''Das Fräulein'' or ''Fräulein'' was directed by Swiss filmmaker Andrea Štaka in 2006, and won seven awards, including ''

Golden Leopard The Golden Leopard () is the top prize at the Locarno International Film Festival, an international film festival held annually in Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. Directors in the process of getting an international reputation are allowed to be ...

'' at

Locarno Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, sh ...

Plot

Ruza (

Mirjana Karanović Mirjana Karanović ( sr-cyr, Мирјана Карановић; born 28 January 1957) is a Serbian actress, film director and screenwriter. Considered one of the best Serbian and Yugoslavian actresses of all time, she is probably the best known f ...

) a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

, left Belgrade more than 25 years ago to seek a new life in Zurich. Now in her fifties, she has completely detached herself from the past. She owns a cafeteria and maintains an orderly, joyless existence. Mila (Ljubica Jović), a waitress there, is a good-humored Croatian woman who also emigrated decades ago, but, unlike Ruza, she dreams of returning to a house on the Croatian coast. Both of them receive a jolt when Ana (

Marija Škaričić Marija Škaričić (born 6 August 1977) is a Croatian actress. Biography Marija Škaričić was born on August 6, 1977 in Split. She ended Primary and Secondary school in Split. As a high school student, she attended ''Gradsko kazalište mla ...

), a young Bosniak, itinerant woman who has fled

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

, breezes into the cafeteria looking for work. Ruza hires her but is annoyed by Ana's impulsive and spirited efforts to inject life into the cafeteria. Gradually the acrimony will dissipate, as Ana, who hides a tragic secret under her passionate spirit, begins to thaw Ruža's chill, and their relationship will change both women in ways they never anticipated.

Themes

As stated by Štaka, the film touches the issues deeply personal to her. Observing the lives of three

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

n women from different generations who fled from their homeland seeking better future in Switzerland, she contemplates on displacement of our era.

Reception

''Das Fräulein'' was well received by critics. The movie won ''

'' at the 59th

and became the first Swiss film since 1985 to win the award. It also received Youth Jury First Prize, as well as the Don Quixote Prize from the International Federation of Film Societies.

References

External links

* * * 2006 films Bosnian-language films 2000s Croatian-language films 2000s German-language films Golden Leopard winners 2000s Serbian-language films 2006 multilingual films Swiss multilingual films {{Switzerland-film-stub