En terrain neutre – Films – Visions du Réel

Neutral Ground

Stéphane Goël & Mehdi Atmani
Switzerland | 2026 | 80 min
World premiere
Languages : French, German, Italian
Subtitles : English, French

En terrain neutre is a tragicomic investigation that delves into the heart of the Swiss soul byexamining its political neutrality. Stéphane and Mehdi use their personal histories as the basis from which to question this concept and its history up to the UN Security Council. But in our world of increasingly polarising conflicts, is there trully any other option that to take sides?

The film will be released in theaters in French-speaking Switzerland on April 29 and in German-speaking Switzerland on June 4.

The film is suitable for audiences 14 and older.

Even on American late-night shows, the statements of the Russian Minister of War have provoked both outrage and amusement: given its critical stance on the invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland would no longer be regarded as neutral. Drawing from their own personal histories, Stéphane Goël and Mehdi Atmani embody the quest to uncover the secret of what defines their country’s identity. By giving this story – which dates back to the deadly defeat at Marignano – a playful and rock’n’roll treatment, they take their investigations in both serious and more whimsical directions, such as visiting a bunker or following disastrously failed military simulations. Viewed as an attitude of self-interest following the Second World War, this voluntary withdrawal from global turmoil also embodies the symbol of the country’s economic reliability as well as its political stability. It is a stance that the ongoing genocide in Gaza pushes to its limits, to the point of making neutrality seem like an obsolete concept, leading Stéphane and Mehdi to speak of it in the past tense: “we were carefree, neutral”.

Raphaëlle Pireyre

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