MONROE — Turner Hall of Monroe’s 2019 Swiss Heritage Series will open its season with its annual Swiss Movie Night on Friday, March 29 at 7:30 pm in the Grand Hall. 

This year’s film, Clara und das Geheimnis der Baren (Clara and the Secret of the Bears) was released in Switzerland in 2013 and garnered several film awards in various countries. Filmed in the Swiss canton of Graubuenden and in Bavaria, Germany, 13-year-old Clara, who has a special sensitivity, connects with the spirit of a girl, Susanna, from two centuries earlier. Susanna warns Clara about a curse that falls on anyone who harms bears. 

Clara and her friend Thomas then find themselves in a dangerous adventure in an effort to restore the balance between humans and nature.

The film is perhaps a commentary and lesson on Switzerland’s 20th century eradication of bears from the Alps. After the last brown bear was shot and killed in 1904, wild bears did not exist in Switzerland throughout the rest of the 20th century. Only since 2005 have bears begun to reappear in Switzerland, migrating from Italy. In 2016, a bear, from which the name Bern is derived, was spotted in canton Bern for the first time in 190 years.

The 90-minute film, which is in German with English subtitles, is comparable to a G rating. Movie popcorn and beverages will be available, and a free-will donation will be accepted for the Swiss Heritage Series. The public is cordially welcome to attend. Turner Hall of Monroe is located at 1217 17th Avenue, and is handicapped-accessible. A trailer from the film may 

be viewed at TurnerHallofMonroe.org/clara.html.