For over 20 years, Visions du Réel’s industry activities aimed to underline and exalt the variety and richness of creative documentaries while providing precious networking opportunities. Acting as the Festival’s professional hub, VdR–Industry is designed as a springboard for projects, facilitating both national and international collaborations and long-term partnerships between the projects’ representatives and the professionals attending the industry events.
In 2024, 29 projects were invited to participate in three key activities : VdR–Pitching, VdR–Work in Progress and VdR–Rough Cut Lab, that ran as part of the Festival’s Industry activities in Nyon from April 14-17. With its numerous prizes and grants, VdR-Industry and its partners reaffirm their determination to support independent documentary filmmaking in all its diversity.
On April 17th, the Awards Ceremony for VdR–Industry will take place in La Colombière. The winners of the Industry’s activities will be revealed by our various juries, before continuing the night with Visions du Réel’s iconic karaoke!
Awards Ceremony April 17th, 18:30-20:00 Rue de la Colombière 18, 1260 Nyon (Open to Industry and Networking accredited guests only)
Rémi BurahCEO and Selection Committee Member of ARTE France
France
Rémi Burah
CEO and Selection Committee Member of ARTE France
France
After working as a banker in the audiovisual sector in London and Paris, Remi Burah joined HAUT ET COURT as a partner, managing director and CEO of the communication agency, working there for 8 years. He joined ARTE in 2001 where he currently is CEO of the cinema co-production branch and ARTE Cofinova, a finance company that he initiated in 2004 through the French tax system. He has collaborated in feature-film coproductions of well-known filmmakers : Leos Carax, Agnès Varda, Olivier Assayas, Céline Sciamma, Mathieu Amalric, Claire Denis, Patrice Chéreau, Maiwenn, Bruno Dumont, Mia Hansen-Løve, Bertrand Bonello, Alice Rohrwacher, Lars Von Trier, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Michael Haneke, Naomi Kawase, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Lucrecia Martel, Nadav Lapid, Asghar Farhadi, among others. He is also President of ArteKino Endowment Fund started in 2016 to organize the ArteKino Festival, the first European film festival fully online.
Lisa Kleiner ChanoffCo-founder of Catapult Film Fund
United States
Lisa Kleiner Chanoff
Co-founder of Catapult Film Fund
United States
Lisa Kleiner Chanoff is co-founder of Catapult Film Fund. Catapult provides research and development funding and mentorship to launch important, moving and artful documentary films. Before her career in filmmaking, she practised law in San Francisco and with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Lisa also has a master’s degree in museum studies. Lisa’s executive producer credits include documentaries Watchers of the Sky, Art and Craft, Brimstone and Glory, When God Sleeps, Extremis, Life Overtakes Me, and Lift, as well as several fiction feature films. She is president of the board of Catapult Film Fund and serves on the boards of SFFILM and the photojournalism nonprofit Catchlight. She is also an advisor to the Close Up Initiative, and on the grants advisory board for the Redford Center. Lisa is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Kristy MathesonDirector of BFI London Film Festival
United Kingdom
Kristy Matheson
Director of BFI London Film Festival
United Kingdom
Kristy Matheson is the Director of BFI London Film Festival. Most recently she was Creative Director of the 2022 Edinburgh International Film Festival and prior to moving to the UK, Kristy was the Director of Film at ACMI, Australia’s national museum of screen culture. Before her role on the Executive Team at ACMI, Kristy worked at the Sydney Film Festival, Dendy Films and Brisbane International Film Festival. She served on Screen Australia’s Gender Matters Taskforce, is a recipient of the Natalie Miller Fellowship and jury member for BAFTA’s Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer.
Eleni Chandrinou works as an international film consultant and audiovisual expert, based in Brussels and Athens. Her mission is to support the development and production of independent films, with an emphasis on documentaries. To that end, when she is not developing or producing, she advises filmmakers on all aspects of the creative process from early-stage development to advanced presentations and funding strategies. She also provides expertise to festivals, markets, and major national and international film funding bodies. From 2020 to 2022 she served as vice president of the board of the Greek Film Center and currently represents Greece at Eurimages.
Vadim JendreykoDirector / Writer / Producer at Mira Film
Switzerland
Vadim Jendreyko
Director / Writer / Producer at Mira Film
Switzerland
Vadim Jendreyko is a director, writer, and producer based in Switzerland. In 2002, he co-founded Mira Film, a production company focused on the development and production of independent films for cinema and television. He teaches on a project basis at film schools and serves as a coach and tutor at rough-cut labs, such as dok.incubator. As a director, he has won the Swiss Film Award for Best Documentary twice, along with numerous festival awards, and has received nominations for the German and European Film Awards. As a producer, he values directors who pursue authentic cinematic paths and production partners who appreciate shared creative processes.
