Les Frictions du Réel

Twenty-one Swiss films will celebrate their world premieres with screenings in the various festival sections. The French-Swiss-Portuguese coproduction NUIT OBSCURE – “AIN'T I A CHILD?” (Alina film) will be screened in the International Feature Film Competition. In the closing chapter of his trilogy on migration policies, director Sylvain George accompanies underage migrants from Marocco on the streets of Paris at night. 

Two Swiss films are among the 15 world premieres to be screened in the Burning Lights Competition, which is dedicated to contemporary perspectives in cinema: EL MUNDO AL REVÉS by Leon Schwitter and Agostina Di Luciano (CH/AR; Sabotage Filmkollektiv) takes a magical-realistic look at enigmatic encounters in an Argentinian village. In the Swiss-French coproduction LA MURAILLE (Alva Film), director Callisto Mc Nulty travels to a former sanatorium for leprosy patients in southeast Spain.

Four Swiss world premieres will be screened in the International Medium Length & Short Film Competition: AUTOSTOP by Roman Hüben; EL ENSAYO by Alberto Martín Menacho and Carmen Ayala Marín, NIEDERURNEN, GL by Anna Joos, and ROAD 190 by Emilie Cornu and Charlotte Nastasi.

National Competition

The 12 world premieres screened in the National Competition – including eight feature-length debut films – reflect the thematic diversity of Swiss documentary filmmaking as they take us around the globe. FITTING IN by Fabienne Steiner is set in South Africa, COLOSTRUM by Sayaka Mizuno in the Swiss Alps, KEVINE ET FORTUNE begins in Cameroon, SEDIMENTE by Laura Coppens sheds light on memories of National Socialism, the GDR and the post-reunification era – just to name a few.

The festival will open with the screening of BLAME in the Grand Angle section. Part investigation, part thriller, director Christian Frei weaves the story of three scientists who not only have to fight against the virus during the Covid pandemic, but also against misinformation and conspiracy theories.

All Swiss films in official festival programme
 

SWISS FILMS Previews

In collaboration with Visions du Réel, SWISS FILMS will present its annual Previews at VdR Industry Days (April 6-9), during which producers of six Swiss documentary films with international potential have the opportunity to present their projects to sales agents, international distributors and festival delegates.

Preview Booklet Visions du Réel 2025

Two Swiss projects will be taking part in “VdR-Pitching”, the international coproduction and financing forum: THE BIG BOOM by Gabriel Tejedor (Production: Susanne Guggenberger, Mira Film Basel) and CALL ME WHEN THE WIND BLOWS by Arami Ullón (production: Aline Schmid, Beauvoir Films).

Seven documentaries in development from French-speaking Switzerland will be presented as part of the “Prix RTS” Pitching Competition by Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS). These include CHINATOWN by Callisto Mc Nulty (production: Britta Rindelaub, Alva Film), INLAND by Blaise Harrison (production: Lionel Baier, Bande à Part Films), and MY WIFE IS AN ARCHITECT by Claude Baechtold (production: Luc Peter, Katia Monla, Intermezzo Films).