Visions du Réel 2022

The two films screened in the International Competition are the directors’ feature-length debuts. Steven Vit follows his father’s new life as he transitions into retirement in MY OLD MAN (Lomotion AG Filmproduktion). Tizian Büchi subtly questions the surveillance society with elements of magical realism in his doc-fable LIKE AN ISLAND (Alva Film Production).

The Burning Lights Competition showcases films that experiment with new narratives and forms. GETTING OLD STINKS by Peter Entell is the director’s deeply personal work about his parents and growing older. In GHOST FAIR TRADE, Laurence Bonvin portrays the Centre International du Commerce Extérieur du Sénégal, a masterpiece of modernist architecture. Swiss filmmaker Cyril Schäublin (UNREST, Best Director Award, Encounters Competition, Berlinale 2022) is a member of the Burning Lights jury and will judge 15 feature- and medium-length films together with two colleagues.

Swiss documentary filmmaking in the National Competition

The National Competition presents 13 premieres of feature- or medium-length film productions, including coproductions with eight different co-producing countries. The thematic diversity of Swiss documentary filmmaking is evident in stories set in, among others, Columbia (SONS OF THE WIND by Felipe Monroy), South Africa (CALVINIA by Rudi van der Merwe), Japan (FUKU NASHI by Julie Sando) and India (DON’T WORRY ABOUT INDIA by Nama Filmcollective). For DRAGON WOMEN, director Frédérique de Montblanc accompanied some of the few women in Europe, America and Asia who have made it to top positions in the financial sector. Other films are dedicated to topics closer to home: in ARDENTE·X·S, Patrick Muroni portrays a feminist collective in Lausanne that produces ethical and critical pornographic films; in SUPERTIME, Daniel Kémeny traces the impact of the pandemic and lack of spatial distance on his relationship. Swiss producer Olivier Zobrist (Langfilm) is a jury member of the National Competition.

Medium-Length and Short Film Competition

Of the 33 films in this section, three from Switzerland will celebrate their world premieres: RAMBOY by Matthias Joulaud and Lucien Roux; J'AI ÉNORMÉMENT DORMI by Clara Alloing; and INITIAL by Hugo Radi. Ivana Kvesić, director of the Fantoche Animation Film Festival, is a jury member.

À VENDREDI, ROBINSON by Mitra Farahani, which premiered at the Berlinale, will be screened in the Latitudes section. The two short films CASTING DI UN PADRE by Giulia Goy (ÉCAL) and LE THÉ ET LE TEMPS by Salah El Amri (HEAD - Genève) will be featured in the Opening Scenes programme, the festival’s platform dedicated to first works from film schools.

SWISS FILMS Previews and VdR industry projects

In collaboration with Visions du Réel, SWISS FILMS will present the annual SWISS FILMS Previews. Six promising Swiss documentary films in postproduction will be presented by the producers to sales agents, international distributors and festival delegates who have been invited to participate.

With the VdR–Industry programme, the festival offers the international documentary film industry an important networking platform. Three projects from Switzerland will participate in this year’s VdR-Pitching: BESTIARI, ERBARI, LAPIDARI by Martina Parenti & Massimo D'Anolfi (Italy, France, Switzerland); ANATOMY OF THE NIGHT by Lionel Baier (Switzerland, France) and WIDER THAN THE SKY by Valerio Jalongo (Switzerland, Italy).

In the Prix RTS: Perspectives d’un Doc pitching session, six work-in-progress projects from French-speaking Switzerland will compete for an award that facilitates the final phase of their works, including distribution opportunities, festival strategies and postproduction funding.

• Find more Swiss documentaries in our Booklet Docs Spring 2022