Susana Santos RodriguesCo-director at IndieLisboa Film Festival
Portugal
Susana Santos Rodrigues
Co-director at IndieLisboa Film Festival
Portugal
Susana Santos Rodrigues is the co-director of IndieLisboa International Film Festival, programming advisor at the Intl Film Festival Rotterdam, and programmer at the Bildrausch FilmFest Basel. She also serves as a member of the selection committee of the Hubert Bals Fund and CineMart, and an international consultant for the Doha Film Institute, as well as a mentor at IFFR Pro and at Noka – Tabakalera. Formerly, Santos Rodrigues has collaborated with Karlovy Vary, Jeonju, Cinéma du Réel, Kerala and Rio de Janeiro, among others. She is the co-founder of the festival and film distribution company VAIVEM.
visions sud est Jury 2024
Zsuzsi BánkutiHead of Open Doors at Locarno Film Festival
Switzerland
Zsuzsi Bánkuti
Head of Open Doors at Locarno Film Festival
Switzerland
Zsuzsi began working as the head of acquisition and programming for Cirko Film, an independent cinema and distribution company in Budapest, in 2000. In addition, she served as the head of acquisition at Szuez Film (and Kino theatre) in 2007 and advised many Hungarian independent productions on worldwide festivals and distribution strategies. She moved to Cologne at the beginning of 2012 to start as the head of acquisition at The Match Factory. For 8 years, she supervised independent film productions, sales activities, festival and marketing strategies, film production, and development. In 2020, she founded the Cutting Edge Talent Camp, which focuses on new German talents during the Mannheim IFF. Since 2020, she has worked for the Open Doors section at the Locarno IFF, first as a Talent Development Manager and since 2022 as the program head. In addition, she consults on international strategies for Doha Film Institute, Torino Film Lab, and Cinemart.
JohnCancianiArtistic Director of Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur
Switzerland
JohnCanciani
Artistic Director of Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur
Switzerland
John Canciani is a film collector since he’s a teenager. He acquired his first experiences in curating films, when he founded and organised a film club in Winterthur. In 2009 he became member of the selection team and board member at the Swiss Youth Film Festival in Zurich. In 2009 he joined the Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur and was, amongst others, Head of Youth Programme, Programmer of the International Competition and Assistant to the Artistic Director. In 2012 he was assigned as Artistic Director. John is also a film curator at Kino Cameo Winterthur, where he advices the programme manager, regularly curates film programmes and moderates film talks.
Meret RuggleCo-Director of Trigon-film
Switzerland
Meret Ruggle
Co-Director of Trigon-film
Switzerland
Meret Ruggle is Co-head of the Swiss film distributor trigon-film. The film foundation trigon-film has been releasing carefully selected films from Latin America, Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe since 1988 and runs its own DVD edition and the video-on-demand platform filmingo.
Awards 2024
Eurimages Co-production Development Award : € 20,000 in cash, this award has been created to promote the Fund’s role in encouraging international co-production from the initial stages of a project.
Eurimages Special Co-production Development Award : € 20,000 in cash, this award has been created to support a Ukrainian co-production in development.
Fixing the War Vadym Ilkov & Clare Stronge Ukraine, Ireland Producers : Oleksandra Kravchenko, Gary Lennon
visions sud est Award CHF 10,000 in cash awarded to the best project from the South (Africa, Latin America and Asia) or from Eastern Europe (according to SDC’s eligibility country list) presented at either the VdR–Pitching, VdR–Work In Progress or VdR–Rough Cut Lab.
The Party Film Sales Award € 5,000 including a cash contribution of €2,500 awarded to one project with strong international potential.
Dreams of the Wild Oaks Marjan Khosravi Iran, Spain, France Producer(s) : Milad Khosravi, Stephanie von Lukowicz, Thibaut Amri
Unifrance Doc Award in partnership with TitraFilm Subtitles creation (to the value of €2300) sponsored by TitraFilm and one Unifrance membership (value of €1590) for the French producer attached to the project.
Dreams of the Wild Oaks Marjan Khosravi Iran, Spain, France Producer(s) : Milad Khosravi, Stephanie von Lukowicz, Thibaut Amri
TËNK Post-production Award Sound post-production facilities at Tënk studios (France) including 2 weeks in the mixing studio and 1 week in the Auditorium.
Beyond the Fold Ross McClean United Kingdom, Ireland, United States Producer(s) : Bronte Stahl, Ross McClean, Roisin Geraghty
TËNK Opening Scenes Award Purchase of distribution rights for one film of the Opening Scenes section.
Mawtini Tabarak Allah Abbas Suisse Producer : HEAD – Genève, Size Media
Raggioverde Subtitling Award Subtitles creation included translation in one language.
The Myth of Mahmoud Shaima Al Tamimi & Mayar Hamdan Kenya, Lebanon, Palestine, United States, Qatar, Yemen Producer : Shaima Al Tamimi
Downtown Studios Award Creation of a DCP package for one project pitched at the VdR–Work In Progress showcase.
The Myth of Mahmoud Shaima Al Tamimi & Mayar Hamdan Kenya, Lebanon, Palestine, United States, Qatar, Yemen Producer : Shaima Al Tamimi
Cannes Docs Award Invitation to feature as a Cannes Docs ‘Spåotlighted Project’, including 2 complimentary Marché du Film – Festival de Cannes badges valid for the 2024 or 2025 edition.
Magnetic Letters Demie Dangla Philippines, France, Germany Producer(s) : Gale Osorio, Philippe Djivas, Laura Kloeckner
DOK Leipzig Award Two accreditation and four nights accommodation at DOK Leipzig & observer access to the DOK Co-Pro Market for the filmmaker and producer for the 2024 or 2025 edition.
Pratopia Sean Ali Wang Netherlands Producer : Jia Zhao
DAE Encouragement Award Two free consultations with network members tailored to the needs of the project.
Pratopia Sean Ali Wang Netherlands Producer : Jia Zhao
No Nation Films Award One No Nation Films Fellowship including guidance, mentorship, and counsel towards completing their feature-length documentary films for one project from a low capacity country.
TAU Timofey Stekolshuk Russia (Yekaterinburg) Producers : Independent Film Project, Eversince GmbH
Prix RTS de soutien à la création documentaire
Prix RTS de soutien à la création documentaire CHF 10’000 for the best feature film project