Visions du Réel 2021: The documentary film festival in Nyon presents 26 films and coproductions from Switzerland
14.04.2021
The 52nd edition of Visions du Réel opens with the Swiss documentary film HEALERS, by Marie-Eve Hildbrand’s feature-length debut, on April 15. The festival takes place mainly virtually. However, numerous filmmakers as well as representatives of the film industry will participate on site. Together with the festival, SWISS FILMS is offering the professional audience its “SWISS FILMS Previews” as an online event.
Two Swiss world premieres await discovery in the Burning Lights Competition: DIDA by Nikola Ilić and Corina Schwingruber Ilić (Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion) is the director’s personal exploration of sharing his life between two countries and three women, in Serbia and Switzerland. In WAY BEYOND (Close Up Films), director Pauline Julier takes a look at the scientific future and the Future Circular Collider at CERN in Geneva.
Highlights in the International Competitions
Two contrasting world premieres from Switzerland will be screened in the International Competition. THE BUBBLE by Valerie Blankenbyl (Catpics AG) takes a look behind the colourful façades of the world’s largest retirement community: The Villages in Florida. OSTROV – LOST ISLAND by Svetlana Rodina and Laurent Stoop (DokLab GmbH) portrays the island in the Caspian Sea, whose inhabitants have been surviving on illegal fishing since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The film was also selected by the Hot Docs Festival in Canada.
Three Swiss film productions will celebrate their premieres in the International Medium-Length and Short Film Competition: IRON AND OIL by Pierre Schlesser (Earthling Productions); PARENTHESIS by Fabrice Aragno (Casa Azul Films); and WHERE WE ARE by Amélie Bargetzi (ZHdK).
Four Swiss short films will be presented in the Opening Scenes section, which is dedicated to works from film schools.
Around the globe in the National Competition
A selection of twelve feature or medium-length film productions and coproductions from Switzerland will be screened in the National Competition. The films, which will celebrate their world, international or European premieres, tell stories from all over the world: for example, Andrea Pellerani’s DREAMING AN ISLAND (Amka Films Productions) is set on a Japanese island; PUSHING BOUNDARIES by Lesia Kordonets (Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion) in the Ukraine; LIVING WATER by Pavel Borecký (Institute of Social Anthropology, University of Bern) in Jordan; and Fisnik Maxville’s NOSTROMO (Close Up Films) in the Canadian Western Territories.
Other films explore nearby surroundings: HEALERS by Marie-Eve Hildbrand (Bande à part Films) sheds light on current issues concerning health care, while Marina Belobrovaja explores new family constellations in OUR CHILD (GoldenEggProduction). Marion Neumann’s THE MUSHROOM SPEAKS (Intermezzo Films) takes a journey into the world of mushrooms – to name just a few films from the diverse Swiss selection of topics.
VdR-Industry and SWISS FILMS Previews
The festival offers the international documentary film industry an important networking platform with VdR-Industry. Producers, distributors and festival delegates can take part in the VdR-Pitching and the VdR-Work in Progress programmes. The following film projects from Switzerland are participating: OUR MONEY by Hercli Bundi and #TIMESUP KYRGYZSTAN by Leigh Iacobucci, both in VdR-Pitching, as well as UNDER OPEN SKIES by Charlie Petersmann in VdR-Work in Progress.
In collaboration with Visions du Réel, SWISS FILMS presents the SWISS FILMS Previews again this year. Five Swiss documentary films in postproduction will be presented online to sales agents, international distributors and festival delegates.
SWISS FILMS April 15, 2021