Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel has unveiled its VdR-Industry selection, which includes 27 projects in different stages of production.
The works will be invited to participate in three key forums – VdR-Pitching, VdR-Work in Progress and VdR-Rough Cut Lab – that run as part of the fest’s industry activities in Nyon from April 10-14.
Those who cannot make it to the festival will be able to participate online but organizers are focusing strongly on the in-person event.
“We can’t wait to finally welcome back project holders and industry representatives to the shores of Lake Geneva. We feel strengthened by the lessons we have learned from the digital and hybrid editions of the last two years. In fact, they have opened up new possibilities in terms of activities format and allowed us to widen the range of professionals participating in VdR–Industry,” said Madeline Robert, head of industry and artistic advisor of Visions du Réel, adding, “For us, it was super important to give people the privilege to meet again – that’s one of the major needs of the industry right now.”
The projects were chosen from more than 500 submissions. Organizers highlight the great diversity reflected in the selection, both in terms of gender and geography: 15 of the 32 film directors are female, 17 are men. They come from 29 different countries and nearly half are directed and produced by filmmakers from countries in Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
“This year again VdR-Industry selection reflects the incredible diversity of contemporary documentary filmmaking, and its ever wider ranging influence,” said Robert. “We are also a launchpad for cinematography that comes from countries with a low capacity of production: it’s important for us to give them space to extend possibilities.”
Both established filmmakers and newcomers are part of the lineup. Among the well-known voices are Martina Parenti and Massimo d’Anolfi (“Bestiari, Erbari, Lapidari,” VdR-Pitching), whose critically acclaimed work (“The Castle,” “Dark Matter”) was part of a retrospective at Visions du Réel in 2019.
Other familiar names include Maria Augusta Ramos (“Secret Friend,” VdR-Work in Progress), whose previous work, “The Trial,” won best feature film at Visions du Réel in 2018, Argentina’s Manuel Abramovich (“The Monsters,” VdR-Pitching), whose 2019 doc “Blue Boy” picked up the Silver Bear at the 2019 Berlinale, and well-known Swiss filmmaker Lionel Baier (“Anatomy of the Night,” VdR-Pitching).
Newcomers include Pamella Edouard with “Faded” (VdR-Pitching), a first film that explores questions of identity on the island of Mauritius, and Brazilian filmmaker Tali Yankelevich with her sophomore feature “Girl-Tubers,” a coming-of-age story of a teenager who runs her own YouTube channel.
Sixteen projects will take part in VdR-Pitching, the international co-production and financing forum. Seven docs in their final stages will be presented at VdR-Work In Progress in search of distribution, post-production funds and festival entries, and four feature-length projects will go to the VdR-Rough Cut Lab, a workshop for creative documentaries seeking feedback and advice on their most up-to-date rough cut.
The festival’s full program will be announced on March 15.
See the list of VdR-Industry film titles below:
VdR-Pitching
“A Dog’s Life” by Diane Sara Bouzgarrou & Thomas Jenkoe (France), produced by Jean-Laurent Csinidis (Films de Force Majeure)
“Abandoned” by Vytautas Puidocas (Lithuania), produced by Rüka Jakentaité (Uku Films)
“Anatomy of the Night” by Lionel Baier (Switzerland), produced by Agnieszka Ramu (Bande à Part Films)
“Becoming Roosi” by Margit Lillak (Estonia), produced by Margit Lillak (Allfilm), Karolina Veetamm (Tiny Desk Productions), Nadja Smith (Inselfilm Production Gmbh)
“Bestiari, Erbari, Lapidari” by Martina Parenti & Massimo d’Anolfi (Italy, France, Switzerland), produced by Jasmina Sijercic (Bocalupo Films), David Fonjallaz (Lomotion AG)
“Donga” by Muhannad Lamin (Libya), produced by Muhannad Lamin (Khayal Productions UG)
“Faded” by Pamella Edouard (France, Mauritius), produced by Mathilde Raczymow (Les Films du Bilboquet), Selven Naidu (Making Movies)
“Future Tenses” by Christos Karakepelis (Greece, France), produced by Maria Drandaki (Homemade Films), Julie Paratian (Sister Productions)
“Girl-Tubers” by Tali Yankelevich (Brazil), produced by Leonardo Mecchi (Enquadramento Produções)
“Karatara – Place of Dark Shadows” by Teboho Edkins (South Africa), produced by Don Edkins (Day Zero Films)
“MAILIN” by Maria Silvia Esteve (Argentina), produced by Laura Mara Tablón (Rita Cine)
“NOOR” by Jérome le Maire (Belgium, France), produced by Isabelle Truc (IOTA Production), Enrica Capra (Tag Film)
“Rodeo Queens” by Whitney Legge (U.S.), produced by Annie Marr, Laura Tejero
“The Monsters” by Manuel Abramovich (Argentina, Germany), produced by Juan Pablo Labonia (Ruido), Manuel Abramovich
“To Use a Mountain” by Casey Carter (U.S.), produced by Colleen Casingham (To Use a Mountain LLC)
“Wider Than the Sky” by Valerio Jalongo (Switzerland, Italy), produced by Milena Stokar (Aura Film sagl), Martina Latini (Ameuropa International)
VdR-Work in Progress
“5 Seasons of Revolution” by Lina (Syria, Germany, Norway, Qatar), produced by Diana El Jeiroudi (No Nations Film GmbH), Torstein Grude (Piraya Film)
“Against the Tide” by Sarvnik Kaur (India, France), produced by Koval Bhatia (A Little Anarky Films), Sarvnik Kaur (Snooker Club Films Pvt Ltd), Quentin Laurent (Les Films de l’œil sauvage)
“Hummingbirds” by Silvia Castaños & Estefania Contreras (U.S.), produced by Jillian Schlesinger, Leslie Benavides (I Love You Chingos LLC)
“La Bonga” by Canela Reyes & Sebastian Pinzón Silva (Colombia, U.S.), produced by Gabriella Garcia-Pardo (La Bonga)
“Secret Friend” by Maria Augusta Ramos (Brazil, Netherlands, Germany), produced by Nofoco Filmes, Docmakers, Gebroeders Beetz, Vitrine Films
“The Other Profile” by Armel Hostiou (France), produced by Jasmina Sijercic (Bocalupo Films)
“There Was, There Was Not” by Emily Mkrtichian (Armenia, U.S.), produced by Mara Adina (Vernon Films), Emily Mkrtichian (There Was, There Was Not LLC)
VdR-Rough Cut Lab
“Cúcuta” (Working Title) by Anaïs Michel & Braulio Jatar (Colombia, U.S., Venezuela), produced by Anaïs Michel, Braulio Jatar (Quicksand Films LLC)
“Fragments of Ice” by Maria Stoianova (Ukraine), produced by Alina Gorlova, Maksym Nakonechnyi (Tabor)
“Our Second Home” by Frankie Sin (Hong Kong, Taiwan, France), produced by Stefano Centini (Volos Films Ltd), Peter Yam (Blue Island Limited), Xavier Rocher (La Fabrica Nocturna Cinema)
“So That We Stay Alive” by Amine Kabbes Mohamed (Algeria), produced by Yacine Bouaziz, Fayçal Hammoum (Thala Films)
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