‘From Dawn to Dawn,’ ‘Alea Jacarandas’ Top 57th Edition of Visions du Réel
Visions du Réel closed its 57th edition Friday with a prize list that leaned firmly toward intimate, formally adventurous nonfiction, as Xisi Sofia Ye Chen’s “From Dawn to Dawn” took the Grand Jury Prize in the International Feature Film Competition.
Centered on the filmmaker’s brother, a Chinese gangster living in Spain, the debut feature offers a rare immersion into a world more frequently explored through fiction than documentary. Told through first-person narration and stylized imagery, the film charts his attempts to reconcile a criminal past with family obligations and shifting moral ground.
The top prize carries a cash award of CHF 20,000 ($22,000).vThe jury, made up of Marrakech Film Festival chief Rémi Bonhomme and filmmakers Lina Soualem and Brett Story, celebrated “an astonishing self assured debut. A moving, intimate and complex portrait of the impacts of exile and the struggle to reclaim one’s life. Using poetic personal narration and evocative, at times dream-like cinematography, the film unfolds in layers at once revealing and deepening the question of how migration, economic survival and trauma impact family relations.”
The jury handed out its Special Prize to Marlene Edoyan’s “A Fire There,” which examines the friendship between three young men navigating an unstable political environment in Georgia. Boubacar Sangaré’s “Djeliya, mémoire du Mandé” received a Special Mention.
Across the awards, several titles drew on personal archives or close family circles to address wider political realities. A case in point is Audience Award winner “Birds of War,” by Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak, which delves into more than a decade of personal archives belonging to a Lebanese journalist living in London and a Syrian cameraman. The award comes with CHF 10,000 ($11,000) in prize money.
In the Burning Lights Competition, the top prize went to Hassen Ferhani’s “Alea Jacarandas” a film built around memory and transmission, where grief and inheritance are explored through recurring visual motifs – the titular jacaranda blossoms. It comes with a cash prize of CHF 10,000 ($11,000).
The jury, made up of filmmaker Ali Asgari, editor Liyo Gong and programmer-critic Antoine Thirion, praised the winning film as “a work that, on the surface, explores transmission, but beneath, opens onto deeper currents. It teaches us how to look – toward beauty, and toward the dream of beauty hovering over the violence of history and the distances between beings.”
“Baby Jackfruit Baby Guava,” Nông Nhât Quang’s debut feature about a mother, daughter and son who travel back in time to mend ruptured family ties, was awarded the Special Jury Prize, worth CHF 5,000 ( $5,500).
The National Competition jury also rewarded films rooted in family relationships. Lauren Dällenbach’s “Nicole Nicole” won the top prize (CHF 15,000 / $16,500) for its portrayal of a co-dependent relationship between an aunt and a grandmother, balancing humor and fragility while examining isolation and the fear of living alone.
Sophie Schrago’s “What Comes From Sitting in Silence?” received the Special Jury Prize for its focus on women confronting political and social pressure.
Among additional awards, Emma Bofanccuso’s debut feature “Saudades Eternas” won the FIPRESCI Prize, Elsa Amiel’s “Dentro” took the Interreligious Award, and José Luis Guérin’s “Good Valley Stories” received the Perception Change Award.
Artistic director Emilie Bujès said the prize list reflects the festival’s identity as a space for films that “break down the barriers of conventional documentary cinema, offering audiences the chance to shift their perspective,” pointing to a selection that moves between contrasting states – “joy and terror, darkness and beauty, confinement and freedom” – while continuing to attract a loyal audience and expanding its reach among younger viewers.
Running April 17-26, the festival continues through Sunday with screenings of award-winning titles, while its online program remains available until May 4.
Find all the awards for Visions du Réel 2026 here:
International Feature Film CompetitionGrand Jury Prize“From Dawn to Dawn” by Xisi Sofia Ye ChenSpecial Jury Prize“A Fire There” by Marlene EdoyanSpecial Mention“Djeliya, mémoire du Mandé” by Boubacar Sangaré
Burning Lights CompetitionJury Prize“Alea Jacarandas” by Hassen FerhaniSpecial Jury Prize“Baby Jackfruit Baby Guava” by Nông Nhât QuangSpecial Mentions“The Case Against Space” by Graeme Arnfield“Illusion of Quiet Night” by Olga Chernyk
National CompetitionJury Prize“Nicole Nicole” by Lauren DällenbachSpecial Jury Prize“What Comes From Sitting in Silence?” by Sophie SchragoSpecial Mention“Der Runde Tisch” by Juliette Menthonnex & Benjamin Bucher
International Medium Length & Short Film CompetitionBest Medium-Length Film“Ici, ailleurs” by Comes ChahbazianBest Short Film“Visite guidée” by Alba JaramilloYouth Jury Award (Medium-Length)“The Building Site” by Tiziano Locci & Tito PuglielliSpecial Mentions“Memories of a Window” by Amin Pakparvar & Mehraneh Salimian“Sawyer Avenue, Sunday Afternoon” by Bill Morrison
Wide AngleAudience Award“Birds of War” by Janay Boulos & Abd Alkader HabakInternational Critics’ Award – FIPRESCI Award“Saudades Eternas” by Emma BofanccusoInterreligious Award“Dentro” by Elsa AmielPerception Change Award“Good Valley Stories” by José Luis Guérin
Centered on the filmmaker’s brother, a Chinese gangster living in Spain, the debut feature offers a rare immersion into a world more frequently explored through fiction than documentary. Told through first-person narration and stylized imagery, the film charts his attempts to reconcile a criminal past with family obligations and shifting moral ground.
