SILENT REBELLION

(A bras-le-corps)

Special Screening | Switzerland, Belgium, French | 2026 | Drama, History | 96 min | In French with English subtitles

Directed by: Marie-Elsa Sgualdo
Written by: Marie-Elsa Sgualdo, Nadine Lamari
Produced by: Elena Tatti & Nicolas Wittwer (Box Productions), Julie Esparbes (Hélicotronc), Fabrice Préel-Cléach & Emmanuelle Latourrette (Offshore)
Cinematography: Benoît Dervaux
Original Score: Nicolas Rabaeus
Film Editing: Karin Sudan
Cast: Lila Gueneau (Emma), Sasha Gravat (Colette), Sandrine Blancke (Alice), Cyril Metzger (Louis), Aurélia Petit (Élise), Grégoire Colin (Pastor Robert), Thomas Doret (Paul), Raphaël Thiery (peasant 1)
International Sales: Salaud Morrisset

Synopsis

Switzerland, 1943. Marie-Elsa Sgualdo‘s restrained debut feature begins with the rape of a teenage girl who gets pregnant, but that’s where the clichés end. Emma lives in a rural Protestant village teeming with hypocrisy — both moral and political. Set against the backdrop of WWII, at a time when Switzerland, hiding behind a veil of “neutrality”, refuses to take a stance and willingly turns Jews over to the Nazis, Emma’s exquisite story is one of making choices, quiet acts of defiance, and courageously taking a stand, be it societal or personal. Most of all, it’s a sublime, plain-spoken story of female emancipation.

Director’s biography

Swiss filmmaker Marie-Elsa Sgualdo studied fine arts and design in Geneva and holds a Master’s degree in theater from the Brussels INSAS. Her first short, Vas-y je t’aime (2009), was screened in Locarno. She went on to write and direct three more shorts: Bam Tchak (2010); On the Beach (2012), which garnered the Bayard d’or for Best Short Film at FIFF Namur; and You Can’t Do Everything at Once, But You Can Leave Everything at Once (2013), which was selected for the Cannes Directors Fortnight and screened at fifty more festivals. Silent Rebellion, her first feature, premiered in the Venezia Spotlight section of this year’s Venice Film Festival.