The Visions du Réel Foundation announced June 22 the appointment of Anne Delseth as Artistic Director and Co-director of the Festival. A member of the Selection Committee since 2023 and a recognised figure in the Swiss and international film industry, Anne Delseth will take up her position at the end of August 2026. She will succeed Emilie Bujès who, after nine editions at the helm of VdR, will take over as Artistic Director of the Geneva International Film Festival.
“Following a recruitment process that attracted around fifty applications, Anne Delseth emerged as the ideal candidate to oversee the artistic direction of Visions du Réel,” VdR writes. “Her in-depth knowledge of the festival, her recognised experience in programming, distribution and support for works, as well as her extensive network in Switzerland and internationally, impressed the recruitment committee and the entire Foundation Board.”
Philippe Bischof, Chairman of the Foundation Board, comments: “I am delighted that we have found in Anne Delseth an excellent successor to Emilie Bujès. She knows the Festival inside out and, as a member of the selection committee, has already helped shape it in recent years. Her national and international network, her impressive experience as a curator in various contexts and her dynamic and enthusiastic personality were what secured our decision.”
“Building on the great success and high quality of Emilie Bujès’ leadership, Anne Delseth will, together with the entire team, continue to develop the Festival and bring new perspectives to it. We wish her great pleasure and success in her new role, and look forward to this collaboration,” he adds.
The festival writes how Delseth has, over the past two decades, built a rich and cross-disciplinary career across festivals, distribution, film exhibition, training and cultural institutions. She was notably part of the programming team for the Directors’ Fortnight at the Festival de Cannes for ten years, and has curated for the Locarno and Solothurn film festivals as well as working for the distributor trigon-film. She was also responsible for the Master’s programme in film at ECAL University of Art and Design Lausanne and HEAD – Genève (Geneva University of Art and Design).
More recently, she has worked as a curator for the Marrakech International Film Festival and as artistic director of the Ulaanbaatar International Film Festival, and has shaped the artistic direction of Cinéma CityClub for 15 years. She is also an expert and jury member for the Doha Film Institute, the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, the Sud Artlink Cultural Fund, and the Suissimage Cultural Foundation. This career has enabled her to develop an in-depth knowledge of contemporary cinema, as well as an extensive professional network in Switzerland and internationally.
Since joining the Visions du Réel selection committee in 2023, Anne Delseth has been actively contributing to the Festival’s artistic identity and international reach. “Her vision is grounded in respect for the work carried out in recent years, while also offering new perspectives centred on the notions of connection and clarity. Showcasing each film and filmmaker, situating them within clearly defined frameworks and venues, as well as creating more spaces for interaction so that the Festival becomes a place of relationship and reflection. A coming-together that can also unfold throughout the year in various forms,” the festival writes.
Anne Delseth comments: “When I joined the Visions du Réel selection committee in 2023, one thing became clear: there, I discovered a programme of rare coherence, driven by works that invent their own languages to tell the world’s stories and transform reality into art. Now, as artistic director, I wish to bring the full diversity of my background and experience to this Festival.”
“I believe deeply that cinema is a way of encountering the other and, in doing so, of building society,” she continues. “My ambition is to develop the extraordinary international reach of Visions du Réel, while further strengthening its roots in Switzerland and its year-round impact through new partnerships. I want to champion works that shift our perspectives, better support audience engagement with them and create more bridges between films, artists, professionals and the public. Together with the entire team, I want to make the Festival an ever more vibrant space for dialogue, creation and discovery, where films bring us together, challenge us and help us imagine the world of the future.”
Anne Delseth will officially take up her position at the end of August 2026.
