Vision du Lille closed its 57th edition on Friday, announcing an awards list leaning firmly toward intimate and formally adventurous nonfiction, with Cissi Sophia Yen’s From Dawn to Dawn winning the Grand Jury Prize in its international feature film competition.
This debut film, centered around the filmmaker’s younger brother, a Chinese gangster living in Spain, offers a rare immersion into a world more often explored through fiction than documentary. Told through first-person narration and stylized footage, the film depicts his attempts to reconcile his criminal past with his family obligations and changing moral foundations.
The grand prize will be a cash prize of 20,000 Swiss Francs ($22,000). The jury, made up of v Marrakech Film Festival director Rémi Bonhomme and filmmakers Lina Soualem and Brett Storey, praised it as “a surprising and confident debut film. A moving, intimate and complex portrait of the impact of exile and the struggle to reclaim one’s life. With a poetic personal narration, it is at times emotionally moving.” With dreamlike cinematography, the film unfolds in layers simultaneously, revealing and deepening questions of immigration, economic survival, and how trauma affects family relationships. ”
The jury awarded a special award to Marlene Edyan’s “A Fire There,” a story about the friendship of three young people navigating Georgia’s volatile political environment. Boubacar Sangare’s “Djeliya, mémoire du Mandé” received a special award.
Across the awards, several titles tapped into personal archives and immediate family circles to address broader political realities. A case in point is Audience Award winner Birds of War by Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak, which delves into over a decade of personal archives of a Lebanese journalist and a Syrian cameraman living in London. This award carries a cash prize of 10,000 Swiss Francs ($11,000).
At the Burning Lights Competition, Hassen Ferhani’s Alea Jacaranda won the top prize. The film is built around memory and transmission, exploring grief and inheritance through a recurring visual motif: the titular jacaranda flower. The prize is 10,000 Swiss Francs ($11,000).
The jury, made up of director Ali Asgari, editor Rijo Gon, and programmer and critic Antoine Thirion, praised the winning film, saying, “On the surface it explores communication, but at its core it opens up to deeper currents. This film teaches us how to look at beauty, and how to see the dreams of beauty that float above the violence of history and the distances between beings.”
Nong Nhat Quang’s debut film “Baby Jackfruit, Baby Guava,” about a mother, daughter, and son who travel back in time to repair torn family ties, won the Special Jury Prize worth 5,000 Swiss Francs ($5,500).
The national competition jury also recognized films rooted in family relationships. Lauren Delenbach’s “Nicole Nicole,” a film about the codependent relationship between an aunt and grandmother that balances humor and vulnerability while examining the horrors of loneliness and living alone, won the top prize (CHF 15,000/$16,500).
Sophie Schlago’s “What Comes from Sitting in Silence?”, which focuses on women who stand up to political and social pressures, won the Special Jury Prize.
Other awards include the International Federation of Critics Award for Emma Bofuncuso’s debut feature Saudade des Eternas, the Interfaith Award for Elsa Amiel’s Dentro, and the Perceptual Transformation Award for José Luis Guerín’s Good Valley Stories.
Artistic director Emily Burgess said the award list reflects the festival’s identity as a venue for films that “break down the barriers of traditional documentary film and offer audiences the opportunity to change their perspectives,” noting that the selections oscillate between contrasting states of “joy and fear, darkness and beauty, confinement and freedom,” while continuing to attract a loyal audience and expanding its reach among younger audiences.
The festival, which runs from April 17th to 26th, will continue until Sunday with a screening of the winning films, while the online program will be available until May 4th.
“Area Jacaranda” by Hassen Ferhani
You can see all the Visions du Réel 2026 awards here.
International feature film competition
Jury Grand Prize
“From Dawn to Dawn” by Sisi Sophia Ye Chen
Special Jury Award
“A Fire There” by Marlene Edyan
Special note
“Jeriya, Memories of Mande” by Boubacar Sangare
Burning Light Contest
Jury award
“Area Jacaranda” by Hassen Ferhani
Special Jury Award
“Baby Jackfruit Baby Guava” by Nông Nhât Quang
Special notes
“The Case Against the Universe” by Graham Arnfield
“Quiet Night Fantasy” by Olga Chernik
National tournament
Jury award
“Nicole Nicole” by Lauren Dellenbach
Special Jury Award
“What do we gain by sitting in silence?” by Sophie Schlago
Special note
“Der Runde Tisch” by Juliet Mentonex & Benjamin Butcher
International Medium & Short Film Competition
Best Medium Film Award
“Ici, ailleurs” by Kamuz Chakhabazian
Best short film award
“Visitor Guide” by Alba Jaramillo
Youth Jury Award (medium)
“The Building Site” by Titian Rozzi and Tito Puglieri
Special notes
“Memories of the Window” Amin Pakparvar & Melane Salimian
“Sawyer Avenue, Sunday Afternoon” by Bill Morrison
wide angle
audience award
“Birds of War” by Janay Boulos & Abd Alkader Habak
International Federation of Critics Award – FIPRESCI Award
“Saudades Aeternas” Emma Bofancuso
interfaith award
“Dentro” by Elsa Amiel
Perception change award
“Good Valley Stories” by Jose Luis Guerin
