Animated film to represent Switzerland at Oscars

It took an entire day to put together just 20 seconds of this one-hour stop motion film Rita Productions

The French-language film “Ma vie de courgette” (My life as a courgette) by director Claude Barras has been chosen as Switzerland’s official entry for The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awards in the “Best Foreign Film” category for 2017. 

The film tells the story of a nine-year-old boy who is put in a children’s home after the death of his mother in an accident. It took ten months to complete, as it uses stop-motion, which consists of moving each figure millimetre by millimetre for each frame. The director needed on average an entire day just to complete a 20-second sequence. 

The film score was written by acclaimed Swiss singer-songwriter Sophie Hunger. “My Life as a Courgette” cost CHF8 million ($8.2 million) to make and was a co-production of Swiss public television, RTS. 

The jury chose the film for its originality and message of hope, as well as for its ability to appeal to all generations. The list of films nominated for Oscars in each category will be published by the Academy in January 2017. The awards ceremony will be held on February 26 in Los Angeles at the Dolby Theatre.