The Safe House
A prolific filmmaker and author of a trilogy, the final installment of which will be screened for the first time in Quebec as part of this retrospective, Lionel Baier is one of the leading figures in French-language Swiss cinema today. His political and intimate work also reflects a concern for formal renewal that is attuned to the reality of his time.
Official Selection, CINÉMANIA 2025
Paris, May ‘68: A 9-year-old boy is thrilled to stay a few extra days with his grandparents in their perennial apartment, joined by his two lively uncles — a visual artist and an aspiring intellectual — and his colourful great grandmother from Odessa, while his parents join the historical protests. As the country is turned upside down, the family is forced to confront the past when an illustrious guest seeks shelter in their venerated hideout.
Lionel Baier
Lionel Baier is a Swiss filmmaker born in Lausanne in 1975. His filmography comprises of both fiction and documentary films of various formats. Between 1996 and 2000, he worked as a first assistant director for several filmmakers, including Jacqueline Veuve and Jean-Stéphane Bron. He directed his first short film, Mignon à croquer, in 1999. However, he gained public recognition with his debut feature-length film, Celui du pasteur (2000), a documentary about his father. In 2004, he directed his first feature-length fiction film, Garçon stupide, followed by a tetralogy of films devoted to Europe, seen from every cardinal point. In 2015, his comedy about assisted suicide, La vanité, received four nominations at the Swiss Film Awards. In 2025, he released La cache, which is screening at the CINEMANIA festival in Montreal.
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