Co-writer/director Samuel Flückiger’s UNSER KIND is a heart-wrenching story based on the fate of numerous Swiss couples struggling with infertility. We follow a couple in a desperate pursuit of a child who are undergoing surrogacy abroad. When they find out the foetus has irreversible complications, they are left with a tough decision to make. Surrogacy has been illegal in Switzerland since 2001. This taboo breaking story is a source of hope for men and women going through their own infertility journey. This thought-provoking short film has qualified for the 97th Academy® Awards after winning the Best of Fest award at LA Shorts.
A Swiss couple is expecting a child through surrogacy in The Republic of Georgia when questions about their baby's health arise.
I had a chance to learn more in this interview.
What was the inspiration behind Unser Kind?
A few years ago, my friend and co-writer Philippe Grob read an article about an Australian couple who had twin babies through surrogacy in Thailand. When one of the babies was diagnosed with Down syndrome, the couple allegedly abandoned it, leaving the surrogate to take care of the child. Philippe and I were very moved by this story, and as we began researching the topic, we quickly learned that in our home country of Switzerland, surrogacy is prohibited by law, forcing many Swiss couples to go abroad to pursue their dream of having a child. This was the starting point for writing our story.
We continued our research, exploring many deeply moving stories from intended parents, surrogates, and their children from around the world. After absorbing these narratives, we felt emotionally and dramaturgically equipped to write a compelling screenplay.
Why is it important to have open dialogue about this tough issue?
If we consider the rising rates of infertility and involuntary childlessness in Western countries—issues often stigmatized or treated as taboo—surrogacy increasingly emerges as a last-resort option for affected couples. At the same time, and this often comes as a surprise, surrogacy is prohibited not only in Switzerland but also in many other Western countries. In Italy, for example, the parliament recently ratified a law that imposes extremely high fines and even prison sentences on couples who travel abroad to seek surrogacy services.
I personally believe any couple should have the right to pursue surrogacy to fulfill their dream of having a child, as long as the surrogate, intended parents, and child are fully protected from exploitation and everyone's human rights are upheld.
While achieving this is challenging, especially given the ethical, legal, and social complexities, I believe it’s problematic to simply avoid the political effort to find a viable solution to such a deeply human desire. Ignoring this issue and turning a blind eye when people are forced into illegality to pursue their legitimate dream of having a family cannot be a sustainable solution in the long run.
What are some of the challenges faced when working on a film like this?
The challenges of making any film are manifold, starting with securing financing and creating a production environment where everyone involved feels inspired, encouraged, and safe to express themselves artistically. I have to thank my wonderful producers, Nadine Lüchinger and Flavio Gerber, as well as our co-producer Dmytro Sukhanov, for successfully achieving both.
Furthermore, since UNSER KIND addresses such sensitive subject matter in a fictional story, it was incredibly important to me to strive for as much emotional, social, and medical authenticity as possible. I believe achieving this authenticity was our biggest artistic challenge, but it was also the most rewarding part of our journey.
While some authenticity can be achieved through thorough research during the writing phase, it’s really during production that the integrity and believability of creative intentions are put to the test. My role was to bring together a collective of artists who have a strong, personal connection to the story and an interest in the underlying topics of UNSER KIND. Just to give an example, our DP, Gabriela Betschart, who previously shot a documentary on surrogacy in India, developed a beautiful yet restrained visual language grounded in reality, avoiding unnecessary aestheticizations. Aside from her great skills as a DP, it was her intellectual and emotional experiences from that documentary shoot that helped instill believability in our shots.
Lastly, it was essential for me to establish profound trust between myself and the cast. Trust is the most important resource when shooting a film like this, as it demands a great deal of vulnerability and exposure from the actors, both physically and emotionally. I strongly believe that since filmmaking is such a collaborative effort, trust enables you and your collaborators to overcome any challenge you might face when telling a story like UNSER KIND - a story that strives not only to be entertaining but also socially relevant.
Co-writer/director Samuel Flückiger is an award-winning filmmaker based in Switzerland, his body of work includes TERMINAL, NIGHTLIGHT and WINDOWLESS which have screened at renowned festivals around the world and have been sold to multiple broadcasters including CBC and SRF.
Nadine Lüchinger became a producer at Filmgerberei in 2014 where she built the fiction and documentary film department. She has produced several award-winning and internationally screened short films, web series and feature documentaries: Her short film ALA KACHUU which was nominated for the 2022 Academy® Awards, EVERYTHING ABOUT MARTIN SUTER. EXCEPT THE TRUTH which premiered at Locarno Film Festival in 2022 and IMMORTALS which premiered in the international competition at CPH:DOX in 2024.
The stunning cinematography was created by Gabriela Betschart who is the recipient of the German Newcomer Film Award “First Steps” in Berlin.
This incredibly emotional and poignant film has qualified to be considered for the 2025 Oscars®.
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