SWITZERLAND has picked Michael Steiner’s romantic comedy “Wolkenbruch” to represent the country at next year’s Oscars in the international feature film category.

Based on Thomas Meyer’s best-selling novel, “Wolkenbruch’s Wondrous Journey Into the Arms of a Shiksa,” the film is set in Zurich’s Orthodox Jewish community.

Joel Basman plays Motti Wolkenbruch, a student who, much to the dismay of his Orthodox mother, falls head over heels for the beautiful shiksa, or non-Jewish woman, Laura (Noemie Schmidt).

“Wolkenbruch” premiered at last year’s Zurich Film Festival, where Basman won the Swiss Film Award for best actor for his performance. The film was the No. 1 local release in Switzerland in 2018, selling upward of 300,000 tickets in the country.

Netflix picked up worldwide rights outside of Switzerland and will bow the film on its platform later this year.

Switzerland has been nominated five times for what used to be called the best foreign-language film Oscar and has twice won the Academy Award: in 1984 for Richard Dembo’s “Dangerous Moves” and for Xavier Koller’s “Journey of Hope” in 1990.(SD-Agencies)