'Heat' film still Courtesy of Visions du Reel Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel (VdR), meaning “Visions of Reality,” unveiled its 2026 lineup on Wednesday, featuring the latest films from established and new names, as well as a selection of the best from the recent fest circuit.
The 57th edition of the festival in Nyon, near Geneva, which runs April 17-26, will present a program featuring 164 films from a record 75 countries. “Among the 128 new films presented, 83 are world premieres and eight international premieres. 58 first films, including 36 first feature-length films, complete the picture,” with no fewer than 26 Swiss productions or co-productions, organizers said.
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Among the lineup are Heat, the new doc by Jacqueline Zünd, and such recent festival highlights as John Wilson’s The History of Concrete, American Doctor by Poh Si Teng, Jaripeo by Efraín Mojica and Rebecca Zweig, and CPH:DOX winner and hybrid doc Whispers in May by Dongnan Chen. Even Oliver Laxe’s Oscar-nominated drama Sirât made the cut. The 57th edition will open with a screening of Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras’ Cover-Up.
“We are delighted to note that the reputation of Visions du Réel and its films continues to grow, allowing us to continually expand the cinematic territories and realities explored, as well as to reaffirm our ambition to showcase new talent – the number of first films has risen to 58, including 36 debut feature-length films, and the screenings will feature 83 world premieres and eight international premieres,” highlighted VdR artistic director Emilie Bujès. “While some producing countries differ from the filmmaker’s origin or the country where the film was shot for financial or political reasons, the number of countries represented in the selection continues to rise steadily and significantly.”
And she noted: “Certain regions, such as Asia, particularly stand out in 2026, as well as relatively rare countries like Sudan (in the Burning Lights Competition), Vietnam, Indonesia, Yemen and Palestine – which delights us both from a cinematic and a symbolic perspective.”
Among this year’s special guests at VdR will be Kelly Reichardt, the guest of honor for the 57th edition. Beyond a retrospective of her films and a curated selection of documentaries chosen by the filmmaker, a special evening will be dedicated to her, featuring a ceremony and the premiere screening of The Mastermind, her latest feature. A masterclass will take place the following day. Also, Sergei Loznitsa is the special guest at this year’s VdR.
Check out the 2026 Visions du Réel lineup below.
International Feature Film Competition A Fire There by Marlene Edoyan, Canada, 2026, 94’, world premiere Death in the Making by Piotr Pawlus, Netherlands/Poland, 2026, 84’, world premiere Dentro by Elsa Amiel, France/Switzerland, 2026, 95’, world premiere Djeliya, mémoire du Mandé by Boubacar Sangaré, Burkina Faso/Côte d’Ivoire/Mali/Senegal/France, 2026, 112’, world premiere From Dawn to Dawn by Xisi Sofia Ye Chen, Spain/France, 2026, 94’, world premiere Heat by Jacqueline Zünd, Switzerland, 2026, 87’, world premiere Humboldt USA by G. Anthony Svatek, USA, 2026, 89’, world premiere Magilligan by Ross McClean, United Kingdom/Ireland/USA, 2026, 74’, world premiere Meanwhile in Namibia by Jonas Spriestersbach, Germany/Namibia, 2026, 120’, world premiere Saudades Eternas by Emma Boccanfuso, Switzerland/France, 2026, 94’, world premiere The Night and the Days of Miguel Burnier by João Dumans, Brazil, 2026, 82’, world premiere The Price of the Sun by Jérôme Le Maire, Belgium/France/Morocco, 2026, 91’, world premiere Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest by Viv Li, Germany/Netherlands, 2026, 85’, international premiere
