Bratsch – A village sets a Precedent
Bratsch, located in the Leuk mountains, is an Upper Valais village with a magnificent view of the Rhone Valley. In 2015, a mere hundred people were still living there. Since the municipality merged with Gampel in the valley below, the school building stood empty. Something had to change.
In 2016, the young, visionary educator Damian Gsponer received permission from the education department to found a private school in Bratsch that is open to all children. With his new concept, he turns the current school model upside down - and wins the public’s interest and the pupils’ hearts. The focus lies not on imparting knowledge according to a prescribed curriculum, but on nurturing children and their very own talents and needs. Learning takes place wherever opportunities exist or can be created in Bratsch.
Cast
- Pädagoge
- Damian Gsponer
- Pädagogin
- Natascha Würsten
Bratsch – A village sets a Precedent
Norbert Wiedmer
- Documentary
- Production Country / Year
- Switzerland 2023
- Language
- gsw., de. OF mit de. UT
- Format
- DCP, Color, 91min
1.78:1 (16:9), Discrete 5.1
- Original Title
- Bratsch – Ein Dorf macht Schule
Director & Crew
Norbert Wiedmer
Born in 1953 in Berne/Switzerland. Studied Film in Paris and Munich. Active as a freelance writer, director and producer.
Filmography
1979 FÜNF MINUTEN ENDE DER WELT, Dokumentarfilm
1987 ALPENGLÜHN, Dokumentarfilm HOF 1987
1996 BESSER UND BESSER (Co-Regie), Dokumentarfilm
1999 SCHLAGEN UND ABTUN, Dokumentarfilm
2002 BEHIND ME - BRUNO GANZ, Dokumentarfilm
2009 SOUNDS AND SILENCE (Co-Regie), Dokumentarfilm HOF 2009
2010 MEISTERTRÄUME - EINE BERNER FUSSBALLGESCHICHTE (Co-Regie), Dokumentarfilm HOF 2010
2014 MITTEN INS LAND (Co-Regie), Dokumentarfilm
2023 BRATSCH – EIN DORF MACHT SCHULE, Dokumentarfilm HOF 2023
“With a film about a school that turns our school system upside down, I would like to explore the question of whether self-determined, pressure-free learning can prepare children just as well – but in a much more practical and humane way – for working life while also contributing to the revitalization of a mountain village.”
Norbert Wiedmer
- Director of Photography
- Pat Bürge
- Editor
- Aron Nick
- Sound
- Balthasar Jucker
- Music Composer
- Klaus Gesing
- Producer
- Norbert Wiedmer