Swiss Film Awards (Quartz)

Overview

The Swiss Film Awards (Schweizer Filmpreis / Prix du cinema suisse) are Switzerland's federal film awards, presented annually by the Federal Office of Culture (FOC) in partnership with SRG SSR and the Association "Quartz" Geneva Zurich. The ceremony alternates between Zurich and Geneva. The 2026 edition took place on March 27, 2026, in Zurich. The trophy is the Quartz, awarded across 13 categories covering feature film, documentary, short film, animation, and individual craft achievements.

Since 2012, following the enactment of the Federal Message on Culture, the Swiss Film Award has been one of the federal awards granted to creative industries by the FOC. The award is an official recognition of the work of the Swiss film industry and seeks to raise the national and international profile of Swiss filmmaking. The Swiss Film Academy, whose members nominate and vote for the winners, is central to the process.

The 2026 edition introduced the Box Office Quartz, a new annual award for the film with the highest number of cinema admissions in the previous year. The inaugural Box Office Quartz went to Late Shift (dir. Petra Volpe), which recorded 207,363 admissions in 2025.

The full Swiss Film Award 2026 winners list and submission guidelines are published on the Swiss Films website.

Eligibility and Submission

Submission Process

• Submissions are managed by Swiss Films, mandated by the FOC
• Registration opens in August 2026 for the next edition, via the Swiss Film Portal
• Three-step process: create a login, enter film data, submit registered films for the Swiss Film Award
• The registration process cannot be interrupted; all relevant documents must be prepared in advance
• Deadline: September 30 (for the following year's ceremony)
• In addition to online registration, a signed application form must be sent by post to: Swiss Films, Neugasse 6, 8005 Zurich

Eligibility Requirements

Swiss Films and Co-Productions:

• Swiss films (as defined by Article 2, Paragraph 2 of the Swiss Film Act) and recognized co-productions by directors with Swiss nationality or residence in Switzerland
• Films must be available in at least two Swiss national languages (dubbed or subtitled). For films not supported by the FOC, one national language is sufficient
• Films must be independently produced
• Films must have been screened in Swiss cinemas (minimum 50 screenings) OR selected at a major international festival in Switzerland or abroad
• Each film can only participate in the Swiss Film Award once

Individual Categories (Best Actress, Best Actor, etc.):

• Persons with Swiss nationality or residence in Switzerland
• Persons from Switzerland who participated in a recognized co-production without Swiss direction are also eligible for categories 6 through 13

Graduation Films:

• Films completed as part of a film education program in Switzerland or abroad are eligible if independently produced or co-produced and their independent exploitation is ensured
• Graduation films that do not meet the independent production requirement are only eligible in the dedicated Best Graduation Film category

Minimum Entry Requirements

• Categories 1 to 3 (Best Feature Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Short Film): at least 10 admitted films required. If the minimum is not reached, the category is suspended for that year.
• Categories 4 to 13: at least 6 admitted films or persons required. If the minimum is not reached, the category is suspended.
• Films and persons in suspended categories can be re-submitted the following year.

Voting Process

1. The FOC compiles a list of films and persons meeting the eligibility requirements
2. A five-person nomination committee (appointed by the Federal Department of Home Affairs for each edition) selects nominees from recommendations submitted by Swiss Film Academy members
3. Nominees are announced in January during the Solothurn Film Festival ("Nominations Night")
4. From January through the end of February, voting members of the Swiss Film Academy vote for their preferred nominees in each category
5. The FOC selects the winners based on the Academy vote

Categories

Film Categories

• Best Feature Film - Quartz and certificate to the director and Swiss production company
• Best Documentary Film - Quartz and certificate to the director and Swiss production company
• Best Short Film - Quartz and certificate to the director and Swiss production company
• Best Animated Film - Quartz and certificate to the director and Swiss production company
• Best Graduation Film - Quartz and certificate to the director

Individual Categories

• Best Actress
• Best Actor
• Best Supporting Role
• Best Screenplay
• Best Film Score
• Best Cinematography
• Best Film Editing
• Best Sound

Special Awards

• Box Office Quartz (introduced 2026) - awarded to the film with the highest cinema admissions in the previous year
• Special Academy Award - for outstanding technical or artistic achievement
• Swiss Film Honorary Award - for lifetime achievement

Recent Results

Swiss Film Awards 2026 (March 27, 2026, Zurich)

Late Shift (dir. Petra Volpe) was the most awarded film, taking home four trophies.

Film category winners:

• Best Feature Film: Late Shift (dir. Petra Volpe, Zodiac Pictures Ltd, prod. Lukas Hobi, Reto Schaerli)
• Best Documentary Film: I Love You, I Leave You (dir. Moris Freiburghaus, Sabotage Filmkollektiv GmbH, prod. Leon Schwitter, Fabiana Seitz)
• Best Short Film: Yonne (dirs. Julietta Korbel, Yan Ciszewski, Rita Productions Sarl, prod. Marine Dumas)
• Best Animated Film: Ich Bin Nicht Sicher (dir. Luisa Zurcher)
• Best Graduation Film: Qui Part a la Chasse (dir. Lea Favre, Ecole cantonale d'art de Lausanne)

Individual category winners:

