FR and IT.

In einer von geschlechtsspezifischer Gewalt geprägten Gesellschaft erobern Arushi (9) und Milena (21) mit Hilfe von Kalari, der ältesten Kampfkunst der Welt, ihren Platz zurück. Der Film Kalari Kid zeigt ihren Weg zur Emanzipation und zur Freiheit, um eines Tages die Frauen zu sein, die sie sein möchten.

Sie sind neue Heldinnen in einem Land, in dem Gewalt gegen Frauen historische und alltägliche Realität ist. Im gemeinsamen Kampf, sich in der Gesellschaft zu positionieren und damit Traditionen zu brechen, spielen Religion und Herkunft keine Rolle. Diese Frauen blicken in eine Zukunft, die sie selbst mit Anmut und Entschlossenheit zum Besseren gestalten wollen. Sie nehmen ihr Leben selbst in die Hand – und das mit einer jahrhundertealten Kampfkunst.

The beauty of the donkey

The beauty of the donkey

Sorry, this entry is only available in DE, FR and IT.

Die Filmemacherin Dea Gjinovci und ihr Vater, der seit sechzig Jahren im Exil in Genf lebt, kehren in sein Heimatdorf Makermal im Kosovo zurück. Das Dorf wurde im Krieg zerstört, und das Einzige, was blieb, sind die Erzählungen der noch lebenden Dorfbewohner. Es ist eine Gemeinschaft der Resilienz, und so ist auch ihre Geschichte. Gemeinsam mit diesen Menschen begeben sich die Filmemacherin und ihr Vater auf eine Spurensuche in die Vergangenheit und lassen die Erinnerungen des Vaters aus seiner Kindheit, das Kosovo der 1950er-Jahre, wieder aufleben. Sie enthüllen Erschütterndes, doch vieles bleibt unbeantwortet, beispielsweise das mysteriöse Verschwinden der Großmutter. Dea Gjinovci zeigt mit ihrem Docu-Fiction, wie wichtig es ist, Geschichte aufzuarbeiten.

To Kill a Mongolian Horse

To Kill a Mongolian Horse

An intimate portrait about masculinity in crisis from a female perspective.

Saina tries to make ends meet as a herdsman in the wintery steppes of Inner Mongolia. While performing at night in breathtaking horseback shows, he by day takes care of his family’s horses while juggling a grumpy father and his dysfunctional relationship with his ex-wife and kid. Unlike the majestic cavalryman he portrays in the show, Saina must discover how the world he grew up in has dramatically changed.

Promotional Partners
Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (SCCC)Section romande de la Société Suisse-ChineChinese community in SwitzerlandAsia Society SwitzerlandGesellschaft Schweiz-China

Dreamers

Dreamers

Dreams behind closed doors, freedom through imagination and hope: a visual and poetic odyssey about the search for freedom, love and friendship in an asylum centre – and about the necessity of breaking rules.

Isio fled Nigeria. She lives without papers in England until she is picked up and taken to an asylum centre. There, she follows every rule in the hope of a fair trial. But her roommate Farah sees things differently: those who follow the rules gain nothing here.

As Isio tries to survive in this limbo, new friendships develop – and new feelings. But the longer she waits, the clearer it becomes how fragile the promise of safety is. If you want to survive, you have to find your own way.

Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor’s tender but unflinching feature debut is inspired by her own experience in the British asylum system. The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Berlinale and opened the 2025 Pink Apple Queer Film Festival.

Dans La Cuisine Des Nguyen

Dans La Cuisine Des Nguyen

Yvonne Nguyen, a French-Vietnamese actress, dreams of a successful career in musicals, to the great displeasure of her mother, who would like her to pursue a more serious path. When she has no choice but to move back to her mother’s, both women are strangers to each other. But in the intimacy of the Vietnamese family restaurant’s kitchen, they grow closer. Meanwhile, Yvonne is still after her dreams and finally gets the chance to audition for a big show.

Naima

Naima

NAIMA – a heroine abroad

After many years working in the low-paid sector, the charming Naima, originally from Venezuela, has finally landed a job as an apprentice nurse. … But her happiness comes up against harsh reality: the patients love her empathetic humour, but her colleagues criticise her professional distance. When Naima fails her placement, her world collapses. But then she embarks on her toughest battle yet: standing up for herself.

We look behind a façade of prejudice and show a fighter who is looking for the right path to integration for herself and for many others. Naima should give courage not only to migrants, but also to all those fighting for their place in society.

Naima is a heroine of such strength and vitality that you fall in love with her charm from the very first moment. Dok Leipzig, Vika Leshchenko

In the media, migrants often appear as a threatening group, but we rarely learn who they really are. NAIMA shows the struggles and untapped potential that many still carry with them, even after years in their new country. NAIMA reflects the individual fates of many migrants who, unlike ‘expatriates’, go abroad with completely different circumstances. Unrecognised qualifications and difficult access to training often prevent them from developing their potential and finding their place in society. This often results in health problems, particularly psychological ones, which constitute a vicious circle for their professional and family lives.

Promotional partners

Milchjugend.chMilchjugend.chMultimondo | Association Découvrir | Espace Femmes | Universtität Zürich Latin American Center ZurichAlter StartEffe | Frida | Ville de Bienne

 

Blue Sun Palace

Blue Sun Palace

A powerful film about home, hope, and destiny.

In a massage parlor in Queens, thousands of kilometers from home, two friends, Amy and Didi, support each other through their daily work—shaped by the pursuit of personal happiness and the weight of family obligations. Together with their colleagues, they share a tender and supportive sisterhood. But the physical and emotional toll of their demanding jobs is ever-present. After Didi’s tragic death, Amy must take her fate into her own hands.

Promotional Partners
Swiss-Chinese Chamber of CommerceRomandie ChineChinese Community Switzerland

My Sunshine

My Sunshine

On a small Japanese island, life revolves around the changing seasons. Winter is time for ice hockey at school, but Takuya isn’t too thrilled about it. His real interest lies in Sakura, a figure skating rising star from Tokyo, for whom he starts to develop a genuine fascination. Coach and former champion Arakawa, spots potential in Takuya, and decides to mentor him to form a duo with Sakura for an upcoming competition. As winter persists, feelings grow, and the two children form an harmonious bond. But even the first snow eventually melts away.

A touching and simple story
Variety

Okuyama constructs a quiet narrative carried by charm.
The Hollywood Reporter

 

 

 

The Shameless

The Shameless

A story of forbidden love and unwavering will

Renuka flees from a brothel in Delhi in the middle of the night, takes on the name of a Hindu goddess and goes into hiding in a community of sex workers in northern India. There she meets Devika, who is much younger and dreams of becoming a rapper. However, she is condemned to continue the tradition of her caste as a prostitute.

A tender but forbidden romance develops between Renuka and Devika – and conflict is inevitable. The two women overcome huge hurdles and make great sacrifices on their journey to freedom. When their situation leaves them no choice, murder is also a means of defence.

This suspense-packed thriller shows people on the margins of society and provides an insight into a part of Indian society.

Anasuya Sengupta received the Best Actress Award at Cannes for her performance in this film.

Gabriel Lobos is nominated for the Swiss Film Prize for Best Cinematography.

Promotional Partners
Médecins du Monde Suisse