Clarisa Navas’ The Prince of Nanawa and Bani Khoshnoudi’s The Vanishing Point were awarded Visions du Réel’s two main international competitions prizes during the festival’s April 12 closing ceremony.
Argentinian director Navas won the Grand Prize in the International Feature Film Competition with The Prince of Nanawa, an expansive film that follows the transformations of Ángel over 10 years, from childhood to adulthood, on the border between Argentina and Paraguay.
Meanwhile, the jury of the Burning Lights Competition honored The Vanishing Point by Bani Khoshnoudi, which breaks the family silence surrounding a missing cousin who was executed during the 1988 purges in the political prisons of the Iranian regime.
The National Competition Jury Prize went to Les Vies d’Andrès by Fribourg native Baptiste Janon and Belgian filmmaker Rémi Pons, which sheds light on the daily lives of four truck drivers caught in a spiral of performance expectations and logistical constraints, interwoven with a novel about a cart driver from the early 20th century.
The Audience Award went to Cutting Through Rocks by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni.
Visions du Réel Artistic Director Émilie Bujès: commented: “The 154 films presented at the 2025 Festival offer a myriad prisms through which to explore contemporary documentary cinema and to discover bold, personal, and singular cinematic voices. I’m delighted to see that this year’s awards reflect this ambition, notably including films created over extended periods of time. This confirms our deep commitment to offering powerful and original cinematic experiences — a true bulwark against the standardization of both cinema and ideas.”
Visions du Réel continues until Sunday evening, and the online program remains accessible until Sunday, 20 April. The full awards list is as follows:
International Feature Film Competition. Jury: Hama Haruka, festival director (Japan) Eliza Hittman, filmmaker (United-States), Athiná-Rachél Tsangári, filmmaker (United States)
- Grand Jury Prize presented by la Mobilière (20,000 CHF): The Prince of Nanawa by Clarisa Navas
- Special Jury Award presented by the Région de Nyon (10,000 CHF): To Use a Mountain by Casey Carter
- Special mention: Anamocot of Marie Voignier
Burning Lights Competition. Jury: Scott Cummings, Filmmaker (US), Thomas Hakim, Producer (France), Elene Naveriani, Filmmaker (Georgia/Switzerland)
- Jury Prize in the Burning Lights Competition presented by the Canton of Vaud (10,000 CHF): The Vanishing Point by Bani Khoshnoudi
- Special Jury Award presented by la Société des Hôteliers de la Côte (5,000 CHF): To the West in Zapataby David Bim
- Special mention: Fierté nationale by Jéricho vers Gaza of Sven Augustijnen
National Competition. Jury: Elie Grappe, Filmmaker and screenwriter (France/Switzerland), Petar Mitric, Cinema teacher, international distributor (Serbia, Czech Republic), Elaheh Nobakht, Producer (Iran/Switzerland)
- Jury Prize in the National Competition offered by SRG SSR (15,000 CHF): Les Vies d’Andrès by Baptiste Janon and Rémi Pons
- Special Jury Award in the National Competition offered by SSA/Suissimage (10,000 CHF): Sediments by Laura Coppens
- Special mention: Toute ma vie by Matias Carlier
International Medium Length and Short Film Competition. Jury: Qila Gill, Programmer (United-Kingdom/ Germany), Jenna Hasse, Filmmaker and actress (Portugal/Switzerland) Valentin Noujaïm, Filmmaker (France/Lebanon). Youth Jury: Caroline Cariage, Gil Dalebroux, Lydia Kidane, Nina Messieux, Jule Theli.
- Jury Prize for the Best Medium Length Film offered by the Clinique de Genolier (6,000 CHF): Les Voyageurs by David Bingong
- Jury Prize for the Best Short Film offered by Vector Gestion (5,000 CHF): Another Other by Bex Oluwatoyin Thompson
- Special Youth Jury Award for a medium length film offered by the École Moser (4,000 CHF): Objects Don’t Randomly Fall From the Sky by Maria Estela Paiso
- Special Youth Jury Award for the Best Short Film (2,000 CHF): The Town That Drove Away by Grzegorz Piekarski and Natalia Pietsch
- Special mentions from the Jury of the International Medium and Short Film Competition: Khmerica by Thibaut Amri, Antoine Guide & Lucas Sénécaut; Partir, c’est naître à nouveau by Mladen Bundalo
OTHER AWARDS
- Wide Angle Audience Award in the Wide Angle Competition offered by the Ville de Nyon (10,000 CHF): Cutting Through Rocks by Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni.
- International Critics’ Award – FIPRESCI Award. First feature film presented in the International Feature Film Competition or the Burning Lights Competition: To the West, in Zapata by David Bim
- Interreligious Award. Feature film of the International Competition that highlights questions of meaning and human solidarity: Nuit obscure – “Ain’t I a Child? by Sylvain George
- Perception Change Project Award: Prize awarded to a film that sheds light on the current issues that will define the world of tomorrow. Presented by the Director General of the Geneva UN with the support of the Diplomatic Club. The Family Approach by Daniel Abma
- Zonta Award. The ZONTA Creation Support Award rewards a female filmmaker whose film, selected in the Burning Lights or National Competition sections, reveals mastery and talent and calls for support for future creations: And the Fish Fly Above Our Heads… by Dima El-Horr
