The Bachelor diploma film Mawtini by Tabarak Abbas is selected at Visions du Réel in the Opening Scenes section, dedicated to first short films or student films.  

Mawtini by Tabarak Abbas (CH, 2024, 12')
When war breaks out in Baghdad in the early 90s, Siham and Rakan decide to fight the killer robot invaders to escape the city and protect the future of their newborn daughter. In a world masterfully inspired by Japanese anime, Tabarak Allah Abbas brings his parents' story to life, while paying tribute to their courage.

Screenings:
15.04.2024 at 6:15pm Usine à Gaz 1
19.04.2024 at 16:00 Capitole Fellini

Masterclass with Alice Diop, organized by the HEAD - Geneva Cinema Department in collaboration with Visions du Réel
The director will give a masterclass on Saturday April 13, moderated by Anita Hugi, head of the Cinema Department, and Mourad Moussa, programmer at Visions du Réel. In addition to this meeting, a complete retrospective of the director's work will be presented at the festival. A key filmmaker in the realm of cinema and fiction, Alice Diop aims to question French society from the margins, and distinguishes herself by her desire to give substance to singular journeys, exploring the intimate in order to reach out to the universal.

Finally, for the festival's closing evening, the series PALÉO, UNE ODYSSÉE 1976 - 2022 will be shown as a special screening on Saturday 20.04.2024. This 4-part series was conceived and produced by HEAD-ECAL Master of Cinema students for the Paléo Festival Nyon. Each episode was followed by a renowned graduate: Juliana Fanjul, Andreas Fontana, Fisnik Maxville and Carmen. This broadcast at Visions du Réel is a unique opportunity to discover the Paléo Festival archives.

PALÉO, UNE ODYSSÉE 1976 - 2022 (CH, 2024, 4 episodes)
The history of the Paléo festival, its trance-like crowds, its protagonists from all walks of life and its questions about the future: this captivating documentary series was created by students from the HEAD-ECAL Master of Cinema program. Four vignettes of archival footage to thrill to the sounds of this not-to-be-missed institution in French-speaking Switzerland.