A group of Ukrainian filmmakers have won the top industry award at Swiss international documentary film festival Visions du Réel with their project “The Days I Would Like to Forget,” divided into three chapters, each of which will explore a different phenomenon of war.
Filmmakers Alina Gorlova (“No Obvious Signs,” “This Rain Will Never Stop”), Maksym Nakonechnyi (“Butterfly Vision,” “This Rain Will Never Stop”), Simon Mozgovyi (“Salt from Bonneville,” “The Winter Garden’s Tale”) and Yelizaveta Smith (“Solitude,” “Butterfly Vision”) of independent Ukrainian production company Tabor were awarded the Vision du Sud Est prize, handed out to the best project from the South (Africa, Latin America and Asia) or Eastern Europe.
Running alongside Visions du Réel, the festival’s industry event brought together some 1,600 professionals from nearly 80 countries, in line with last year’s record numbers.
A total of 31 projects were presented in the key forums – VdR–Pitching, VdR–Work in Progress (WIP) and VdR–Rough Cut Lab, alongside the VdR–Development Lab – that run April 24 through April 27 in Nyon, Switzerland.
Representing her colleague filmmakers who are shooting in Ukraine, Gorlova and producer Eugene Rachkovsky picked up the award, which comes with a 10,000 CHF ($10,700) cash prize.
Hugging the jury members, Gorlova thanked the entire VdR team for their support, saying: “We are happy to be here and feel this free spirit of documentary filmmaking.”
Rachkovsky added: “These last three days have been intense but so warm and productive, for us it was very important as it was the first place where we showed our crazy, ambitious things, and we are very glad it was here in Nyon.”
“The Days I Would Like to Forget” is produced by Rachkovsky, Maksym Nakonechnyi and Karina Kostyna of Tabor, Nabil Bellahsene of Paris-based production and distribution outfit Les Valseurs, and Ralph Wieser of Austria’s Mischief Films.
In the VdR-Pitching category, Francesca Mazzoleni’s “Rebibbia 310” picked up the award for most promising project.
Produced by Alessandro Greco (Morel Film), Roberto De Paolis, Carla Altieri and Rachel Greenwood (Young Films), the film will take viewers on an unprecedented journey inside Rebibbia Femminile, the female ward of Rome’s prison, the largest women’s detention center in Europe.
Thanking the festival team for their help and support, Mazzoleni and Greco said: “Our journey with VdR started three years ago. It feels like home to us, and we are really proud to be part of this family.”
The VdR–Industry Jury Special Mention went to WIP project “Florence from Ohio” by U.S. filmmaker Stephanie Wang-Breal, about her attempts to walk in her immigrant Chinese mother’s shoes to challenge the psychodynamics of the mother-daughter relationship. It is produced by Mynette Louie (“The Population”) and Carrie Weprin (“once in a Blue”).
Paris-based international sales company The Party Film Sales, which traditionally hands out a prize for a project with strong international potential, rewarded “Simon the Absurd” by Felipe Monroy, a documentary dream about Simon Bolivar, Latin America’s “El Libertador,” who comes back to life two centuries after his death and meets his political heirs.
In the VdR-Work in Progress category dedicated to films in post-production, the top award went to “Piropolis,” in which Chilean filmmaker Nicolás Molina follows the firefighters of Valparaíso and questions their role in Chilean society against a backdrop of violent social change.
Finnish project “The Arctic Circle of Lust” by Markku Heikkinen, a warm-hearted film, which explores the hidden bisexuality of northern Finnish family men, picked up the coveted RTS Award, which comes with a pre-buy of TV rights by Switzerland’s French-language public broadcaster.
There were cheers from the industry crowd as first-time filmmaker Sein Lyan Tun from Myanmar picked up both the Cannes Docs and the DOK Leipzig awards for his VdR-Pitching project “The Bamboo Family,” a family tragicomedy seen through the eyes of an exiled filmmaker.
The awards provide him and his Indonesian producer, Dwi Sujanti Nugraheni, with accreditations to attend the Cannes Film Market and Cannes Docs, and DOK Leipzig and the DOK Co-Pro Market as an observer.
Congolese director Nelson Makengo won a hat-trick of awards with his pitching project “Rising Up at Night,” a subtle and fragmented portrait of the inhabitants of Kinshasa in their fight against darkness and insecurity as the city is deprived of light, including the TËNK Post-production Award, the Raggioverde Subtitling Award and the Freestudios Award, which comes with the creation of a DCP package.
Celebrating the record number of participants this year, VdR-Industry’s new director Sophie Bourdon said: “It is great to see documentary cinema being so vibrant and daring, and to see it resonating with industry players, equally through the wide range of stories, the urgency or depth of the subjects, or the formal proposals exploring the vast field of possibilities within filming reality.”
VdR-Industry runs alongside Visions du Reel from April 24-27.
