Now in its 57th year (17–26 April), Visions du Réel is renewing its focus on emerging filmmakers by showcasing 58 debut films (including 36 feature-length films). It is also reinforcing its commitment to gender equality by announcing an increase in the proportion of films directed by women (44% this year). Its status as a pioneer is further cemented by the record presence of 75 different countries in its programme, a clear indication of the festival’s international reach. On this subject, its artistic director Emilie Bujès states: “We are delighted to see that the reputation of Visions du Réel and its output continues to grow, enabling us to broaden the geographical territories and realities we explore ever further, as well as to confirm our ambition to launch new talent”.

The major new feature this year is the launch of Borderlight, a new section "dedicated to feature-length fiction films that engage with documentary approaches or maintain a special relationship with reality and its complexities". Dao by Alain Gomis, Forest High by Manon Coubia, I Want Her Dead by Gianluca Matarrese, Tristan Forever by Tobias Nölle and Loran Bonnardot, and Bouchra by Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani are the selected European titles. The American film Cover-Up, by Oscar-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras, will open the festival.

As for guests, this year’s festival will welcome four leading artists: the American filmmakers Kelly Reichardt (guest of honour at this 57th edition) and the aforementioned Laura Poitras, as well as the Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa, who will give a masterclass in collaboration with Arte and HEAD (Haute école d’art et de design de Genève), and the aforementioned Moroccan artist Meriem Bennani.

Of the 13 films selected for the International Feature Film Competition, 11 are European productions and co-productions. Among these are three productions and co-productions by Swiss female directors: Dentro by Elsa Amiel (Pearl), which centres on a theatre workshop taking place in an Italian prison; Heat by Jacqueline Zünd (Don’t Let the Sun), which explores climate change and its impact on our lives; and Saudades Eternas by Emma Boccanfuso, which transports us into the daily lives of the inhabitants of a favela in Rio. Meanwhile, the film Death in the Making by Polish director Piotr Pawlus (In Ukraine), who is volunteering in the war in Ukraine, takes us to the heart of the armed conflict. In a completely different genre, the Berlin-based Chinese director and actress Viv Li offers us, with Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest (previously screened in the Berlinale’s Panorama section), a comedy about culture clash. Also of Chinese origin but born in Barcelona, Xisi Sofia Ye Chen follows her brother, who has a troubled past, in From Dawn to Dawn. Ross McClean’s Magilligan is, too, a touching portrait of a man struggling with himself. Finally, Boubacar Sangaré’s Djeliya, Memory of Mandingo, Jonas Spriestersbach’s Meanwhile in Namibia and Jérôme Le Maire’s The Price of the Sun take us much further afield to discover indigenous peoples with ancestral practices that must absolutely be preserved. The Night and the Days of Miguel Burnier (Brazil) by João Dumans, A Fire There (Canada) by Marlene Edoyan and Humboldt USA (United States) by G. Anthony Svatek round off the section.

The ever-adventurous Burning Lights competition will feature 15 films this year, the vast majority of which (12 in total) are European (co-)productions. Among these are three films with Belgian involvement: Like a Fortress, the debut feature by Belgian director Lou Colpé; Club Heaven by Dutch director Jona Honer; and Fracture by Keren Kraizer, an Israeli director trained in Europe. There are also numerous co-productions with France: The Echo of the Herd, the debut feature film by Matthias Joulaud and Lucien Roux; Above the Waterline by the Chilean director who grew up in France, Elisa Sepulveda Ruddoff; Alea Jacarandas by the Algerian Hassen Ferhani; and The Case Against Space by Graeme Arnfield. Germany is also represented by Daniel Kötter’s visual and political anthropology essay Kukata Miti, the deeply personal and harrowing If Only the Year Had 364 Days by Almourad Aldeeb, and the powerful In Between, a Place by Iranian director Faezeh Nikoozad. Finally, the competition will also feature the intriguing Don’t Tidy or Clean My Room, I Like It as It Is by Argentine director Ignacio Ceroi and the sweeping portrait of Ukraine at war, The Illusion of a Quiet Night by the Collective Work & Olga Chernykh.

The rich programme is rounded off by other sections, such as the National Competition, the International Mid-Length Film Competition, as well as Opening Scenes, Wide Angle, Highlights and Special Screenings.