Visions du Réel has been organised in the Swiss town of Nyon since 1969. In its early days, the Nyon festival mainly showcased films from Switzerland and the Easter Bloc – which were out of reach for most audiences in Western Europe. Now, Visions du Réel is one of Europe’s major documentary film festivals. This year’s edition will be held on 7–14 April.
Represented by KFF Sales&Promotion agency The Herd by Monika Kotecka and Karolina Poryzała was invited to the festival.
When an amateur female sports club Volteo takes on the challenge to become a national team at vaulting, its members don’t realize how much sacrifice goes with such a decision. “The Herd” is a story of changes that this decision brings along in lives of the coach, Natalia, as well as the team members, especially the youngest Zosia and the oldest Ola. In the name of one goal, they will have to overcome their own weaknesses and turn their Sunday hobby into an everyday duty.
A kid, a young adult and a fully-fledged woman, connected by an unusual bond and a common dream, decide to fight for the team, struggling with their own shortcomings. Zosia (11) is naturally predisposed to vaulting, she is yet too young to cope with the responsibility that goes with regular and exhaustive workout. For Ola (22), the “mother hen” of the team who enters her womanhood, vaulting means life but the lack of natural abilities forces her to face more and more failures at sport which in turn translates to personal frustrations. Natalia (36), Ola’s sister, once a professional vaulter and now the coach, is learning the hard way what it takes to build a team of her own. Her motivation is strong, however her methodology almost none. Raising two little children doesn’t make it easier for Natalia on her ambitious professional journey.
A list of all films that made it into this year’s edition of the festival can be found here.