Mad Heidi is a satirical and action-packed Swiss film directed by Johannes Hartmann and co-written by Tero Kaukomaa. It is a parody of the popular children's novel Heidi by Johanna Spyri, but with a surreal and dystopian twist.
The film is set in a fictional present-day Switzerland, where the country has fallen under the dictatorship of the cheese-obsessed and megalomaniacal Swiss Cheese Union. They control every aspect of people's lives, including the production and distribution of cheese. The country is divided into regions according to the flavor of cheese they produce, and people are forced to wear clothes embroidered with cheese symbols.
Heidi, played by newcomer actor Jessy Moravec, is a free-spirited and adventurous young woman who lives with her grandfather Alpรถhi in the mountains. She is dissatisfied with the oppressive society and sets out to rebel against the cheese fascists. However, she soon realizes that her grandfather has a dark history with the Swiss Cheese Union, and the past comes back to haunt them.
The film features a diverse cast of characters, including two rebels who assist Heidi in her journey, a mad scientist who creates weapons out of cheese, and a villainous leader of the Swiss Cheese Union, played by Swiss actor Udo Kier. The film's action sequences are visually stunning and creatively use Swiss elements such as cuckoo clocks and cheese knives.
Mad Heidi was partially funded through a successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, which raised over $570,000. The film was originally set to be released in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed its premiere. The film is now scheduled to be released in 2021.