The top prize carries a cash award of CHF 20,000 ($22,000).vThe jury, made up of Marrakech Film Festival chief Rémi Bonhomme and filmmakers Lina Soualem and Brett Story, celebrated “an astonishing self assured debut. A moving, intimate and complex portrait of the impacts of exile and the struggle to reclaim one’s life. Using poetic personal narration and evocative, at times dream-like cinematography, the film unfolds in layers at once revealing and deepening the question of how migration, economic survival and trauma impact family relations.”
The jury handed out its Special Prize to Marlene Edoyan’s “A Fire There,” which examines the friendship between three young men navigating an unstable political environment in Georgia. Boubacar Sangaré’s “Djeliya, mémoire du Mandé” received a Special Mention.
Across the awards, several titles drew on personal archives or close family circles to address wider political realities. A case in point is Audience Award winner “Birds of War,” by Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak, which delves into more than a decade of personal archives belonging to a Lebanese journalist living in London and a Syrian cameraman. The award comes with CHF 10,000 ($11,000) in prize money.
In the Burning Lights Competition, the top prize went to Hassen Ferhani’s “Alea Jacarandas” a film built around memory and transmission, where grief and inheritance are explored through recurring visual motifs – the titular jacaranda blossoms. It comes with a cash prize of CHF 10,000 ($11,000).
The jury, made up of filmmaker Ali Asgari, editor Liyo Gong and programmer-critic Antoine Thirion, praised the winning film as “a work that, on the surface, explores transmission, but beneath, opens onto deeper currents. It teaches us how to look – toward beauty, and toward the dream of beauty hovering over the violence of history and the distances between beings.”
“Baby Jackfruit Baby Guava,” Nông Nhât Quang’s debut feature about a mother, daughter and son who travel back in time to mend ruptured family ties, was awarded the Special Jury Prize, worth CHF 5,000 ( $5,500).
The National Competition jury also rewarded films rooted in family relationships. Lauren Dällenbach’s “Nicole Nicole” won the top prize (CHF 15,000 / $16,500) for its portrayal of a co-dependent relationship between an aunt and a grandmother, balancing humor and fragility while examining isolation and the fear of living alone.
Sophie Schrago’s “What Comes From Sitting in Silence?” received the Special Jury Prize for its focus on women confronting political and social pressure.
Among additional awards, Emma Bofanccuso’s debut feature “Saudades Eternas” won the FIPRESCI Prize, Elsa Amiel’s “Dentro” took the Interreligious Award, and José Luis Guérin’s “Good Valley Stories” received the Perception Change Award.
Artistic director Emilie Bujès said the prize list reflects the festival’s identity as a space for films that “break down the barriers of conventional documentary cinema, offering audiences the chance to shift their perspective,” pointing to a selection that moves between contrasting states – “joy and terror, darkness and beauty, confinement and freedom” – while continuing to attract a loyal audience and expanding its reach among younger viewers.
Running April 17-26, the festival continues through Sunday with screenings of award-winning titles, while its online program remains available until May 4.
Find all the awards for Visions du Réel 2026 here:
International Feature Film CompetitionGrand Jury Prize“From Dawn to Dawn” by Xisi Sofia Ye ChenSpecial Jury Prize“A Fire There” by Marlene EdoyanSpecial Mention“Djeliya, mémoire du Mandé” by Boubacar Sangaré
Burning Lights CompetitionJury Prize“Alea Jacarandas” by Hassen FerhaniSpecial Jury Prize“Baby Jackfruit Baby Guava” by Nông Nhât QuangSpecial Mentions“The Case Against Space” by Graeme Arnfield“Illusion of Quiet Night” by Olga Chernyk
National CompetitionJury Prize“Nicole Nicole” by Lauren DällenbachSpecial Jury Prize“What Comes From Sitting in Silence?” by Sophie SchragoSpecial Mention“Der Runde Tisch” by Juliette Menthonnex & Benjamin Bucher
International Medium Length & Short Film CompetitionBest Medium-Length Film“Ici, ailleurs” by Comes ChahbazianBest Short Film“Visite guidée” by Alba JaramilloYouth Jury Award (Medium-Length)“The Building Site” by Tiziano Locci & Tito PuglielliSpecial Mentions“Memories of a Window” by Amin Pakparvar & Mehraneh Salimian“Sawyer Avenue, Sunday Afternoon” by Bill Morrison
Wide AngleAudience Award“Birds of War” by Janay Boulos & Abd Alkader HabakInternational Critics’ Award – FIPRESCI Award“Saudades Eternas” by Emma BofanccusoInterreligious Award“Dentro” by Elsa AmielPerception Change Award“Good Valley Stories” by José Luis Guérin