Every April, we eagerly set off to the luminous shores of Lake Geneva in the small town of Nyon, Switzerland, to attend Visions du Réel - an annual film festival with a strong reputation for championing creative, contemporary non-fiction cinema. With over 160 films each year, half of which are world premieres, Visions du Réel has been a great source of artistic discovery for the podcast since we launched in 2020. Over the years, we have not only developed a deep appreciation for many films we encountered in the program but also for the bold curatorial decisions made by the programming team. As such, every year, it has become a tradition for our podcast to feature an interview with the Artistic Director of the festival for an exclusive tour of the films that will be on display. Additionally, we produce a number of filmmaker episodes that delve into their artistic process and a special recap episode offering reflections and impressions from a cross section of attendees at the festival. 2023 - Visions du Réel Voice Memo Recap
The festival may have come to a close, but many of the films have continued to stir something inside us. This episode features a collection of voice memos gathered from a cross-section of attendees at Visions du Réel, sharing their responses to a film they encountered at the festival.
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Nicole Chi, Director of Guián, about This Woman by Alan Zhang
Ghada Fikri, Director of How Are You, Baba? about Locus Cordis by Alhasan Yousef
Alhasan Yousef, Director of Locus Cordis, about Love is Not an Orange by Otilia Babara
Otilia Babara, Director of Love is not an Orange, about Our Body by Claire Simon
Inge Coolsaet, Film Critic for Fantomas and Representative of Argos, on Where the Green Grass Grows by Peter Mettler
Anna Dziapshipa, Director of Self-Portrait Along the Borderline, about Where the Green Grass Grows by Peter Mettler
Vadim Rizov, Film Critic and Director of Operations for Filmmaker Magazine, about Human, Not Human by Natan Castay (Read Rizov’s Visions du Réel 2023 Festival Review on Filmmaker Magazine here)
Ben Mullinkosson, Director of The Last Year of Darkness, about Knit's Island by Ekiem Barbier, Guilhem Causse & Quentin L'helgoualc'h
Ekiem Barbier, Co-Director of Knit's Island, about Corpo Celeste by Alice Rohrwacher
Narges Kalhor, Director of Sensitive Content, about Waking up in Silence by Daniel Asadi Faezi & Mila Zhluktenko
Sonia Ben Slama, Director of Machtat, about Pure Unknown by Mattia Colombo & Valentina Cicogna
Ziad Touma, producer of Made to Walk, about Orlando, My Political Biography by Paul B. Preciado
Hosein Jalilivand, filmmaker, film scholar, and contributor for Docs in Orbit, about Memories of a Perfect Day by Davina Maria
2023 - Visions du Réel Program Review with Emilie Bujès
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Before traveling to Nyon, Docs in Orbit had the pleasure of speaking with Emilie Bujès, the festival's artistic director, about this year’s program and how it came together.
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Artistic director of Visions du Réel as well as program advisor for the Director's Fortnight in Cannes. Previously, she was deputy artistic director at the Festival International du Film de La Roche-sur-Yon, commissioner at CNAP (Paris) and has taught at HEAD (Geneva) and HKB (Bern). She has served as curator at the Centre d'Art Contemporain Genève (2010-2014) and collaborated on programming for the Center for Contemporary Art Vilnius, LUFF, Transmediale, and Forum (Berlinale), among others.
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Christina is a researcher, filmmaker, and founding editor of Docs in Orbit, where she leads the curation of content.
2023 - Visions du Réel x Docs in Orbit Watch List
With over 160 films in the lineup, 82 of which are world premieres, planning a viewing schedule for Visions du Réel is no small effort. To get through the task, we've assembled a small study group of three Docs in Orbit contributors from different parts of the world, each with their distinct affinities to examine the program. Together, we carefully combed through each section, watched all the available trailers, and researched new films that intrigued us. And, since we went through this process, we figured it might be nice to share it with others who might find it helpful.
With a shared love for cinema, Aylin Gökmen, Hosein Jalilvand, Christina Zachariades
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While the Green Grass Grows by Peter Mettler - Following his 2020 retrospective and masterclass at Visions du Réel, multi-media artist Peter Mettler joins the festival again with his latest project, While the Green Grass Grows. Renowned for his unique style of filmmaking and intuitive process in crafting audiovisual journeys - Mettler's filmmaking feels closer to the works of a jazz composer, stringing together images through free association and in an improvised fashion. His latest project, which will be screening at the festival, is part of a larger 7-part film with parts 1 & 6 premiering at the festival.
