Switzerland’s Visions du Reel has unveiled 164 films on the lineup for its 2026 edition (April 17-26), including new features by Boubacar Sangare, Jacqueline Zund and Elsa Amiel.
The documentary festival will open with Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus’s Cover-Up, about leading US political journalist Seymour Hersh.
Scroll down for the three main competition sections
Of the 164 films, 83 are world premieres, with eight international premieres. There are 36 debut features in the selection, and 26 Swiss co-productions.
The festival has three main feature-length competitive sections: the International Competition, Burning Lights Competition for ‘the boldest forms of non-fiction cinema’, and National Competition for Swiss titles.
The 13 films in the International Competition include Djeliya, mémoire du Mandé, the second feature by Burkinabe filmmaker Sangare. The film is a musical journey through the territory of the Mali empire, exploring the place of tradition in contemporary societies and the importance of communication in transmitting memory.
Dentro is the second feature from French director Amiel, and focuses on Armando Punzo, who works with inmates in a Tuscan prison to build their lives beyond their experience of incarceration.
Heat is the latest documentary from Swiss filmmaker Zund, whose previous works include 2025 sci-fi Don’t Let The Sun and 2019 doc Where We Belong. Heat looks to convey the characteristics of the Gulf nations in the Middle East, using the language of sci-fi and dystopia.
The Burning Lights Competition includes 15 titles, including Elisa Sepulveda Ruddoff’s Chilean-French thriller Above The Waterline; and Olga Chernykh’s The Illusion Of A Quiet Night, filmed over 24 hours in Ukraine.
Attendees at the 2026 festival will include guest of honour Kelly Reichardt and Sergei Loznitsa, both of whom will give masterclasses. Further guests will include Poitras, French-Senegalese filmmaker Alain Gomis, whose Dao played in competition at the Berlinale last month; and Austrian filmmaker Nikolaus Geyrhalter.
The International Competition jury consists of Marrakech International Film Festival artistic director Remi Bonhomme; Bye Bye Tiberias filmmaker Lina Soualem; and Canadian filmmaker Brett Story.
Filmmaker Ali Asgari, actress and editor Liyo Gong, and critic Antoine Thirion comprise the Burning Lights Competition jury.
“In nature, spring brings renewed energy, unexpected fragrances, and colours once thought lost begin to transform the world around us,” said Philippe Bischof, in his first year as festival chairman. “In the cultural sphere, spring brings us the fabulous Visions du Reel festival.”
Administrative and operational director Melanie Courvoisier noted festival events including an exhibition by Japanese photographer Hayahisa Tomiyasu; writing workshops in collaboration with the Jan Michalski Foundation; and an installation by performer Alice Fournier, at Nyon’s Usine a Gaz venue.
Visions du Reel 2026 main competition sections
All world premieres unless noted
International Competition
A Fire There (Can) dir. Marlene Edoyan
Death In The Making (Neth-Pol) dir. Piotr Pawlus
Dentro (Fr-Switz) dir. Elsa Amiel
Djeliya, mémoire du Mandé (Bur-CIV-Mali-Sen-Fr) dir. Boubacar Sangare
From Dawn To Dawn (Sp-Fr) dir. Xisi Sofia Ye Chen
Heat (Switz) dir. Jacqueline Zund
Humboldt USA (US) dir. G. Anthony Svatek
Magilligan (UK-Ire-US) dir. Ross McClean
Meanwhile In Namibia (Ger-Nam) dir. Jonas Spriestersbach
Saudadas Eternas (Switz-Fr) dir. Emma Boccanfuso
The Night And The Days Of Miguel Burnier (Bra) dir. Joao Dumans
The Price Of The Sun (Bel-Fr-Mor) dir. Jerome Le Maire
Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest (Ger-Neth) dir. Viv Li – international premiere
Burning Lights Competition
Above The Waterline (Chile-Fr) dir. Elisa Sepulveda Ruddoff
Alea Jacarandas (Fr-Alg) dir. Hassen Ferhani
Baby Jackfruit Baby Guava (Viet-S Kor) dir. Nong Nhat Quang
Club Heaven (Neth-Bel) dir. Jona Honer
Comme un château fort (Bel) dir. Lou Colpe
Don’t Tidy Or Clean My Room, I Like It As It Is (Arg-Sp) dir. Ignacio Cerol
Fracture (Bel) dir. Keren Kraizer
If Only The Year Had 364 Days (Ger-Syr) dir. Almourad Aldeeb
In Between, A Place (Ger) dir. Faezeh Nikoozad
Kukata Miti (Ger-Indonesia-Con) dir. Daniel Kotter
La Voix du troupeau (Switz-Fr) dirs. Matthias Joulaud, Lucien Roux
Nothing Happens After The Revolution (Sudan) dir. Ibrahim Omar
The Case Against Space (UK-Fr) dir. Graeme Arnfield
The Illusion Of A Quiet Night (Ukr) dir. Olga Chernykh
Time And Tide (Australia) dir. Vee Shi
National Competition
Alma (Switz) dir. Rafale Palacio Illingworth
Common Ground (Switz) dir. Jonathan Jaggl
Der Runde Tisch (Switz) dirs. Benjamin Bucher, Juliette Menthonnex
En terrain neuter (Switz) dirs. Stephane Goel, Mehdi Atmani
Eternal Snow (Switz) dir. Francois Kohler
First Lap Crash (Switz) dir. Liam Eriach
Nicole Nicole (Switz-Fr) dir. Lauren Dallenbach
Safe Spaces (Switz) dir. Sarah Horst
The Roots Of Madness (Switz) dir. Edgar Hagen
To The Moon And Back (Switz-Fr-Phi-Qat) dir. Elisa Gomez Alvarez
Tricontinentale, lettre à ouvrir au cas où (Switz) dir. Laura Cazador
Was das Wasser erzählt (Switz) dirs. Maria Iorio, Raphael Cuomo
What Comes From Sitting In Silence (Switz-Fr-S Kor) dir. Sophie Schargo - international premiere
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