In the international competition for medium and short films are “Sortes”, by Mónica Martins Nunes, and “Timkat”, by Ico Costa, both of which are making their world debut.

“Sortes”, 38 minutes in length, is a Portuguese-German film, shot in the Alentejo region, recording the human and rural landscape of the Serra de Serpa, marked for desertification.

Living in Berlin, Mónica Martins Nunes is also the author of the film “The Ashes Remain Warm” (2016).

“Timkat”, by Ico Costa, was shot in Ethiopia and shows a religious ritual of purification and baptism, which brings together thousands of people along the Jordan River.

The feature film “Alva” (2019) and the short film “Nyo Vweta Nafta” (2917) are other films already signed by Ico Costa.

In the “Latitudes” section of Visions du Réel can be found “Jack’s Ride”, which the Portuguese director Susana Nobre had already presented in February at the Berlin film festival.

In the film, which interweaves elements of documentary and fiction, Susana Nobre tells the story of Joaquim Calçada, a former aircraft mechanic and driver, who emigrated to the United States and returned two decades later to Portugal, to retire.

This year Visions du Réel will fulfill the 52nd edition virtually, with the programming channeled to the 'online' exhibition because of the sanitary restrictions in Switzerland.

The festival will run from April 15th to 25th.