Swiss Embassy for Peace Award

ÇERX by Metin Ewr
Turkey, 14′
In the 1990s, some newspapers were not allowed to enter the Diyarbakir region, under a state of emergency at the time, although they were legal. Children such as Bawer and Hebûn, who were part of the distribution group, secretly collected these newspapers outside the city at a previously agreed location and brought them to the planned meeting place in the city. There, the children changed their clothes to distribute them, pretending to be busy with other work. But they were constantly followed by those who saw the newspaper as dangerous and wanted to prevent its circulation. Çerx is a testament to the conditions and difficulties under which these newspapers were distributed to readers.

ENDLESS RIVER by Edoardo Pera
Italy, 15′
A war, somewhere in the world. Three soldiers are walking along a river, they have lost contact with their platoon and are trying to find it again. They have different characters and different stories, but they all dream of getting out of the chaos of war and going home. Eric is the most mature, he misses his wife and son. Art, the youngest, despite the war and homesickness still seems to marvel at the nature that surrounds them. Will hides his fragility with sarcasm, to Eric’s irritation. Every now and then their humanity brings them closer, but danger looms, the three must keep going as flurries of blows get closer and closer. The forest is around them in its lush beauty, full of mysterious sounds. The line between life and death seems to get thinner, what will be their fate?

HOLY HIGHWAY by Andrée Julikà Tavares and Gianluca Monnier
Swiss, 1h25′
In Goa, a Catholic woman, Mathilde, and Manoj, a Hindu man, protest against the construction of a highway. Seven kilometers of concrete destroyed forests and cut entire villages in half. At the same time, Yash, a taxi driver, awaits the completion of the work. Following the construction site like a common thread, the film offers a reflection on development and tourism.