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La cache

The Safe House
Competition 2025
© Véronique Kolber
Paris, May 1968. A nine-year-old boy is thrilled to be staying with his grandparents. They are joined by two fun-loving uncles – a visual artist and an aspiring intellectual – and by the boy’s flamboyant great-grandmother from Odessa. The boy spends several days in the apartment while his parents take part in the historic student protests. As the country is turned upside down, the family is forced to confront its own past when an illustrious guest seeks refuge in their hideout. His presence sparks new revelations and reflections on the family’s history. Lionel Baier’s buoyant comedy is based on the novel which Christophe Boltanski, nephew of the renowned visual artist Christian Boltanski, wrote about his family.
by Lionel Baier (Director, Screenplay), Catherine Charrier (Screenplay)
with Dominique Reymond, Michel Blanc, William Lebghil, Aurélien Gabrielli, Liliane Rovère, Ethan Chimienti, Adrien Barazzone, Larisa Faber Switzerland / Luxembourg / France 2025 French 90' Colour World premiere

With

  • Dominique Reymond (Grandmama)
  • Michel Blanc (Grandpapa)
  • William Lebghil (Great-Uncle)
  • Aurélien Gabrielli (Little-Uncle)
  • Liliane Rovère (Hinterland)
  • Ethan Chimienti (the boy)
  • Adrien Barazzone (the boy's father)
  • Larisa Faber (the boy's mother)

Crew

Director Lionel Baier
Screenplay Lionel Baier, Catherine Charrier
Cinematography Patrick Lindenmaier
Editing Pauline Gaillard
Music Diego Baldenweg, Nora Baldenweg, Lionel Baldenweg
Sound Design Raphaël Sohier
Production Design Véronique Sacrez
Casting Stéphane Batut, Roxanne Peguet, Minna Prader
Producers Agnieszka Ramu, Laetitia Gonzalez, Yaël Fogiel, Vincent Quénault, Jeanne Geiben

Produced by

Bande à part Films

Lausanne, Switzerland

Co-produced by

Red Lion

Roeser, Luxembourg

Les Films du Poisson

Paris, France

RTS Radio Télévision Suisse

Genf, Switzerland

SRG SSR

Bern, Switzerland

World Sales

mk2 Films

Paris, France

Photos

Press Conference

Red Carpet

Lionel Baier

© Ulysse del Drago Bande à part films

Born in Lausanne in 1975 to a Swiss family of Polish origin, he began his career in 1992 as programmer and manager of Cinéma Rex in Aubonne. Since 2002, he has been head of the cinema department at the École cantonale d’art de Lausanne (ECAL). In 2009, he co-founded Bande à part Films with Ursula Meier, Jean-Stéphane Bron and Frédéric Mermoud. In 2014, he received the Grand Prix Culturel der Fondation vaudoise pour la culture. His film Ondes de choc – Prénom: Mathieu screened in Panorama at the 2018 Berlinale. In 2023, he became head of directing at the Parisian film school La Fémis. He is also vice-chairman of the Cinémathèque Suisse and Visions du Réel board.

Filmography

2000 Celui au pasteur (ma vision personnelle des choses) (The Pastor's); documentary 2001 La Parade (notre histoire); documentary 2004 Garçon stupide (Stupid Boy) 2006 Comme des voleurs (à l'est) (Stealth (East)) 2008 Un autre homme (Another Man) 2010 Low Cost (Claude Jutra) · Toulouse 2011 Bon vent Claude Goretta; documentary 2013 Les grandes ondes (à l'ouest) (Longwaves) 2015 La Vanité (The Vanity) 2017 Ondes de choc – Prénom: Mathieu (Shock Waves – First Name: Mathieu) 2022 La dérive des continents (au sud) (Continental Drift (South)) 2023 Une main muette; short film 2025 La cache (The Safe House)

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2025