Visions du Réel Unveils 29 Projects, With Evangelical Father, Controversial Doctor, Northern Ireland Ex-Prisoner Among Subjects

Lise Pedersen Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel has unveiled its program for film professionals, VdR-Industry, which includes 29 projects in various stages of production. These will be pitched during the four-day event that runs April 14 through April 17, alongside the fest.

VdR-Industry, which sees more than a thousand film professionals descend on the small Swiss town of Nyon on the edge of Lake Geneva, aims at providing an opportunity to connect filmmakers with financing and distribution opportunities at a time when the documentary sector is faced with a contraction of funding from streamers and increased corporate consolidation. Speaking to Variety, VdR’s new head of industry, Alice Burgin, says she’s excited to welcome a raft of new players this year such as the U.S.’s the Points North Institute and the Whickers Foundation, which support emerging nonfiction storytellers, the Catapult film fund, which backs doc filmmakers in the early stages of funding, and the U.K.’s well-established Doc Society.

In addition to the existing networking opportunities such as the scheduled one-to-one coffee meets, this edition will be introducing new “funding sessions” entitled Real Talk: divided thematically, they will be open to anyone with an industry badge to go and meet funders — the goal being to match up funders, who often seem out of reach, with filmmakers, says Burgin. The selected projects will run in four categories: 15 projects in development will be presented at VdR-Pitching, six works near completion will be pitched in the VdR-Work in Progress session, and the VdR-Rough Cut Lab and VdR-Development Lab will feature four projects each.

Some 641 works from more than a 100 countries were submitted this year — that’s up nearly 50% compared with the last edition. Half are directed or co-directed by women and 13 projects include directors and production companies from low-production countries.

True to its mission as a launchpad for emerging talent, the festival’s industry selection features both seasoned directors as well as newcomers. Returning alumni include Mehran Tamadon (“My Worst Enemy,” “Iranian,” “Bassidji”) with “The Last Days of the Hospital,”