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57th edition
Visions du Réel
Nyon, Switzerland
17 – 26 April 2026
10 days
About Visions du Réel
Visions du Réel is an international film festival held each April in Nyon, Switzerland, devoted entirely to documentary and creative nonfiction cinema. The festival presents a curated selection of feature, mid-length and short documentaries across competitive and thematic sections. Alongside screenings, it runs a robust industry arm — VdR–Industry — with a pitching forum, rough cut lab and co-production market.
Festival details
Location
Place du Marché 2, CH–1260 Nyon · Nyon, Switzerland
Scope
International
Focus
Documentary · Feature · Mid-length · Short
Duration
10 days
Founded
1969
Awards
Grand Prix – Sesterce d'or
Top honour, best film of the international feature-length competition.
Burning Lights Competition Award
Most innovative, experimental and boundary-pushing work.
National Competition Award
Best Swiss documentary.
Medium Length & Short Film Competition Award
Excellence in mid-length and short documentary.
Opening Scenes Award
Outstanding first or second work from an emerging filmmaker.
Special programs
International Feature Film Competition
Core competition for feature documentaries.
Burning Lights Competition
Experimental, hybrid and formally adventurous nonfiction work.
VdR–Industry
VdR–Pitching, VdR–Rough Cut Lab, VdR–Market.
Guest of Honour
Retrospective strand honouring a major figure in documentary cinema.
VdR Next Gen
Programmes for audiences and filmmakers aged 12 to 26.
For filmmakers
Eligible production years
2025–2026
Accepted formats
Feature documentary, Mid-length documentary, Short documentary
Best Documentary Films
Award-Winning Documentaries
Curated For You
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