LAFF: URSULA MEIER’S, SISTER

The Consul General of Switzerland held a luncheon this Saturday afternoon to honor the work of Ursula Meier, one of its country’s brightest directors. The Consul General of Switzerland held a luncheon this Saturday afternoon to honor the work of Ursula Meier, one of its country’s brightest directors.LAFF: URSULA MEIER’S, SISTER Held at the residence of the Consulate General of Switzerland in Hancock Park the event put the spotlight on a director that has been making a name for herself throughout the world. Meier first captured the public eye in 2008 with her feature debut Home, which won the 2009 Swiss Film Prize and received France’s César nomination for Meilleur Premier Film [Best First Film] and a Best Film nomination at Argentina’s Mar del Plata Film Festival. Four years later, Meier is once again taking the international film community by storm with her film Sister.

The film tells the story of a young boy who supports his sister by stealing from the rich guests at a Swiss ski resort. Left unsupervised his criminal enterprise grows, as does his relationship to the staff at the resort. The result sends his relationship with his sister spiraling out of control.

The movie was created with young actor Kacey Mottet Klein in mind. “I had worked with Klein on my last feature when he was only eight years-old and I wanted to make sure to catch him on screen again when he was in that phase of not a boy but still not a man. He is 12 now and I made the role just for him.”

The young Klein was at the luncheon and despite growing up on film seemed rather shy to be speaking in front of the crowd. “I want to thank you all for coming out today and for supporting this film. I hope that you will all go and see it when it is released in America.”

The film will make its American debut this Sunday and Monday at the L.A. Film Festival. “We hope the film makes as much of an impact on you as it did on us when we fist saw it,” says Jeff Lipsky, co-managing executive of the relatively new distribution company Adopt Films. “In an age when many people are saying that there aren’t enough women filmmakers out there, we are proud to have such a fantastic director like Meier as a part of our team. It’s our goal to get Meier nominated in this year’s Academy Awards for Best Foreign Director and we appreciate everyone’s support in making that happen.”