Needle Park Baby
Spring 1995 - after the closure of the Needle Park and the public drug scene in Zurich, eleven-year-old Mia and her heroin addicted mother Sandrine are relocated to the countryside. While caring for her mother, Mia spends time with her imaginary friend and a gang of local teenage misfits. These friendships finally give her the strength to rebel and break free from her abusive mother.
After a sensational opening in Switzerland in January 2020, NEEDLE PARK BABY became the most successful Swiss film of the past two years; it was produced by C-Films who is behind other box-office hits such as ZWINGLI, LITTLE MOUNTAIN BOY and THE FOSTER BOY. Inspired by the bestseller PLATZSPITZBABY by Michelle Halbheer and Franziska K. Müller, the story centres on an eleven-year-old girl, Mia, who stands for all the children forgotten as a consequence of Zurich's needle park. They were forgotten both by their heroin-addicted parents as well as by the overstretched authorities. Unlike in conventional drug dramas, the director Pierre Monnard tells the story from the perspective of an innocent child rather than from that of a drug addict. This creates a very strong and touching drama without any vestige of sensationalism, yet with original ideas of how to make unpalatable scenes somehow bearable.
Awards
Castellinaria Young CInema Film Festival (Switzerland): Audience Award RAIFFEISEN – FEATURE FILMS; Special Mention (by the Official Jury Competition) and “Fuori le mura YOUNG"
Swiss Film Awards (Switzerland) 2021: Best Actress (Sarah Spale); Special Academy Award and Honorary Award for Best Costume Designer (Linda Harper)
Cinema in Sneakers (Kino w Trampkach) Film Festival (Poland) 2021: Best Youth Movie (main prize from the Film Educators jury)
Key Information
| Original Title | Platzspitzbaby |
| Genre |
Contemporary drama |
| Produced by: | C-Films |
| Year Of Production | 2019 |
| Duration | 100 min |
| Country Of Origin | Switzerland |
| Language Versions | Swiss German [OV],German [ST],English [ST],French [ST],French [DUB],Italian [DUB] |
Cast & Crew
| Director/s | Pierre Monnard |
| Cast | Luna Mwezi Sarah Spale |
| Producer/s | Peter Reichenbach |
| Writer/s | André Küttel |