Israeli Arab filmmaker was murdered 4 April
Visions du Réel runs 7-13 April in Nyon
Nyon, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) -The Nyon documentary film festival opens Thursday on a somber note, with a tribute to Juliano Mer Khamis, an Israeli Arab filmmaker and actor who was murdered 4 April in the West Bank. His film “Arna’s Children” was awarded the prize of the Jury du Jeune Public of Visions du Réel in 2004.
This is a year of change for the Nyon festival, with Luciano Barisone, its new director, taking charge for the first time. On a more practical level for festival-goers, a new electronic ticketing system is in place.
The festival opens Thursday 7 April, with some 50 films making their world or European debuts at this festival that has grown in scope and importance to the film industry in recent years. Films fall into three categories: long, medium-long and short.
Nyon, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Rock legend Lou Reed presented his film debut at Nyon’s Vision du Réel film festival 20 April. The film, Red Shirley, a 30-minute documentary about his 99-year-old cousin Shirley Novick, is the musician’s first attempt at directing. “I did this film as she’s one of the most remarkable people I’ve ever met and I wanted to preserve her forever so that others could meet her – she’s so inspiring”, says Reed. He finished the film earlier this year with filmmaker Ralph Gibson.
Novick left Poland at 19 in 1938 for Montreal to learn French, but ended up learning how to play the mandolin. Then she left for New York and found work as a seamstress. Working 48 hours a week for a wage of $6, she spent 47 years as a seamstress. She was a militant for better working conditions and represented her colleagues in the garment industry, thus earning her the nickname Red Shirley.
Links to other sites: Swissinfo.com, Visions du Reel
Nyon, Swizerland (GenevaLunch) - The Visions du Réel documentary film festival association has named Luciano Barisone as its new director. He is currently the director of the Festival of Popoli in Florence, Italy and he will start his new job during the summer of 2010. as the new director of Visions du Réel. He replaces Jean Perret, who has headed the festival for several years. Perret is taking up a new post at the Haute Ecole d’art et de design in Geneva.
The film festival runs 15-21 April and includes an international competition.
Title: Nyon’s international film festival
Location: Nyon, Vaud
Link out: Click here
Description: Lou Reed will be a special guest at this year’s Vision du Reel festival in Nyon. A week of films await you not far from Geneva and Lausanne.
Start Date: 2010-04-15
End Date: 2010-04-21
By Jared Bloch
Writer/Director Peter Kerekes
What happens to the war effort when the Army chef spoils the food? As one character in Peter Kerekes “Cooking History” proclaims, “there is no war without food.” And maybe no successful war campaign without good food.
The premise for this alternately wry and sobering movie evolved out of a conversation between Kerekes and his father. “The idea was to collect stories from ordinary people, and to show how they can, and have changed history,” Kerekes told Geneva Lunch during a conversation on the final day of the 2009 Visions du Réel Film Festivalin Nyon.
Film reviews from Visions du Réel
For writer and director Shen Ko-Shang, character development is fundamental to movie making. “I have seen many nice films here [at the Visions du Réel Film Festival] but for me to really like a movie, the characters have to have heart,” Ko-Shang explained through an interpreter. Shen Ko-Shang, whose documentary “Baseball Boys” and film short ”Fading” were screened this week at the Visions du Réel Film Festival, shared with GenevaLunch his impressions of the festival and thoughts on filmmaking.
Film characters have to "have heart"
A native of Taipei, Taiwan, Ko-Shang travelled “half-way” around the world for the premier of “Baseball Boys.” The documentary is based in a rural area of Taiwan, characterized by its native inhabitants and traditional lifestyle.
It was this unique background which interested Ko-Shang, and inspired him to document the trials and tribulations of an aspiring Little League boy’s team in Hulien Province on Taiwan’s East Coast. “These kids are unique due to their background and rural heritage. This way of life is very distinct from my reality in Taipei and I find their experiences interesting.”
"L'Encerclement"
Nyon, Switzerland (Genevalunch) - “L’Encerclement: La démocratie dans les rets du néolibéralisme” took the grand prize of CHF20,000 in the international category at the Visions du Réel film festival Wednesday night 29 April. The film, by Canadian Richard Brouillette, explores the reasons behind today’s economic crisis. The film took over 12 years to develop and consisted of a number of interviews with specialists who came together to produce a narrative on how neo-liberalism shapes our times.
