Exposing the Shadows of the Swiss Alps: How ‘Enjoy Your Stay’ Challenges Global Labor Narratives

The pristine, snow-dusted peaks of Switzerland have long served as a global symbol of prosperity, neutrality, and luxury. However, beneath the veneer of five-star hospitality lies a hidden ecosystem of labor, often sustained by the undocumented. Enjoy Your Stay, a gripping drama co-directed by Dominik Locher (Goliath) and Filipino filmmaker Honeylyn Joy Alipio, peels back this layer, exposing what Locher aptly describes as "the dirty side of the Swiss postcard."

Following its successful world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival and an emotional reception at the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, the film has now been acquired by Indonesian distributor Falcon. Its recent premiere at the Jakarta World Cinema marks a significant milestone in bringing this urgent, cross-cultural dialogue to Southeast Asian audiences.

The Narrative Core: A Struggle for Survival

Enjoy Your Stay centers on Luz (played by Mercedes Cabral), a Filipina migrant worker navigating the precarious life of an undocumented cleaner at an elite Swiss ski resort. For Luz, the stakes are existential: she is fighting to maintain custody of her children back in the Philippines.

Driven by the desperation to secure her family’s future and fueled by the false promises of a Swiss gangmaster—who dangles the prospect of legal status and higher wages—Luz is coerced into the dark world of labor trafficking. What follows is not a trajectory of salvation, but a harrowing descent into moral compromise. The film refuses to paint Luz as a passive victim; instead, it portrays a woman of immense ambition whose circumstances force her to navigate a system designed to exploit that very drive.

"It was [Alipio] who insisted from the start that Luz not be reduced to a victim," says Locher. "She must be a very ambitious woman. Otherwise, she would never be in Switzerland."

A Creative Synergy: The Genesis of a Collaboration

The partnership between Locher and Alipio began at the Busan International Film Festival, where the two filmmakers discovered a shared desire to document the lives of those existing in the "shadows of Switzerland."

Alipio, a protégé of the legendary Filipino artist Armando “Bing” Lao, brings the "found story" method to the collaboration. This approach merges rigorous, real-life investigative research with the narrative fluidity of fiction. Together, the duo spent months conducting on-site research at Swiss luxury resorts, interviewing undocumented workers from Serbia, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines.

The collaboration is deeply personal. Alipio recounts an incident where a neighbor of Locher’s, upon seeing her, immediately assumed she was his domestic help. The correction—that she was his peer and collaborator—is a microcosm of the systemic prejudices the film aims to dismantle.

"As a Filipina, I cannot help but feel sadness and shame," Alipio told Variety. "I do not want the Filipinas to be portrayed as cleaners, but that is our reality. It was a hard pill to swallow." Yet, she notes that the partnership itself is a form of defiance, representing two countries that are inextricably linked by labor migration, working together to amplify the voices of the marginalized.

The Reality of the "Swiss Postcard"

The film’s focus extends beyond the Filipino experience, aiming to speak for the broader migrant labor force in Europe. During their research, the directors encountered Indonesian workers in Swiss nail salons, often trapped in conditions far more precarious than those depicted in mainstream media.

"We heard about stories of Indonesian people working in nail salons in Swiss cities during our research," Locher explains. "That’s even the worst situation in some cases, and we were really hoping that this movie could also speak for Indonesian people."

The film’s production—produced by Close Up Films and co-produced by JBA Production, with sales handled by Be For Films—emphasizes a commitment to authenticity. By featuring international stars like Alexis Manenti, the production creates a bridge between the European film industry and the urgent realities of the Global South.

Community Impact and Public Discourse

Enjoy Your Stay has moved beyond the festival circuit to become a tool for social awareness. In Switzerland, the filmmakers organized a private, fully booked screening exclusively for undocumented workers. The response was profound, with many attendees stating that the film captured the nuances of their daily struggle with painful accuracy.

The filmmakers see the project not merely as a piece of cinema, but as a catalyst for conversation. During the Cinemalaya festival, the directors hosted a panel with organizations dedicated to supporting undocumented workers, bridging the gap between artistic expression and grassroots advocacy.

"We hoped that it would be a movie people enjoy watching, but also a movie that stirs up discussions on how to treat one another," says Locher. For Alipio, the goal is long-term societal shift: "I hope that in 50 years, the story the film tells will no longer happen in real life."

Looking Ahead: The ‘Partner Zone’ Project

The creative momentum of the Locher-Alipio duo shows no sign of waning. Their next project, Partner Zone, is currently in the development phase and promises to continue their exploration of the economic ties between Switzerland and the Philippines.

The film will follow a Swiss ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) auditor who travels to the Philippines to inspect a gold mine. Given that Switzerland refines between 50% and 70% of the world’s annual gold supply, the project is poised to expose the complex, often extractive relationship between Western financial hubs and the developing nations that fuel them.

"Dom and I have already established a working dynamic," says Alipio. "We have an ambition to create more films dedicated to the world’s marginalized people." The team expects to begin scripting in 2027, with the majority of the production taking place in the Philippines and the remainder in Geneva, maintaining their commitment to cross-continental storytelling.

Implications for Global Cinema

The acquisition of Enjoy Your Stay by Indonesian distributor Falcon highlights a shifting trend in the film market: a growing demand for stories that challenge the Western-centric perspective of migration and labor. By prioritizing the voices of those usually relegated to the background, Locher and Alipio are not just making movies; they are challenging the geopolitical status quo.

The film stands as a testament to the power of collaborative storytelling. In an era where the divide between the global north and south is often exacerbated by economic policies and border restrictions, Enjoy Your Stay serves as a mirror, forcing audiences to confront the human cost of luxury. As the film continues to screen across Asia and Europe, its message remains clear: the "postcard" of modern prosperity is often written by those the world chooses not to see.

Whether through the lens of a cleaner in a Swiss resort or the audit of a gold mine, the work of Locher and Alipio remains firmly rooted in the belief that cinema can be a force for systemic change. By transforming research into narrative and trauma into art, they are ensuring that the stories of the marginalized are no longer kept in the shadows, but brought into the full, unblinking light of the silver screen.