In A Piece of Sky, the audience is transported to a remote mountain region in Switzerland where the pastures are steep and working the land requires a particular kind of toughness and character. In this raw environment, a tragic, slow-burning love story unfolds – framed by an Alpine version of a Greek chorus – over three years, or as the original title Drii Winter suggests: three winters.
Anna loves Marco. But he is not from the area and, as an outsider, must prove himself first as a good worker and a man who can be trusted. The regulars in the small village pub, where single mother Anna works when she is done with her duties as a mail carrier, don’t want to see her hurt and left behind again.
Marco wins the locals and Anna’s daughter over, and the couple gets married. Soon after, Marco becomes sick and loses control over some of his impulses, which sets the young family on an unexpected path.
Writer-director Michael Koch – whose first film, Marija, about a Ukrainian immigrant in Germany, was released in 2016 – returns to his home country Switzerland with A Piece of Sky. Instead of trained actors, he hired nonprofessional locals like farmer Simon Wisler, who plays Marco, and architect Michèle Brand, for the role of Anna.
While it took him three years to convince Simon Wisler to play the male lead, Michèle Brand was immediately ready for a challenge when she answered an ad in the local paper: “I sent in my name, age, and a photo, that’s it,” she recalls in an email from Switzerland. “Then, I met Michael for coffee and we spoke about my faith, my dreams, and what’s important to me in life.” Nine months and a few more meetings and tests with other potential actors later, she finally got the part. “I was so happy! From the beginning, I had this exciting, tingly feeling. I really wanted to be part of this film – if not as actress, I would have done something behind the camera. I couldn’t believe I got the female lead role!”
With roughly 70 days to film, Michael Koch carved out enough time for the cast to get used to their roles. “The most difficult part for me was to slow down to Anna’s speed,” says Michèle Brand. “I’m more lively in real life and use my hands a lot when I talk. Every now and again I needed to be reminded not to do that.”
Feeling the support from the crew at all times, the leading actress also worked with an intimacy coordinator: “That was interesting, but since we shot during corona, I actually did not mind a bit of real contact. And as soon as the camera rolled, it was Anna who kissed Marco, not me kissing Simon.”
Switzerland’s official Oscar entry received a Special Mention at the Berlin Film Festival and the Roger Ebert Award for new directors at the Chicago International Film Festival