The Boat Is Full

A group of refugees who have been thrown together by chance managed to secretly cross the border into Switzerland during the last war. None of them knew that this refuge was deceptive, since refugees “only for racial reasons” had no right to asylum and the borders had been closed to foreigners for some time. Halfheartedly accepted by Swiss citizens and half betrayed, the refugees are prepared to give themselves up in order to save their skins. They join together to form a grotesque family in order to fulfill the requirements of the Immigration Office for exceptions to the rules. The act lasts only for a short, deceptive period before the homeland reasserts itself and the homeless pay with their lives. At the time of the action, I was one year old. I never heard anything about it at school – only the contrary.

Festivals & awards

Oscarnomination – Best Foreign Film, 1982
Filmfestspiele Berlin, Silberner Bär (bestes Drehbuch und beste Schauspielführung), 1981
Prix de la Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique (FIPRESCI), 1981
Prix du Comité International pour la Diffusion des Arts et de la Littérature par le Cinéma (CIDALC), 1981
Prix de l’Office Catholique International Cinématographique (OCIC), 1981
Filmpreis der Stadt Zürich, 1981
Grand Prix du 10ème Festival des Droits de l’Homme à Strasbourg, 1981

Press voices