Ski season has ended for most people and with it our Friday ski and snow reports have been put away until next winter. The great thing about the Lake Geneva region is that you can end winter and step straight into the next season (label it summer or spring, depending on what you’re used to back home) without missing a beat. The options are particularly wonderful this weekend:
Indoors
You can start by catching up on features and interviews or and cartoons (search, top right box, for “Chappatte”) you might have missed on GenevaLunch. We’ve added the start of an album of photos from Nyon, a beautiful town, to which we will be adding images during the year. Better yet, get outdoors and visit Nyon for the film festival (see below)!
New food blog
We have a new blogger, Jonell Galloway, who after three guest blog posts has been given her own space to write up a storm about the great food options in the region, from restaurants to her own (excellent) kitchen to markets. A cooking school teacher and food guide writer for many years in France before moving to Geneva, Jonell is a pro on many levels. Read her mouthwatering description of the Italian specials on offer at the Richemond hotel’s Sapori restaurant, and the beautiful wines to accompany your meal, on her Rambling Epicure blog.
We’ve just posted a thoughtful guest blog by international marketing specialist Ago Cluytens on the importance of being trustworthy and dependable, in business but also in the rest of our lives.
Editor Ellen Wallace has just written about primeur wines in Bordeaux on her Among the vines wine blog and a flurry of wine stories is coming up, about Beaujolais, Graubuenden and Ticino winemakers, among other subjects. We will be running a special feature Friday night or Saturday morning on the winemakers from Beaujolais who are the special guests at the Morges Arvinis wine fair, which runs until Monday night 27 April.
On the reading front, pay a visit to the Library in English booksale, on Friday and Saturday in Geneva.
Nyon film festival, Visions du Réel
Nyon lakefront park, below the Roman ruins, 24 April 2009
Usine a gaz, film festival centre, Nyon
This annual documentary festival is growing in popularity, with good reason: there are nearly 50 films in the international category this year, with dozens more films in other categories, including an interesting selection of new filmmaker offerings.
Morges, Arvinis wine fair
This spring wine season opener brings together well over 150 winemakers, some international, most Swiss, with a preponderance of local producers: an excellent way to learn about Swiss wine. For CHF20 you get a glass, sample the producer’s wines and talk to them about what they do. There is no shortage of English speakers.
Outdoors
An easy outing is the Morges tulip festival on the lakefront, a comfortable stroll and excellent destination if you have elderly visitors. The flowers are now blooming well. Combine this with Arvinis, but remember that the tulips like sunlight and the wine sampling is often better done later in the day.
Jura wildflowers, 24 April 2009 (photo, Shirley Curran)
wild daffodils, Jura
Lausanne’s Carnaval is a lively event, much of it happening in the streets: check out details and other events on our GenevaLunch events pages.
Your best bet might be to go up to the Jura, on foot, on bicycle or by car or bike. Shirley Curran, our book reviewer and ski reporter, says it was fantastic Friday afternoon. “The wild daffodils are in full bloom and superb. What’s more, there isn’t a soul up there – no chamois or wild boars or anything else yet!”
Her photos are the proof. Head for the hills!
Click on image to view larger
Ed. note: GenevaLunch will be covering the festival, and bringing you reviews starting Saturday morning on our Guest bloggers page, by Jared Bloch and Jillian Hudson.
Nyon, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The growing popularity in recent years of the documentary film festival in Nyon, Visions du réel, is likely to continue in 2009, with 49 international films being shown this year, in addition to dozens of other short and long films.
The festival opens Friday 24 April and runs until 29 April. Films are open to the public and cost CHF14 for a single screening or CHF35 for a day card, with special rates for students and other groups. Four cinemas in the town show the films but the festival is also famous for lively debates surrounding the films, food on offer in several locations but with the busy Usine a Gaz on the lakefront as the hub, and in general an international mix of people and cinema.
Nyon, Switzerland (GenevaLunch, by Catherine Nelson-Pollard) – [Editor's note: Visions du Réel International Documentary Film Festival runs from 20-26 April in Nyon.]
A packed house Thursday night watched the avant premiere “Bruno Manser-Laki Penan,” a superb documentary on the life and disappearance of a Swiss environmentalist who lived with natives in Borneo. The film opened Visions du Réel festival, a showcase for new talent, but which sees itself as having a mission that is "at cross currents" with industry.
