Alle Folgen

Interview with Suzannah Mirghani on "Cotton Queen"

27.04.2026•14:09

War, patriarchal structures, and the absence of an established local film industry couldn’t hold Suzannah Mirghani back from realizing her first feature film which is a special kind of debut: the first fiction feature from Sudan directed by a woman and only the second Sudanese feature production to screen at the Venice Film Festival. From there Cotton Queen went on a prestigious festival journey, earning prizes at Thessaloniki, Geneva, Doha, and Luxor. The nuanced story of a Sudanese teenage girl’s emancipation against the backdrop of her village’s complicated past and uncertain future is now in German cinemas. During its screening at the Arabic Film Festival Berlin, the Sudanese-Russian filmmaker spoke with Lidanoir about the Sudanese war’s impact on the production, overcoming moral skepticism about young women acting, and the return of colonialist capitalism in a globalized world.

Interview with Gabriela Osio Vanden & Jack Weisman on "Nuisance Bear"

24.04.2026•13:00

What happens when nature is reduced to a problem that needs solving and a capitalizable attraction at once? Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman explore that question in their captivating feature documentary debut, taking a close look at the relationship between humans and polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba. Its status is complicated in the proclaimed Polar Bear Capital of the World, where the awe-inspiring animals venture close to residential areas. After winning Sundance’s US Documentary Competition with its breathtaking footage and nuanced approach to the conflict between human interests and animal preservation, Nuisance Bear screens at Visions du Réel. Here, the filmmakers talk with Lidanoir about coming close, but not too close, to polar bears, capturing never-before-seen wildlife images, and earning the trust of the local communities.

Interview with Viv Li on "Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest"

24.04.2026•13:03

Social pressure, professional strains, and emotional tension come together in Viv Li’s personal and disarmingly humorous portrait of herself at a crossroads. Witty and visually arresting, her feature documentary debut finds the universal in individual issues and vice versa while meditating on identity, insecurity, and ideals. Just a couple of weeks after premiering at the Berlinale and MoMA’s ND/NF forum, Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest comes to Visions du Réel’s main competition. Before heading to her next screening in New York, the Chinese filmmaker based in Berlin spoke with Lidanoir about the detailed development process, the challenges aspiring filmmakers face, and finding the humor in everyday events.

Interview with Janay Boulos & Abd Akadar Habak on "Birds of War"

24.04.2026•12:59

In a world shaped by militarized conflict and displacement, Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak manage to find the love that overcomes violence and repression - on a personal and a cinematic level. Both come together in their intimate chronicle of a romance against all odds. Birds of War tells their very own love story during the Syrian Civil War and the Lebanese war, witnessing the devastation and brutal impact on people's lives but also moments of unexpected beauty. After premiering at Sundance where it won the prestigious Special Jury Award for its journalistic impact, the moving documentary is now at Visions du Réel. On site in Nyon, the filmmakers spoke with Lidanoir about bringing their own lives to the screen, the importance of not reducing people to headlines, and the future they see for themselves.

Interview with Dongnan Chen on "Whispers in May"

23.04.2026•14:10

Just a few weeks ago, her gentle feature film debut, meandering between cinéma vérité and rural fairytale, won Dongnan Chen the main prize at Copenhagen's renowned CPH:DOX film festival. Now the Chinese filmmaker continues her successful festival journey at Visions du Réel where her imaginative coping-of-age story about three young girls from the Yi minority screens in the Grand Angle section. On the festivals's busy main site, Dongnan Chen spoke with Lidanoir about the delicate balance between friction and reality in Whispers in May, finding the local girls who star in it, and her personal connection to its central themes of migration, social pressure, and generational responsibilities.

Interview with Rebecca Zweig & Efraín Mojica on "Jaripeo"

23.04.2026•15:38

Still a bit overwhelmed by the splendid success their debut documentary achieved with its Sundance premiere, Rebecca Zweig and Efraín Mojica already have graced over a dozen film festivals with their intimate look at gay Mexican cowboys at the titular traditional rodeo event. Equally gentle and daring, Jaripeo explores the multilayered tension - social, sensual, and symbolic - evoked by the performances of masculinity as well a their collision with queer identity and desire. During their most recent festival stop at Visions du Réel, the director duo spoke with Lidanoir about finding their glamorous characters, shooting in Efraín's hometown, and the vibrant queer community at a place shaped by tradition and religion.