Synopsis

Fortuna (14), a young Ethiopian teenage girl, has had no news of her parents since arriving in Lampedusa, Italy. Together with other refugees, she is given shelter for the winter in a Swiss catholic hospice at an altitude of over 2000 meters. While they wait for their fate to be decided by the Swiss authorities, Fortuna meets Kabir, a 26-year-old African refugee, and falls desperately in love. Their relationship develops in secret, till the day Kabir disappears.

« In Bildsprache und thematischem Zugang erinnert der Film an «Ida» von Pawel Pawlikowski und an den grossen Russen Tarkowski »
« Grossartig »
– Alfred Schlienger REPUBLIK
« Un drame humanitaire bouleversant »
« Un poème sur l'exil »
– Antoine Duplan LE TEMPS
« Un regard fort et touchant sur la question des réfugiés »
– Patrick Simonin TV 5 MONDE
« Une héroïne de Robert Bresson »
« La beauté sauvage de Fortuna sort commun des mortels »
– Cécile Lecoultre 24 HEURES
« Un film sublime qui nettoie notre regard sur les migrants »
« Une véritable expérience sensorielle » – Raphaële Bouchet RTS
« Humanisme au sommet » – Mathieu Loewer LE COURRIER

Details

Start11/15/18 German-speaking Switzerland
4/11/18 French-speaking Switzerland
LanguageOV français, amharic
Duration106 Minutes
FormatDCP (1:1.33)
Distribution SwitzerlandVEGA Distribution, Praesens Film
Worldwide distributionLOCO FILMS, Paris
ProductionVEGA Production (CH), SRG SSR, RTS / NEED Productions (BE), Proximus

Credits

DirectorGerminal Roaux
ScriptGerminal Roaux, Idée originale Claudia Gallo, Germinal Roaux
ProducerRuth Waldburger, Jean-Marie Gindraux, en coproduction avec Anne-Laure Guégan, Géraldine Sprimont
CastKidist Siyum Beza, Bruno Ganz, Patrick D'Assumçao, Assefa Zerihun Gudeta, Yoann Blanc
PhotographyColin Levêque
EditingSophie Vercruysse, Jacques Comets
SoundJürg Lempen, Emmanuel Soland, Roman Dymny
Art directionIvan Niclass
CostumesGeneviève Maulini
Press contactJean-Yves Gloor, Olivier Goetschi

Festivals & Awards

68° Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin 2018
* Crystal Bear for the Best Film
* Grand Prix of the Generation 14plus International Jury
16th International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights | FIFDH 2018
5th Edition Cinema Sneakers Film Festival Warszawa 2018
* First Prize Youth Feature Film Competition
15th Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival 2018
* Silver Award
71th Locarno Festival 2018 Panorama Suisse
11th Edition Festival du Film Francophone Angoulême 2018
Festival International du Film Francophone de Tübingen | Stuttgart 2018
*Grand Prix du Festival