“The Frieda Affair” examines a high-profile murder trial in Switzerland

In her impressive feature debut, “The Frieda Case,” German-Swiss director Maria Brendle looks at a little-known but ultimately momentous murder trial in Switzerland.

Based on a true story, the film addresses themes of shame, morality and the struggle for emancipation by recounting the fate of Frieda Keller (Julia Buchmann), a young seamstress from St. Gallen accused of her murder in 1904. Ernstli, 5 year old son. “The Case of Frieda” makes its world premiere at the Zurich Film Festival.

Despite the dark subject matter, Brendle sought to tell a compelling story that would captivate audiences.

“It’s the true story of a woman who murdered her own child,” Brendle says. “I wondered what kind of person is capable of such an unimaginable act?

Brendle aimed to avoid making the film “sad and heavy” by closely following the other key characters and developing their relationships, creating a more balanced overall drama.

“I wanted the audience to really engage with the film, to become immersed in the characters and the story.” In doing so, Brendle found new opportunities to explore Frieda, a figure about whom so little is known.

Stefan Merki and Rachel Braunschweig, for example, play the prosecutor and his wife, Walter and Erna Gmür. “They were fantastic together. When I saw the chemistry between them, I was like, okay, we need to dig deeper into their relationship.

Indeed, the relationship between the two characters constitutes some of the lightest moments of the film. Likewise, the story follows Frieda’s lawyer, Arnold Janggen (Max Simonischek), and his wife Gesine (Marlene Tanczik), a strong and independent woman from Berlin who is not afraid to speak her mind.

Brendle rewrote the initial script “because it was crucial for me to highlight the female characters. They don’t just stand alongside their men: they play an essential role in the story. Although it was a male-dominated era, it was also a time when women were beginning to shape the world we live in today,” she adds.

“I was fascinated by female characters. I rewrote the relationships between them and the other characters, with the goal of showing that there were women seeking to make a difference and create opportunities for change.

In developing the character of Frieda, Brendle focused on her interactions with other characters, notably that of Erna, the prosecutor’s wife, allowing for unexpected developments. “That’s why we make movies, right? To lead you into unknown and unexpected situations,” notes the director.

The film also examines how the case ultimately led to changes to the Swiss Penal Code, albeit decades later.

The tragic circumstances surrounding the murder and Frieda Keller’s background and personal history highlighted a misogynistic legal system that not only was unfairly biased against women, but also exempted married men from being prosecuted for sexual assault.

As the film recounts, this case became a symbol of this injustice and mobilized women’s movements in Switzerland who demanded equal rights for all, ultimately leading to a new penal code and the abolition of the death penalty. dead.

“It took 30 years to change the laws – I was shocked to hear that,” Brendle says. At the time, a married man could not be prosecuted for rape. According to the law, his wife’s anger was considered punishment enough, she explains.

Brendle examined similar themes regarding oppressive social traditions and their impact on women in her short film “Take and Run” (“Ala kachuu”), for which she received an Academy Award nomination in 2022. The film follows a young woman in Kyrgyzstan who is a victim. to the kidnapping of the bride.

“It’s a similar problem in another time and in another part of the world. I found out that bride kidnapping is quite common in some countries, not just Kyrgyzstan. I was really surprised because, as a woman in Switzerland, I can go out without fear of being kidnapped by a man and forced to join another family – this is not something I need to worry about in my life. life. I wanted to highlight that this kind of reality exists in our world and that women face these challenges every day. “It’s closely related to the theme of women’s rights and what it means to be a woman in a male-dominated society.”

“The Frieda Case” is produced by Condor Films in collaboration with Swiss Radio and Television.

Brendle is currently writing a new story, a factual story set during World War II about a woman in Germany who saves a town from being bombed by French soldiers while working against the Nazi regime.

“I like true stories. Sometimes life offers stories so incredible that you just have to tell them. »