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A Piece of Sky film image, director Michael Koch

A Piece of Sky

Drii winter

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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

Director
Cast

Michèle Brand, Simon Wisler, Elin Zgraggen, Daniela Barmettler, Josef Aschwanden

Credits
Country of Origin

Switzerland

Year

2022

Language

In German, English, and French with English subtitles

Film Contact
Links
Content Warning

Child Abuse, Sexual Violence

18+
136
Award Winners Drama

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Credits

Producer

Christof Neracher

Screenwriter

Michael Koch

Cinematography

Armin Dierolf

Editor

Florian Riegel

Production Design

Sara Giancane

Original Music

Tobias Koch, Jannik Giger

Director

Michael Koch headshot, A Piece of Sky 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)