Dominik Locher airs Switzerland’s dirty laundry in Berlinale premiere “Enjoy Your Stay” by focusing on its undocumented workers.
“These are the people who work in the shadows and still contribute to this country’s wealth,” he states. Locher is also behind “Goliath.”
“Switzerland has this postcard image. You think of the Red Cross, the League of Nations [known as the predecessor of the United Nations]. We wanted to flip this postcard over and take a look at the other side.”
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With the help of his co-writer Honeylyn Joy Alipio, Locher follows Luz (Mercedes Cabral), a cleaner who has worked in Switzerland for years – always without papers. Now, it looks like she’s finally gotten her big break with a comfortable gig at a luxury ski resort. But a violent incident shakes up her small community.
Produced by Close Up Films and co-produced by JBA Production, “Enjoy Your Stay” is sold by Be For Films.
“The concept of solidarity is very close to my heart,” he says. “After my parents got divorced, they lived on opposite sides of the mountains. We had to travel back and forth through the tunnels that Italian workers built in Switzerland. Many of them died. Even back then, it seemed like a big injustice and an important topic to discuss.”
Still, it was Alipio who found an article about undocumented cleaners in ski resorts. “When we first pitched it at Locarno, we said it was as if the Dardenne brothers wrote a script for the Safdie brothers to film with Filipino women in a Swiss luxury resort,” he recalls.
“If you have papers that allow you to stay here, they protect you. When workers don’t have any rights, they’re at greater risk of exploitation. It’s a vulnerable position and we wanted to show that without painting them as victims.”
He adds: “What happens in the U.S. with ICE is not the same, but if someone reported them to the police, they would be deported. Still, in most mountain resorts, the local police looks the other way because they know it keeps the place running. If they don’t have to check anyone’s papers, they won’t.”
The women deal with the constant fear of repercussions, sexual violence and local workers who see them as a treat. “They work longer hours for less money. Even my relative, who’s from that region, often complained about that.” Some want to return as soon as possible. Others are hoping to stay.
“It was actually Mercedes who said: ‘Maybe Luz didn’t want to be stuck in this patriarchal system [back home]?’ Going abroad to work was an opportunity to see if there’s more to life.”
“Some of the people they meet are kind, but it would be too optimistic to assume that everyone can establish real friendships. There’s a conflict of interest and too much at stake.”
Lochner and Alipio wanted to ensure none of their characters felt expendable. “They are strong and have their own ambitions and goals.”
“During our research, we talked to undocumented workers as well and we encountered many moments of joy and kapwa, which is a Filipino word for ‘togetherness’. Being together, supporting each other,” he says.
“What I found intriguing about Luz was that she ultimately realizes it’s not just about money. There’s another concept of family, which is more feminist: you look out for those close to you. Even if you are related by blood.”
Still, before she gets there, Luz comes very close to betraying her own. Even when they need her the most.
“She’s ambitious and this ambition tests her moral boundaries. But it’s not about ‘good people’ versus ‘bad people’ here; it’s about people versus people. Their employer, Thibaut, isn’t all evil either.”
To Locher, Thibaut (played by Alexis Manenti) and Luz are “soulmates from two different worlds.”
“They remind me of Honeylyn and me. Yes, he’s testing her, but then it’s Luz who’s pushing him. When they were shooting ‘Breaking Bad,’ they apparently always had someone from the writers’ room on set who could overrule the director. It was the same with us. I would check with Honeylyn: ‘What can we do better? How can we push the envelope even further’?”
Now, the duo is working on another project together. “‘Partner Zone’ is about a Swiss supply chain due diligence officer who works for an NGO financed by a company that mines in the Philippines. We want to tell social stories with a global impact,” he notes.
“In a country like Switzerland, it’s important to reflect on who we are and who we aspire to be. We need to see if we really want to lean towards this ‘tradition of solidarity’ that we claim to have.”