VdR-Industry Awards:
Visions Sud Est Award
CHF 10,000 in cash for the best project from the South (Africa, Latin America and Asia) or from Eastern Europe (excluding EU members)
“The Days I Would Like to Forget” by Alina Gorlova, Maksym Nakonechnyi, Simon Mozgovyi, Yelizaveta Smith (Ukraine, France, Austria)
Production: Eugene Rachkovsky, Maksym Nakonechnyi and Karina Kostyna (Tabor), Nabil Bellahsene (Les Valseurs), Ralph Wieser (Mischief Films)
VdR–Pitching Award
2,000 CHF in cash for the most promising project
“Rebibbia 310” by Francesca Mazzoleni (Italy)
Production: Alessandro Greco (Morel Film), Roberto De Paolis, Carla Altieri, Rachel Greenwood (Young Films)
VdR–Industry Jury Special Mention
“Florence from Ohio” by Stephanie Wang-Breal (United States, Taiwan)
Production: Mynette Louie (The Population), Carrie Weprin (once in a Blue)
United States, Taiwan
The Party Film Sales Award
A prize valued € 5’000 (including a cash contribution of € 2’500), awarded by The Party Film Sales team for a project with strong international potential
“Simon the Absurd” by Felipe Monroy (Switzerland, Colombia, France, Mexico)
Production: Palmyre Badinier (Rita Productions), Diana Bustamente (Burning), Alexandre Perrier (Kidam), Kyzza Terrazas (La Corriente Del Golfo)
RTS Award
Prebuy of one film
“The Arctic Circle of Lust” by Markku Heikkinen (Finland)
Production: Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen (Zone2 Pictures oy)
Unifrance Doc Award
Subtitles creation sponsored by TitraFilm and one Unifrance’s membership for the French producer attached to the project
“Gabin, a Youth in the Backland” by Maxence Voiseux (France, Germany)
Production: Elise Hug, Cécile Lestrade (Alter Ego Production), Ulla Lehmann (AMA Film)
Cannes Docs Award
Two accreditations for the filmmaker and producer to attend the Marché du Film – Festival de Cannes and participate in Cannes Docs
“The Bamboo Family” by Sein Lyan Tun (Myanmar, Indonesia)
Production: Sein Lyan Tun (PS Films), Dwi Sujanti Nugraheni (DS Nugraheni/Jawa Dwipa Films)
DOK Leipzig Award
Accreditation and accommodation at DOK Leipzig & observer access to the DOK Co-Pro Market for the filmmaker and producer
“The Bamboo Family” by Sein Lyan Tun (Myanmar, Indonesia)
Production: Sein Lyan Tun (PS Films), Dwi Sujanti Nugraheni (DS Nugraheni/Jawa Dwipa Films)
EFM Award
Two Market Badges for the EFM and a consultation session
“The Reserve” by Ezequiel Yanco
Production: Elena Fortes (No Ficcion), Ezequiel Yanco (Isoi Cine), Juan Martín Hsu
Argentina, Mexico
DAE Encouragement Award
Two free consultations with network members tailored to the needs of the project.
“Lonan Tché” by Joël Akafou (Ivory Coast, France, Italy)
Production: Laurent Bitty (Les Films du Continent), Florent Coulon (VraiVrai Films), Gianluca De Angelis (Tekla Films)
VdR–Work in Progress
VdR-Work in Progress Award
1,000 CHF in cash for the most promising project
“Piropolis” by Nicolás Molina (Chile)
Production: Joséphine Schroeder (Pequén Producciones), Francisca Barraza (Funky Films)
Lightdox Award
3,000 CHF in cash for the project with highest international potential
“Friday at the Window” by Atiye Zare Arandi (Belgium, Iran, Qatar)
Production: Bram Crols, Nina Payrhuber (Associate Directors)
TËNK Post-production Award
Sound post-production facilities at Tënk studios (France) – Mixing studio (2 weeks) and Auditorium (1 week)
“Rising Up at Night” by Nelson Makengo (Democratic Republic of Congo, Belgium, Germany, Burkina Faso)
Production: Rosa Spaliviero (Twenty Nine Studio & Production), Dada Kahindo (Mutotu)
Raggioverde Subtitling Award
Subtitles creation included translation in one language
“Rising Up at Night” by Nelson Makengo
Production: Rosa Spaliviero (Twenty Nine Studio & Production), Dada Kahindo (Mutotu)
Democratic Republic of Congo, Belgium, Germany, Burkina Faso
Freestudios Award
Creation of a DCP package
“Rising Up at Night” by Nelson Makengo
Production: Rosa Spaliviero (Twenty Nine Studio & Production), Dada Kahindo (Mutotu)
Opening Scenes Award
TËNK Award
Purchase of distribution rights for one film of the Opening Scenes section
“L’Arrestation de C.” by Arthur Jaquier (Switzerland)
