Gion-Reto Killias

Jackie Brutsche tries to unravel the dark secrets of her family and answer unanswered questions about her mother.

Jackie Brutsche tries to unravel the dark secrets of her family and answer unanswered questions about her mother.

When his younger sister, a single parent, moves into the second apartment with her 5-year-old daughter Nina, an unexpected friendship develops between Josef and the uncared-for little girl.

For Alyssia and Ilaria, every farewell is also a reunion. Just a while ago they were at the Italian Mediterranean coast, now here they are standing at a parking lot in front of an Esso gas station, waiting for their father’s car to appear around the corner. Affectionately, they bid their mother good-bye for now. The two sisters’ parents are separated. Just like Carleton, Sherazade and Thomas, the two girls have found their own way of dealing with the situation.

Mona’s marriage with Gieri has gone a bit stale after twenty years. Inspired by the unorthodox proposals of the new parish priest, she tries to revive her marriage, which causes great turmoil, not only for Gieri but the entire village community.

Three men embark on a journey in search of meaning and happiness in the autumn of their lives: Bob swaps his safe home for a camper van and tries to find himself in the barren Californian desert; Steve, drag queen and stand-up comedian, is fed up of England and makes amends with his past in Benidorm; Yamada rediscovers his smile by reading stories to children in Tokyo.

Inès, a professional photographer, decides to complete a book she is working on before she gives birth to her first child. This photography project, related to the memories of her childhood, always brings her back to the same place: the family home in southern Argentina that shaped her youth and forged her character. It also contains the only photo Inès still has of her with her father, before he disappeared as a victim of the military dictatorship. This photo is the starting point of a jigsaw puzzle of fragmentary memories about the relationships Inès had with her mother and her brother.

Conflict-avoidant Thomas just wants a relaxing holiday in the Swiss Alps. But, it's a slippery slope from the beginning. In an effort to repair his own family ties and to impress his boss, he takes his family and his employer's daughter with him. Tragedy strikes and Thomas feels responsible. Should he be his typical passive self? Or risk doing the right thing at the expense of his relationships with his family and employer?

A boy must brave deep winter snow to obtain an important family keepsake. Before he can even start this difficult journey he must first help his family survive financial ruin, rescue his beloved pet goat, and with his best friend, outwit a bratty bully who seems out to get him at every turn. Will he make it back to the village in time to celebrate the end-of-winter holiday of Chalandamarz?

Up until the middle of the 19Th century, poverty stricken mountain farmers from the Ticino area of Switzerland frequently sold their children to Milan as chimney sweeps or spazzacamini. That is also young Giorgios fate. He is forced to climb through pitch black chimneys, flinging down the soot with his bare hands. But he does not lose heart. Together with his buddies sharing in the same misery, he establishes the association of Black Brothers. They stick together, struggling against their penury and getting involved in fights with the street gangs of Milan. The film tells of the gripping adventures of the chimney sweep boys and their spectacular escape back to their native land.

Marina, Sofía and Violeta are three teenage sisters who have just suffered the loss of the grandmother who raised them. Each one will live the mourning in her own way, in a house inhabited by a myriad of memories, responsibilities and tensions.

Kari Tellenbach was born with a cleft palate. His mother takes care of him like a bird that has fallen out of the nest. As a young man Kari decides to become a barber and despite his handicap he wins the heart of Annemarie with his humour, charm and sensitivity. His happiness seems almost complete – but Annemarie’s middle class parents have already made other plans for their daughter.

Leni, in her mid-fifties, runs the local bakery with her son in a small Swiss town. When she falls in love with a much younger Argentinean dance teacher, her world is turned upside down.

Ruža left Serbia, her country, over 30 years ago and lives in Zurich. Her daily life is a string of repetitive moments until, one day, Ana arrives on the scene and upsets Ruža's painstakingly organized world. A subtle friendship develops between the two strong willed women.