'“Le Lac”
Recipient of The Saint Andrew Award for Best Film
Jury Statement: Le Lac captures the visceral experiences of sailing and relationships in all conditions - at times beautifully serene and calm, then careening us back and forth in the waves. This experimental film is a visual delight which features little dialogue, allowing the viewer to bring their own interpretation of the protagonists' stories.
This poetic drama follows a woman and a man as they immerse themselves in a demanding sailing race that unfolds over several days and nights on a vast lake. Set within an elemental landscape of water, wind, clouds, and birdsong, the film becomes more than a physical journey, transforming into a deeply introspective exploration of endurance, isolation, and emotional reckoning.
As the characters move through the race, they confront the silence of nature and the intensity of their inner worlds. The film evokes themes of longing, survival, and human vulnerability, capturing how the natural world can both wound and awaken us. It is a meditative and visually rich story about sailing, solitude, and the powerful emotional force of nature.
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Fabrice Aragno is a Swiss film director, cinematographer, editor, sound engineer, producer, and longtime creative collaborator of Jean-Luc Godard since 2002. An acclaimed figure in European cinema, he has directed several short and medium-length fiction and documentary films, beginning with Dimanche, which was selected for the Cinéfondation at the Cannes Film Festival in 1999.
Aragno was nominated by the National Society of Film Critics in the United States for Best Cinematographer in 2014 for Adieu au langage. In 2020, he received the Rayonnement Award from the Foundation vaudoise pour la Culture, recognising his cultural impact and artistic achievement. He was also one of the four authors of Orae, experiencing the borders, created for the Swiss Pavilion at the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale. In 2025, Fabrice Aragno directed Le Lac, his first feature film, marking a major new chapter in his career as a filmmaker.