Machtat by Sonia Ben Slama - The film's synopsis already sparked an exciting exchange among us as we shared reflections on our cultural bridal customs. We are looking forward to catching Machat, which closely follows three women who are professional musicians at traditional wedding ceremonies in Mahdia, Tunisia, and hearing how it resonates among audiences.
An Owl, a Garden & the Writer by Sara Dolatabadi - A daughters portrait of her father, the prolific Iranian novelist Mahnoud Dowlabadi, this film was also edited by Afsaneh Salari, whose previous film the Sihloettes (VdR 2020 - International Competition), was among one of the first films Docs in Orbit featured on the podcast.
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Astrakan 79 by Catarina Mourão - The trailer for this film excited us with its dramatic and emotive atmosphere. Astrakan 79 is the latest film produced by Terratreme Films, a film company that has produced many incredible films, including Dry Ground Burning (Berlinale Forum, 2022) and António and Catarina (Locarno, 2017).
Taxibol by Tommaso Santambrogio -The latest film is from filmmaker Lav Diaz, renowned as one of the key members of the slow cinema movement. The film mainly takes place within the confines of a taxi, where Diaz chats with the driver about politics and history.
Natalia by Elizabeth Mirzaei - A black and white portrait of a young woman's transition from student life to the bride of Christ, Natalie has been on our list of films to catch since it premiered at the True/False, where it received praise from both audiences and critics.
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Love is Not an Orange by Otilia Barbara - We recently saw this film at MoMA DocFortnight, and it's worth a second viewing. Composed almost entirely of VHS home footage from the late 90s collected from families in Moldova as the country struggled to adjust to the post-Soviet climate where women were forced to leave home and work overseas to provide for their children. A collection of scenes documenting moments in their children's lives and opening care packages their mothers send them from afar, LOVE IS NOT AN ORANGE paints a powerfully intimate collective portrait of a generation. A piercing emotional work of domestic cinema that lingers days after watching.
Orlando, My Political Biography by Paul B. Preciado - In line with the theme of literature in this year’s program, we are delighted to wrap up our festival experience with this film straight from the Belerinale, where it won four awards. In “Orlando, My Political Biography,” Preciado sheds light on Virginia Woolf’s “Orlando,” the first novel in which the main character changes sex in the middle of the story. A century later, Preciado, who is a trans writer and activist, decides to send a film letter to Woolf, telling her that Orlando has come out of her fiction and is living a life she could have never imagined.
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Dark Room by Asli Baykal - Satiating our love for analog film practices, and the delightful image-making process, Dark Room brings us into a film photography workshop for children in a Turkish border town.
The Avalanche by Pınar Öğrenci - After selecting films, we realized we have a shared affinity for films that traverse between art installation spaces and cinemas. That's why we plan to end our evening with the latest film by artist and activist Pınar Öğrenci. Avalanch takes place in southeastern Turkey, where issues like fascism, forced displacement, and genocide have persisted for decades. The film was realized in Documenta 15 this past year and edited by Eytan Ipeker, whose previous films we sincerely appreciate ("Mimaroglu: The Robinson of Manhattan Island" (VdR 2020), The Pageant (VdR 2020), and "Ah Gözel Istanbul" (available on MUBI).
Self-Portrait Along the Borderline by Anna Dziapshipa - A film that examines one's fractured cultural identity growing up with ties to Georgia and Abkhazia, two nations in conflict since 1992. With a moody trailer and creative use of archival images, we anticipate an engaging personal story and an exciting montage of images (edited by Eka Tsotsoria).
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The Echo by Tatiana Huezo - We are drawn to Tatiana Huezo's cinema for her sensitive renderings of families and children, often with mothers at the narrative's core. Her latest film, The Echo, premiered at the Berlinale to critical acclaim, and we can't wait to have the chance to watch this film in Nyon finally.
Paradise by Alexander Abaturov - Set in the small village of Shologon in Northern Siberia, this film documents the local inhabitants battling severe and extreme wildfires during the summer months. A favorite of discover of ours from IDFA 2022, Paradise set off an alarm in us and became a must-see.
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The Wonder Way by Emmanuelle Antille - Taking off from Michel Foucault's assertion that "there are countries without places and histories without chronology," Emmanuelle Antille's latest film takes us to the existence of imaginary territories. It explores the people who create them as a means of resistance to the present world. With a captivating premise and Antille's background in visual arts, video art, and photography, "The Wonder Way" is a film we look forward to catching at the festival.