• Best Actress: Bettina Stucky (Conny in Bagger Drama)
• Best Actor: Phil Hayes (Paul in Bagger Drama)
• Best Supporting Role: Sven Schelker (Anatol in Stiller)
• Best Screenplay: Petra Volpe for Late Shift
• Best Film Score: Dino Brandao for I Love You, I Leave You
• Best Cinematography: Benoit Dervaux for A Bras-le-Corps
• Best Film Editing: Karine Sudan for A Bras-le-Corps
• Best Sound: Jacques Kieffer, Gina Keller, Marco Teufen for Late Shift

Special awards:

• Box Office Quartz (inaugural): Late Shift (dir. Petra Volpe, Zodiac Pictures Ltd / Filmcoopi Zurich) - 207,363 cinema admissions in 2025
• Special Academy Award: Damien Hauser (innovative use of new technology in Memory of Princess Mumbi)
• Swiss Film Honorary Award: Villi Hermann

Swiss Film Awards 2025 (Geneva)

Film category winners:

• Best Feature Film: Queens (Reinas, dir. Klaudia Reynicke, Alva Film Sarl, prod. Britta Rindelaub, Thomas Reichlin)
• Best Documentary Film: We, the Inheritors (Wir Erben, dir. Simon Baumann, Balzli & Fahrer GmbH, prod. Dieter Fahrer)
• Best Short Film: Southern Brides (dir. Elena Lopez Riera, Alina film Sarl, prod. Eugenia Mumenthaler, David Epiney)

The 2025 ceremony was held in Geneva. Queens had already screened at the Locarno Film Festival and other international festivals before winning the Swiss Film Award.

History

The Swiss Film Award was established in 2002 under the Federal Film Act. The ordinance governing the award (SR 443.116) was issued by the Federal Department of Home Affairs on September 30, 2004, and regulates the annual call for entries, eligibility conditions, nomination procedure, and winner selection process.

Switzerland produces films across three main language traditions: German, French, and Italian. The Swiss Film Awards recognize work across all three linguistic regions, with eligibility requiring films to be available in at least two national languages. This multilingual requirement reflects Switzerland's federal structure and ensures that awarded films are accessible across the country's linguistic communities.

The ceremony alternates between Zurich and Geneva, organized by the FOC in collaboration with Swiss Films, the Swiss Film Academy, and the Solothurn Film Festival (where nominations are announced each January). The 2026 ceremony in Zurich introduced the Box Office Quartz, responding to industry discussion about the commercial performance of Swiss films in domestic cinemas.

Significance for Filmmakers

For Swiss filmmakers, the Swiss Film Award is the highest federal recognition available. The award carries a cash prize (the FOC publishes the prize amounts in the annual call for entries), and winning or being nominated directly influences access to FOC production funding for future projects.

Switzerland's film industry operates within a unique multilingual framework. Filmmakers working in German-speaking, French-speaking, or Italian-speaking Switzerland all compete in the same categories, which means a Swiss Film Award nomination places a film in a national context that transcends linguistic boundaries. The requirement that films be available in at least two national languages has practical implications for distribution planning: filmmakers must budget for subtitling or dubbing in a second language to qualify.

The minimum entry requirements (10 films for film categories, 6 for individual categories) create a risk that categories may be suspended in years with low submission volume. Filmmakers should verify that their category will be active before building awards recognition into their distribution strategy.

The new Box Office Quartz addresses a gap in the awards structure by recognizing commercial performance. For Swiss filmmakers, this award creates an additional incentive to pursue theatrical distribution strategies, as the prize goes to the film with the highest cinema admissions regardless of critical reception. The inaugural winner, Late Shift by Petra Volpe, demonstrated that Swiss films can achieve significant domestic theatrical audiences (207,363 admissions), a benchmark that filmmakers can use when projecting their own theatrical potential.

Switzerland's co-production relationships with France, Germany, Italy, and Austria mean that Swiss Film Award recognition also signals quality to European co-production partners. Swiss co-productions regularly appear at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and Locarno, and the Swiss Film Award provides domestic validation that supports international festival positioning.

Past Winners and What They Won With

The Swiss Film Award (Quartz) recognizes outstanding achievement in Swiss cinema across categories including Best Film, Best Documentary, Best Short Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay. The inaugural Box Office Quartz was won by Late Shift (Petra Volpe) with 207,363 cinema admissions, demonstrating that Swiss films can achieve significant domestic theatrical audiences. Swiss co-productions regularly appear at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and Locarno, and the Swiss Film Award provides domestic validation that supports international festival positioning. The ceremony is organized by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, with the Swiss Film Academy (comprising approximately 400 members from the Swiss film industry) selecting the nominees and winners. The award ceremony typically takes place in March or April, often in conjunction with the Solothurn Film Festival or another major Swiss cultural event.

Eligibility Quirks That Trip People Up

Switzerland's film industry operates within a unique multilingual framework. Filmmakers working in German-speaking, French-speaking, or Italian-speaking Switzerland all compete in the same categories, which means a Swiss Film Award nomination places a film in a national context that transcends linguistic boundaries. The requirement that films be available in at least two national languages has practical implications for distribution planning: filmmakers must budget for subtitling or dubbing in a second language to qualify. The minimum entry requirements (10 films for film categories, 6 for individual categories) create a risk that categories may be suspended in years with low submission volume. Filmmakers should verify that their category will be active before building awards recognition into their distribution strategy. The new Box Office Quartz addresses a gap in the awards structure by recognizing commercial performance, creating an additional incentive to pursue theatrical distribution strategies.

Watch

See Also

For understanding how European co-production structures work, see Distribution Deals Explained. To model revenue across European territories, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator. For strategies on navigating the international festival circuit, see Festival Strategy for Independent Films.