Notes from Switzerland!

Semaine trois...

That’s about the extent of my French. They speak a lot of it here along with some German, Italian and something called Swiss French which is hard to distinguish. Our new friend, the wonderful Helene got us tickets to see Polvo Serán by Carlos Marques-Marcet at Le Cinématographe in the city of Lausanne . Lausanne is about an hour and a half away from Sierre and has a lot of beautiful buildings, fun shops and she thought it might be inspiring.

The film is in Spanish and the subtitles were in German and French. As we know, the power of cinema needs no translation but I was surprised to realize that I was able to understand the French subtitles.

The lead actress, Ángela Molina was incredible to watch as she played a woman navigating the choice to end her life in Switzerland. As that is the theme of our screenplay THE EXIT. It was interesting to see how they told that story with dance, music and humor. I’m so glad I got to see this film in a very cool cinema. Helene’s instincts were correct, it was an inspiring screening.

It’s nice to visit other cities in Switzerland and yet, I’m not really into being a tourist. For me, it’s more fun to not know where I’m going and take my time to stumble upon something special but that said, we did ride this steam boat to Chillon Castle in Montreux.

The weather here has been really warm and it was much cooler in Montreux. The stone walls of the castle have windows looking over gorgeous Lake Geneva that felt peaceful and calm. There is also a prison in the lower part of the castle where at first it seemed that British poet Lord Bryon was held captive but it turns out that is not true. During his visit in 1816, Lord Byron found inspiration in the story of Chillon inmate François Bonivard, (1493-1570) making him the protagonist in his poem The Prisoner of Chillon, which shot the castle to global fame. It has been translated into 20 languages. Again, with the language.

As an America not only do I feel ashamed by my country’s current state, I also feel ignorant for only speaking English and foolish for not taking any language courses in school. My father had never been to Europe except he may have gone to Germany while in the army and my mother finally went to France in her late fifties only to complain about everything! They were not worldly. I know this sounds blamely (I’m aware this is not a real word). The truth is, I was too busy doing drugs and drinking to finish high school and didn’t think I’d live to be 21 so, all of this is bonus rounds.

Thank God for cinema and the education I’ve gotten from watching foreign films to see a world beyond my childhood. It’s always been my dream to live in Europe and here I am!

Last night I was in bed looking up to the sky and below was my view. Not too bad for a Valley Girl.

Today I am so happy to have the time to dig back into my screenplay, GRACE. A story about how people from different parts of the world who speak different languages find a common connect through loving kindness. I’m beyond grateful to have the freedom and resources to explore this story in this beautiful environment.

As and adult, I’ve been trying to learn French for over a decade. In-person classes, online classes, Duolingo, French friends etc, clearly, I’m not a quick study but I’m not giving up.

With the window open I can hear the birds chirping outside along with the grounds keepers speaking in French, or maybe Swiss French?

Lucky me!

Wishing everyone a lovely full moon weekend.

xo

Christina