Criticism of the film award: Michael Steiner leaves the Film Academy – Culture

The prominent film director Michael Steiner is resigning from the Swiss Film Academy. His accusation: There is a Rösti trench running through the organization. Are the allegations true?

It no longer makes sense for him to watch the “Prix Romandie,” wrote Michael Steiner (“My name is Eugen,” “Sennentuntschi”) last week in an email to the Swiss Film Academy: He is announcing his departure from the organization.

Steiner would only have watched the awarding of the last Swiss Film Prize in March because his feature film “Early Birds” was not nominated anywhere. And he speaks of a “Prix Romandie” because French-speaking Switzerland dominates this year in the “Best Feature Film” category.

Steiner tells “Faces & Stories” that his criticism has to do with the academy’s system: whoever has won takes part in the nomination process for the Swiss Film Prize – and this has the consequence that “Welsche for Welsche” will now vote.

Not that unbalanced at all

To put it in perspective, one has to say: the accusation cannot be substantiated numerically. Samir (Samir Jamal Aldin), co-president of the film academy, explains: The voter participation was roughly distributed between the two language regions, so members from German-speaking Switzerland also voted for French-language films.

Also: Last year they were in the feature film category several films from German-speaking Switzerland were nominated. When it comes to documentaries, German-speaking Switzerland is again dominating this year. But Michael Steiner still has a point. Several even.

The Swiss Film Academy and its film prize have experience with criticism. The event cannot please anyone: if it appears too glamorous, the organizers will be accused of wasting public money. If the film prize is presented more modestly, then the accusation is: Nobody is watching.

Too expensive, too uninteresting?

In his resignation letter, Steiner attempts to criticize both sides: On the one hand, he writes, the costs for this “evening of industry self-congratulation” would be more cleverly invested in production. On the other hand, he complains that the price receives little attention from the public.

That may be true. It is also true that the Academy neglects popular genres such as comedies, thrillers and melodramas in favor of arthouse projects from filmmakers with degrees from Swiss art schools.

Rethink procedures?

One thing can be predicted: Neither Michael Steiner’s allegations nor his resignation will change much about the Swiss Film Prize. The prize will continue to be awarded – and the event remains important for the industry, regardless of public perception.

But what the academy can learn from Steiner’s departure: Its goal should be to unite Swiss filmmakers, not divide them. If this is to work with a competitive event, then at least one of the basic requirements would have to be that people also treat each other with these prizes.