Holiday Cinema: 13 Cinematic Highlights for Relaxed Hours on Play Suisse

In December, the festive mood combines with moments of tranquility, offering the opportunity to watch films and series in complete serenity. Around the holidays, there's often just the right setting to immerse oneself in good stories.

To provide just that, Play Suisse offers the new collection 'Holiday Cinema', which holds a diverse selection of stories: sometimes light, sometimes surprising, sometimes profound—perfect for cozy winter evenings when you just want to drift away. Film and series enthusiasts can look forward to a multitude of selected titles available on the SRG streaming platform since December 18.

Exciting highlights in internationally acclaimed productions include the drama 'Reinas', set in crisis-ridden and violent Peru in 1992, following Elena's attempt to flee to Minneapolis with her two daughters. However, just before the planned departure, her estranged ex-husband reappears, unexpectedly shaking their plans. The film was awarded the Swiss Film Prize as Best Feature Film in 2025 and represented Switzerland in the 'Best International Film' category at the Oscars 2025.

'Absolutely worth seeing is 'The Theory of Everything', set in a remote Alpine hotel in 1962, plunging young physicist Johannes Leinert into a web of enigmatic events, a missing pianist, and a mysterious death. With its stylistic noir flair, dense suspense, and outstanding ensemble, the film offers great cinema in the best Hitchcock tradition.

Also included in the collection is 'Sauvages', where Kéria adopts an orphaned orangutan baby in Borneo and together with her cousin Selaï, tries to combat the destruction of the endangered rainforest. Director Claude Barras combines a touching story with a strong environmental cause in his animation film, linking it to his internationally acclaimed success 'Ma vie de courgette'.

In memory of the renowned Swiss film producer Arthur Cohn, the collection also includes 'One Day in September' by Kevin Macdonald, a film developed under the guidance of the recently deceased Arthur Cohn. Cohn won a total of six Oscars with his profound films and was the first non-American in 1992 to receive a star on the famous 'Walk of Fame' in Hollywood. 'One Day in September' deals with the terrorist attack on the Israeli team during the 1972 Munich Olympics and was awarded the Oscar for 'Best Documentary' in 2000.

Additionally, the December collection presents a selection of 13 films, listed in full as follows:

- Reinas by Klaudia Reynicke (2024, RTS)
- Sauvages by Claude Barras (2024, RTS & SRG SSR)
- The Theory of Everything by Timm Kröger (2023, SRF & SRG SSR)
- One Day in September by Kevin Macdonald (1999)
- The Shameless by Konstantin Bojanov (2024, RTS)
- Silence of Sirens by Gazmend Nela (2023, RTS & SRG SSR)
- Vous n’êtes pas Ivan Gallatin by Pablo Martin Torrado (2023, RTS)
- Bon schuur Ticino by Peter Luisi (2023, SRF & SRG SSR)
- La ligne by Ursula Meier (2022, RTS)
- Unrueh by Cyril Schäublin (2022, SRF & SRG SSR)
- Tides by Tim Fehlbaum (2021, SRF & SRG SSR)
- Cosa voglio di più by Silvio Soldini (2010, RSI)
- Grounding by Michael Steiner & Tobias Fueter (2006, SRF & SRG SSR)

The collection gathers films and series at the end of the year that impress not so much through a festive theme, but rather through familiar faces, strong stories, or their distinctly Swiss character. A diverse offering that invites one to fill the quiet days between years with shared discoveries and great tales.

Editor's note: Image rights belong to the respective publisher.