Swiss film is a late developer by international standards. There was no established film industry in Switzerland by the time the era of the talkies dawned in 1930. One of the reasons for this is the cultural peculiarity that Switzerland is divided into three main linguistic regions. All the regions – French-, Italian- and German-speaking Switzerland – turn far more towards their respective neighboring countries than to one another. This is why the history of film has unfolded – and continues to unfold – in different ways in each part of Switzerland.

Films from the German-speaking region of Switzerland which achieved renown abroad were made by Daniel Schmid, Kurt Gloor, Markus Imhoof, Peter von Gunten and also Xavier Koller. Xavier Koller, who had already earned a place in Swiss cinema history with Das gefrorene Herz (Frozen Heart) (1979) and Der Schwarze Tanner (Tanner – The Rebellion) (1986), won an Oscar for the best foreign film with his drama about refugees, Reise der Hoffnung (Journey of Hope). This film tells the story of a Kurdish family who flee to Switzerland in search of a better life. H. R. Giger – Hansruedi Giger, whose full name is Hans Rudolf Giger although he is better known as HR Giger – was born at Chur in 1940. This painter and visual artist has also won an Oscar. In 1980, he took the “Best Achievement for Visual Effects” award for the design of the filmic world for Ridley Scott’s Alien, including the creature from which it takes its title.

The Portland German Film festival is showing SWITZERLAND’S SUBMISSION FOR THE ACADEMY AWARDS BEST FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM 2018, “THE DIVINE ORDER (Die göttliche Ordnung) by director Petra Volpe as the closing night film on October 10, 2017 at 7.00 PM.

This movie is proudly sponsored by the Consulate General of Switzerland in San Francisco