Visions du Réel (Visions of Reality) is an internationally renowned documentary

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

held in April each year in

Nyon Nyon (; outdated German: or ; outdated Italian: , ) is a municipality in Nyon District in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometers north east of Geneva's city centre, and since the 1970s it has become part of the Ge ...

, Switzerland. Established in 1969 as the Nyon International Documentary Film Festival, the event adopted its current name in 1995 and is the largest Swiss documentary festival.http://www.visionsdureel.ch/en/about-us/about-us/
/ref> At its inception, the festival promoted Swiss films and films that were otherwise inaccessible — that is, those created in the Eastern Bloc countries behind the Iron Curtain. Now open to worldwide entries, the week-long festival has been directed by film critic Jean Perret since 1995. The festival was founded by Moritz de Hadeln (who later headed the

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, ...

, the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

, the Venice International Film Festival and the short-lived

New Montreal FilmFest New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

of 2005) and his wife Erika de Hadeln: Moritz de Hadeln directed the festival until 1979, and he assisted Erika when she took over as head of the festival from 1980 to 1993. During the early years of the Nyon International Documentary Film Festival, Erika de Hadeln negotiated with the film authorities in East Europe and Russia — and worked with documentary filmmakers including Joris Ivens, Roman Karmen, Georges Rouquier, Basil Wright, and

Henri Storck Henri Storck (5 September 1907 – 17 September 1999) was a Belgian writer, filmmaker and documentarist. In 1933, he directed, with Joris Ivens, ''Misère au Borinage'', a film about the miners in the Borinage area. In 1938, with Andre Thirifays ...

. The event served as a template for film festivals that followed, including those in Amsterdam and Munich. Each year, the festival invites and pays tribute to a guest of honor who has made significant contributions in the field of documentary and/or fiction films. The honoree is awarded the prestigious Honorary Award (previously the “Prix Maître du Réel”). Past recipients include

Claire Denis Claire Denis (; born 21 April 1946) is a French film director and screenwriter. Her feature film ''Beau Travail'' (1999) has been called one of the greatest films of the 1990s, as well as of all time. Other acclaimed works include '' Trouble Ev ...

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with u ...

, Claire Simon,

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are th ...

Alain Cavalier Alain Cavalier (; born 14 September 1931) is a French film director. Biography Cavalier was born in Vendôme, Loir-et-Cher and studied film at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques. He won several awards, including the César Award ...

, Barbet Schroeder, and Richard Dindo. Visions du Réel is part of the Doc Alliance – a creative partnership between seven European documentary film festivals.

Sections

* International Feature Film Competition * Burning Lights International Competition * National Competition * International Medium Length and Short Film Competition * Opening Scenes * Grand Angle * Latitudes

Awards

* International Feature Film Competition ** Sesterce d’or — Best feature film ** Jury Prize — Most innovative feature film ** Special Mention ** Interreligious Award * Burning Lights International Competition ** Sesterce d’or — Best medium length or feature film ** Jury Prize — Most innovative medium length or feature film ** Special Mention * National Competition ** Sesterce d’or — Best medium length or feature film ** Jury Prize — Most innovative feature film ** Special Mention * International Medium Length & Short Film Competition ** Sesterce d’or — Best medium length film ** Jury Prize — Most innovative medium length film ** Special Mention ** Sesterce d’argent — Best short film ** Youth Jury Prize — Most innovative short film * Grand Angle ** Sesterce d’argent Prix du Public — Best feature film

Festival team

Presidents

* 1969-1973: Bernard Glasson * 1974-1981: Maurice Ruey * 1982: Denys Gilliéron * 1983-1991: Armand Forel * 1992-1997: Gaston Nicole * 1998-2001: Jérôme Bontron * 2002-2003: Peter Tschopp * 2004-2009: Jean Schmutz * 2009-2019: Claude Ruey * since 2019: Raymond Loretan

Directors

* 1969-1979: Moritz de Hadeln * 1980-1994: Erika de Hadeln * 1994-2010: Jean Perret * 2010-2017: Luciano Barisone * since 2018: Emilie Bujès

References

External links

* (in French, German and English) Film festivals established in 1995 Film festivals in Switzerland Documentary film festivals in Switzerland Nyon 1969 establishments in Switzerland Spring (season) events in Switzerland {{film-festival-stub