Floating Islands by Nicolas Humbert & Simone Fürbringer -The inclusion of "Floating Islands" in our watchlist is driven by our admiration for Humbert's prior works (including the splendid "Middle of the Moment" co-directed with Werner Penzel). Humbert has established himself as a master of poetic and associative storytelling, and his new film promises to be no exception. In addition, his collaboration with Fürbringer, who has demonstrated her editing talent in works such as "Wild Plants" and "Brother Yusef," further raises our anticipation for this release.
2022 - Visions du Réel Recap
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[April 28, 2022] The festival may have come to a close, but many of the films have continued to stay with us. In this episode, Christina Zachariades is joined by two international film critics, Inge Coolsaet and Jordan Cronk, who were present at this year's Swiss festival, Visions du Réel.
Last week, we regrouped to exchange thoughts on some of the films that stayed with us, including FORAGERS by Jumana Manna / ROJEK by Zaynê Akyol / L’ÎLOT by Tizian Büchi / INNER LINES by Pierre-Yves Vandeweerd / 143 RUE DU DÉSERT by Hassen Ferhani / VACATION IN VAL TREBBIA by Marco Bellocchio / MARX CAN WAIT by Marco Bellocchio / EUROPE by Philip Scheffner
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Inge Coolsaet is a freelance film critic. Her writing has been published in Point of View magazine, Filmmagie, Photogenie and Cineuropa for which she has covered several international documentary film festivals. She is co-editor-in-chief of the new Dutch-language, Belgian-based film quarterly Fantômas and also works at the Argos Centre for Audiovisual Arts in Brussels.
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Jordan Cronk is a film critic and founder of the Acropolis Cinema screening series in Los Angeles. His writing has appeared in Artforum, Cinema Scope, frieze, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Sight & Sound, and more. He is a member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
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Christina is a researcher, filmmaker, and founding editor of Docs in Orbit, where she leads the curation of content.
2022 - Visions du Réel Program Review with Emilie Bujès
[April 6, 2022] In this episode, we focus on Visions du Réel, the international documentary film festival held in April in Nyon, Switzerland. Visions du Réel has a strong reputation for championing creative, contemporary non-fiction cinema and has played a vital role for independent documentary filmmakers for decades. It has also been a significant source of inspiration for this podcast, as we have made several film discoveries, including El Father Plays Himself, Looking For Horses, My Mexican Bretzel, and Faya Dayi.
This year, the 2022 selection is full of promise, with more than 160 films on display and a broad spectrum of forms, including many hybrid works. Before traveling to Nyon for the festival, Docs in Orbit had the great pleasure of speaking with Emilie Bujès, the festival's artistic director. The conversation turned into a masterclass on programming, with insight into her journey into film curation and influences along the way. Emilie also walks us through the International Feature Film Competition that holds 16 films - most of which are world premieres and over half from first-time feature filmmakers.
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Artistic director of Visions du Réel as well as program advisor for the Director's Fortnight in Cannes. Previously, she was deputy artistic director at the Festival International du Film de La Roche-sur-Yon, commissioner at CNAP (Paris) and has taught at HEAD (Geneva) and HKB (Bern). She has served as curator at the Centre d'Art Contemporain Genève (2010-2014) and collaborated on programming for the Center for Contemporary Art Vilnius, LUFF, Transmediale, and Forum (Berlinale), among others.
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Christina is a researcher, filmmaker, and founding editor of Docs in Orbit, where she leads the curation of content.
2021 - Visions du Réel Program Review with Modern Times Review
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[April 6, 2021] We are joined by Steve Rickinson in Bucharest from Modern Times Review, a documentary publication that has been a staple at many European documentary festivals that offers expansive coverage of film reviews and industry news. Steve Rickinson leads the industry section and joined me earlier to discuss our picks from Visions du Reel.
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Artistic director of Visions du Réel as well as program advisor for the Director's Fortnight in Cannes. Previously, she was deputy artistic director at the Festival International du Film de La Roche-sur-Yon, commissioner at CNAP (Paris) and has taught at HEAD (Geneva) and HKB (Bern). She has served as curator at the Centre d'Art Contemporain Genève (2010-2014) and collaborated on programming for the Center for Contemporary Art Vilnius, LUFF, Transmediale, and Forum (Berlinale), among others.
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Christina is a researcher, filmmaker, and founding editor of Docs in Orbit, where she leads the curation of content.