Burning Lights Competition Above the Waterline by Elisa Sepulveda Ruddoff, Chile/France, 2026, 72’, world premiere Alea Jacarandas by Hassen Ferhani, France/Algeria, 2026, 78’, world premiere Baby Jackfruit Baby Guava by Nong Nhat Quang, Vietnam/South Korea, 2026, 104’, world premiere Club Heaven by Jona Honer, Netherlands/Belgium, 2026, 78’, world premiere Comme un château fort by Lou Colpé, Belgium, 2026, 83’, world premiere Don’t Tidy or Clean My Room, I Like It as It Is by Ignacio Ceroi, Argentina/Spain, 2026, 81’, world premiere Fracture by Keren Kraizer, Belgium, 2026, 85’, world premiere If Only the Year Had 364 Days by Almourad Aldeeb, Germany/Syria, 2026, 78’, world premiere In Between, a Place by Faezeh Nikoozad, Germany, 2026, 95’, world premiere Kukata Miti by Daniel Kötter, Germany/Indonesia/Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2026, 80’, world premiere La Voix du troupeau by Matthias Joulaud and Lucien Roux, Switzerland/France, 2026, 80’, world premiere Nothing Happens After the Revolution by Ibrahim Omar, Sudan, 2026, 74’, world premiere The Case Against Space by Graeme Arnfield, United Kingdom/France, 2026, 73’, world premiere The Illusion of a Quiet Night by Olga Chernykh and collective work, Ukraine, 2026, 70’, world premiere Time and Tide by Vee Shi, Australia, 2026, 99’, world premiere
National Competition Alma by Rafael Palacio Illingworth, Switzerland, 2026, 70’, world premiere Common Ground by Jonathan Jäggi, Switzerland, 2026, 89’, world premiere Der Runde Tisch by Benjamin Bucher and Juliette Menthonnex, Switzerland, 2026, 41’, world premiere En terrain neutre by Stéphane Goël and Mehdi Atmani, Switzerland, 2026, 80’, world premiere Eternal Snow by François Kohler, Switzerland, 2026, 90’, world premiere First Lap Crash by Liam Erlach, Switzerland, 2026, 73’, world premiere Nicole Nicole by Lauren Dällenbach, Switzerland/France, 2026, 81’, world premiere Safe Spaces by Sarah Horst, Switzerland, 2026, 104’, world premiere The Roots of Madness by Edgar Hagen, Switzerland, 2026, 107’, world premiere To the Moon and Back by Elisa Gomez Alvarez, Switzerland/France/Philippines/Qatar, 2026, 85’, world premiere Tricontinentale, lettre à ouvrir au cas où by Laura Cazador, Switzerland/Cuba, 2026, 96’, world premiere Was das Wasser erzählt by Maria Iorio and Raphaël Cuomo, Switzerland, 2026, 75’, world premiere What Comes From Sitting In Silence by Sophie Schargo, Switzerland/France/South Korea/USA, 2026, 77’, premiere internationale
Borderlight The new section is dedicated to feature fiction films that engage with documentary approaches or cultivate a close relationship with notions of “the real” in all its complexity. Bouchra by Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani Chronovisor by Jack Auen and Kevin Walker Forêt ivre by Manon Coubia Dao by Alain Gomis I Want Her Dead by Gianluca Matarrese Tristan Forever by Tobias Nölle Wide Angle This section showcases feature films that have already captivated audiences at other festivals or are set to make an impact in the year ahead and address contemporary social or political issues such as climate change. Melt by Nikolaus Geyrhalter Dear Ancestor by Nantenaina Lova Replica by Chouwa Liang Birds of War by Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak Adam’s Apple by Amy Jenkins Palestine for Life by Ahmet Seven American Doctor by Poh Si Teng #SainteJulie by Giulia Montineri A Child of My Own by Maite Alberdi Belleville Kitchen by Marine Gautier For Life by Ahmet Seven Nuisance Bear by Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman To Hold a Mountain by Biljana Tutorov and Petar Glomazić Whispers in May by Dongnan Chen Highlights This section showcases “some of the year’s most essential film propositions.” A Distant Call by Andrea Suwito Good Valley Stories by José Luis Guerin Memory by Vladlena Sandu Jaripeo by Efraín Mojica and Rebecca Zweig Past Future Continuous by Morteza Ahmadvand and Firouzeh Khosrovani The Beauty of Errors by Jukka Kärkkäinen The History of Concrete by John Wilson Special Screenings Cover-Up by Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus Ghost Elephants by Werner Herzog Landmarks by Lucrecia Martel Law and Order by Frederick Wiseman Newport & the Great Folk Dream by Robert Gordon Sirāt by Oliver Laxe The Oligarch and the Art Dealer by Andreas Dalsgaard Vacío Luminoso by Uberto Rapisardi While the Green Grass Grows : A Diary in Seven Parts by Peter Mettler
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