DENE WOS GUET GEIT

Switzerland

Synopsis

Using her skills of selling internet and insurance deals, young call center employee Alice calls up elderly strangers and pretends to be their granddaughter in urgent need of money. As this trick quickly makes her rich, the film observes people and places in Zurich, all mysteriously connected to Alice’s business.

Directors Statement

The title of our film refers to a traditional swiss folk song, “Dene wos guet geit” by Mani Matter. It is a song about the organisation of wealth, about the haves and havenots. The crime depicted in the film is based on a trick of confidence which takes advantage of the disconnection between the generations of grand children and their grandparents.
Everything about the trick seems to happen in an anonymous space. We considered this ‘crime’ as a chance to portray and explore our hometown.

Director's Biography

Born in Zurich in 1984, Cyril Schäublin, descendant of a watchmaker family, left Switzerland in 2004 to live in Beijing, China. In 2006 he moved back to Europe to study cinema in Paris and Berlin, where he graduated at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin in 2012. His first feature film, THOSE WHO ARE FINE, premiered in Locarno and Rotterdam. The film was invited to New Directors / New Films at the MoMA in New York City and won the price for best international feature film at the 72nd Edinburgh International Film Festival. He lives and works in Zurich.
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Cyril Schäublin

Written by: Cyril Schäublin

Produced by: Silvan Hillmann, Lara Hacisalihzade, Ralph Rutishauser, Cyril Schäublin

Cinematography: Silvan Hillmann

Editing: Cyril Schäublin, Silvan Hillmann

Production Design: Lara Hacisalihzade

Costume Design: Irene Schweizer

Original Score: Linda Vogel

Sound Design: Nicolas Buzzi

Main Cast: Sarah Stauffer (Alice Türli), Nikolai Bosshardt (police detective Binggeli), Fidel Morf (police detective Morf), Margot Gödrös (Mrs Oberli), Daniel Bachmann (the nurse), Ester Flückiger (Mrs Rüegg), Bert Siegfried (the chief physician), Toni Majdalani (the storyteller), Mohamed Aghrabi (the storyteller), Chihanez Belguidoum (the storyteller)

Nominations and Awards

  • European Discovery - Prix Fipresci 2018
  • EFA Feature Film Selection 2018