North American Premiere
In a remote alpine village, Anna (Michèle Brand) works both as a waitress and mail carrier to support her young daughter. She has fallen deeply in love with the village newcomer, Marco (Simon Wisler), a strong and silent farmhand from the lowlands. But soon after their wedding, Marco is diagnosed with a brain tumour. As the seasons change, his behaviour grows increasingly erratic, leading up to a severe transgression that threatens to tear the young family apart.
An impressive sense of restraint permeates writer/director Michael Koch’s sophomore drama, from its lingering shots to its stoic cast of nonprofessional actors, who imbue the depictions of alpine farm life with genuine realism. Koch’s classically tragic plot is elevated by the presence of a choir that, like a Greek chorus framed by the sprawling natural amphitheatre of the Swiss Alps, gives voice to the characters’ unspoken grief. A Piece of Sky weighs the heavy questions about illness and mortality, and highlights how compassion can prevail under the most dire of circumstances.
Special Mention, Berlin 2022
Supported by
Michèle Brand, Simon Wisler, Elin Zgraggen, Daniela Barmettler, Josef Aschwanden
Switzerland
2022
In German, English, and French with English subtitles
Child Abuse, Sexual Violence
Book Tickets
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Antonia's Line
This month's Pantheon selection spotlights the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the Dutch feminist filmmaker Marleen Gorris, and her charming, vibrant tale of an emancipated farmer who refuses to conform.
Oscars® Party 2026
Experience the Academy Awards in style at the VIFF Centre! Watch the ceremony live on the big screen with a red carpet, a fully licensed bar and live hosts.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
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Turner & Constable
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The President's Cake
Nine year old Lamia and her friend Saeed venture into the city to scrounge ingredients for a cake to celebrate Sadaam Hussein's birthday — a quest fraught with real peril in precarious times. Winner, Camera d'Or, Cannes.
Credits
Producer
Christof Neracher
Screenwriter
Michael Koch
Cinematography
Armin Dierolf
Editor
Florian Riegel
Production Design
Sara Giancane
Original Music
Tobias Koch, Jannik Giger
Director
Photo by Bernhard Keller
Michael Koch
Michael Koch was born in Lucerne, Switzerland and studied at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne. His short films have been shown at over 100 international film festivals and won several awards. His graduation film Polar (2009) received a Special Mention at Berlinale and won the German Camera Award and German Short Film Award. His debut feature film Marija (2016) had its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival and was screened at film festivals in Toronto, Busan, Angers, and Gothenburg, winning numerous national and international prizes. A Piece of Sky is his second feature film.
Filmography: Marija (2016)