During its awards ceremony, the VdR-Industry strand of Visions du Réel announced that 13 prizes were being handed out to projects previously presented at the 23rd edition, including one Special Mention. This is the second year that the international Eurimages Co-Production Development Award (providing support right from the initial stages of a project) and Visions Sud Est Award (a national Swiss fund intended to foster the production of independent films in countries with low production capacities) have been handed out at the festival.

Talking about this new edition, Alice Burgin, who has been the head of the festival’s industry section since last year, enthused: “Visions du Réel would like to congratulate all of this year’s winners. We know to what extent this type of acknowledgement at a preliminary stage of a project can really shape its future, and we are grateful to our different partners who came together to support bold stories that are moulding the cinema of tomorrow!”

The Eurimages Co-Production Development Award, endowed with 20,000 Swiss francs, was won by the project Ashes Settling in Layers on the Surface by Ukrainian director Zoya Laktionova. The jury, made up of Eleni Chandrinou, Gianluca Matarrese and Tamara Tatishvili, hailed it as “a story that celebrates an ambitious artistic proposition emerging from a deeply personal invitation to travel through a modern, industrial fairy tale shaped by lived experiences – and by physical memories of a city that is at once political, intimate and imaginary”.

Meanwhile, the jury of the highly coveted Visions Sud-Est Award, endowed with 10,000 Swiss francs, which comprised Pamela Biénzobas, Gaëlle Genet and Stéfanie Rusterholz, rewarded Indonesian director Andrea Suwito for her project A Distant Call, portraying Eka, a character who, as underlined by the jury, “embodies little-known traditions of marginalised Indonesian indigenous cultures” that are today under threat. The film also broaches important subjects, such as gender fluidity and LGBTIQ+ rights.

Lastly, the Visions du Réel Award, which comes with 3,000 Swiss francs in recognition of projects that show themselves to be bold and ambitious, handed out by the VdR-Industry jury (Sarah Choi, Michael Stütz and Bénédicte Thomas) after it deliberated on numerous projects that took part in VdR-Pitching and VdR-Work in Progress, went to Belgian director of Gabonese heritage Natyvel Pontalier for I Eat With Two Hearts. The director also picked up the RTS Award. The Visions du Réel Award Special Mention was presented to Anamiga by French director Raphaële Benisty.

Various other prizes were handed out, including the Tënk Post-Production Award, which provides the use of sound post-production facilities at Tënk studios (France), and which was bestowed upon Time Hunter by Daniel Chain and Mushiva (a project that also scooped the The Party Film Sales Award); and the Tënk Opening Scene Award, entailing the purchasing of distribution rights for a film in the Opening Scene section, which was handed to Bonheur Suprême for the short Homunculus.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Eurimages Co-Production Development Award
Ashes Settling in Layers on the Surface – Zoya Laktionova (Ukraine/France)
Producers: Natalia Libet (2Brave Productions), Victor Ede (Cinéphage)

Visions Sud Est Award
A Distant Call – Andrea Suwito (Indonesia/UK/France)
Producers: Mandy Marahimin (Talamedia), Finbar Somers (Umbra Motion Picture Company), Xavier Rocher (La Fabrica Nocturna)

Visions du Réel Award
I Eat with Two Hearts – Natyvel Pontalier (France/Belgium)
Producers: Mathilde Raczymow (Les Films du Bilboquet), Cyril Bibas (Centre Vidéo de Bruxelles)
Special Mention
Anamiga – Raphaële Benisty (France)
Producer: Julie Perris (Zadig Productions)

RTS Award
I Eat with Two Hearts – Natyvel Pontalier

Tënk Post-Production Award
Time Hunter – Daniel Chein, Mushiva (USA/Germany/Namibia)
Producers: David Felix Sutcliffe, Daniel Chein (Waypoint Pictures), Thomas Kaske (Seera Films), Joel Haikali (Joe Vision Production)

Tënk Opening Scenes Award
Homunculus – Bonheur Suprême (Italy)

The Party Film Sales Award
Time Hunter – Daniel Chein, Mushiva

Lightdox Award
Jaripeo – Efraín Mojica, Rebecca Zweig (USA/France/Mexico/UK)
Producers: Sarah Strunin (Jaripeo Documentary LLC), Carine Chichkowsky (Survivance), Tierra Roja (Mexico), Misfits Entertainment (UK)

Unifrance Doc Award, in partnership with TitraFilm
Alea Jacarandas – Hassen Ferhani (France/Algeria)
Producers: Eugénie Michel-Villette (Les Films du Bilboquet), Oualid Baha (Tact Production), Karim Moussaoui (Guelta Production)

Masé Studios Award
Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk – Sepideh Farsi (France)
Producers: Javad Djavahery (Rêves d'Eau Productions), Annie Ohayon-Dekel (24images)

Raggioverde Subtitling Award
Memory – Vladlena Sandu (Russia/France/Netherlands)
Producers: Yanna Buryak (Mimesis), Ludovic Henry (Limitless), Raymond van der Kaaij (Revolver)

Cannes Docs Award
Time Hunter – Daniel Chein, Mushiva

DOX Leipzig Award
The Big Boom – Gabriel Tejedor (Switzerland)
Producer: Susanne Guggenberger (Mira Film Basel)