One Long Winter Without Fire

Colour, 35 mm
Switzerland, Belgium, 2004, 91 min
Section: Another View

About the film

Jean and Laure, a married couple living on a farm in Switzerland’s Jura canton, recently lost their five-year-old girl in a barn fire. The parents are devastated and the tragedy has hurt their relationship. Laure breaks down and is hospitalized. Jean decides to solve his existential crisis by leaving for the city. At the foundry where he begins work, he meets refugees from Kosovo who have fled from their homeland, from the horrors of war. He is especially interested in an attractive young woman, Labinota, who has been bravely and patiently waiting for six years for her husband to return. She doesn’t even know if he’s alive. Feeling forlorn, Jean latches on to the strong, sensitive woman who shares his sorrow.

About the director

Greg Zglinski (b. 1968, Warsaw) emigrated as a tenyear-
old with his family to Switzerland, settling in the German speaking region. In 1988-92 he studied at the Lodz Film School, and was there influenced both professionally and personally by director Krzysztof Kieślowski. He has made several shorts, not only directing but also serving as cameraman, editor, composer and producer. He took the Audience Award at the festival in Calcutta for the documentary Den Berg Bezwingen (1994). Vor der Dämmerung (1995) was awarded in Switzerland as the cultural achievement of 1997, and Nach seinem Ebenbild (2001) took the Main Prize at the festival in Biarritz. One Long Winter Without Fire is his feature film debut, and at the 61st Venice IFF he received Best First Film from the international Catholic jury.