Apr 25

Apr 25 Nyon's Visions du Réel Makes Feature Film Competition Available Online for Free

As life grinds to a halt and global Coronavirus lockdown sets in, we’re choosing to support our favourite documentary festivals, screenings and launches that have been forced to go online, by pointing you in their direction.

This year, Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel has made the bold move to shift the entire event online, making nearly all its films available to watch online, for free. Festivals around the world are facing tough choices but Visions du Réel is one of the few making its films so readily available - a joy for doc fans all around the world!

As you’d expect, there’s a huge amount of great films to choose from, but today marks the opening of the International Feature Film Competition (available online for free from 25 April to 2 May) - a great place to start. These are 14 singular and audacious films that freely interpret the very definition of non-fiction film making. They interweave stories from the heart of capitalism to urgency at sea, from life in industrial Russia to secluded Sicily.

But be quick! Only 500 seats are available per film, get yours here: Reserve Feature Competition Seats

Here are five that we’re particularly excited to see:

El Father Plays Himself by Mo Scarpelli

After leaving Venezuela as a child, Jorge returns to a country he now struggles to recognise. His self-destructive father on the other hand, stayed. Now Jorge is making a fictionalised film based on his father’s antics in the illegal goldmines of the Amazonian jungle, with the man playing himself. As both characters struggle to relive the past and come to terms with the present, sparks fly.

Fish Eye by Amin Behroozzadeh

A trawler crew is set on a course around the world with the one objective: catch 2000 tons of tuna. Fish-eye is a shocking insight into the living conditions of these men, out on the high seas for months at a time. A beautifully shot invitation to question the capitalist mechanisms that give rise to this type of activity and pushes the vulnerable to pursue it as a career.

Non Western by Laura Plancarte

Non-Western gets to grips with the cultural minefield of reconciliation in the Native American community through a wedding. Nanci is non-native and set to marry Thaddeus, a Cheyenne Native. Is confrontation between the two groups too deeply rooted in American history?

Davos by Daniel Hoesl, Julia Niemann

There’s no end to our fascination with the Swiss global village. We caught Marcus Vetter’s “The Forum” at IDFA last year for a behind the scenes look at how the politics of the World Economic Forum play out every year. “Davos” takes a deeper look. What is really at stake every year and how does that interplay with the local community that we never seem to hear about?

Off The Road by José Permar

The Baja 1000 is the biggest off-road motorsport race in the world. Mexico’s largest desert region plays host to the event every year and, in this near-musical film, to a mechanical saga as we follow one of the determined teams on their epic journey.

The Silhouettes by Afsaneh Salari

Like 1.5 million other Afghanis, Taghi’s parents were forced to flee to Iran In 1982 when the Russian invasion was at its climax. Born in Iran but tired of suffering routine discrimination for his background, he decides to move back to the country of his parents. But unexpected challenges await him there.