Employment
Scope: 80%-100% annualised
Duration: Permanent, September 1, 2025
Place of Service: Nyon (with a possibility to work remotely for certain months)
Position within the Festival: Reports to Artistic Director; supervises Industry team.
About Visions du Réel
Recognised globally as one of the major film festivals dedicated to non-fiction filmmaking, Visions du Réel is a world-leading documentary festival and industry market. Since 1969, it has aimed to present films that, through their formal and aesthetic choices, provide personal and singular expressions of past, present or future realities, freely interpreting the very definition of non-fiction filmmaking and its implementation. The Oscar-qualifying festival boasts over 120 films screened as part of the Official Selection across ten days in Nyon, with the majority of films as world premieres, as well as retrospectives and homages. At the heart of these days is the VdR–Industry programme, four days of professional activities acting as a springboard for future films to find support and meet partners in every stage of their production. Now in its 24th edition, the VdR–Industry programme welcomes over 1300 film professionals from around the world, offering four jam-packed days of showcases, meetings, talks, events and parties in an environment designed to support bold, auteur-driven creative documentary from all over the world.
Mission and objectives
The Head of Industry:
- Elaborates and implements, in collaboration with the Artistic Director, the objectives and general editorial strategy and vision with a goal to position the VdR–Industry platform as a leader both nationally and internationally within the festival circuit.
- Directs and organises the Industry programme and all its activities including project presentations, showcases and labs, industry talks programme, one-on-one meetings, delegations, professional guest list and partnered events and collaborations.
- Oversees the projects’ selection processes for the numerous committees selecting the projects.
- Takes part in international industry markets and festivals that are relevant to Visions du Réel’s broader objectives.
In order for this happen, the Head of Industry is in charge of:
- Building and overseeing the activities and key timelines for the Industry programme.
- Supervising all those Industry activities including but not limited to VdR-Pitching, VdR-Work in Progress, VdR-Rough Cut Lab, VdR–Development Lab, all partnered pitching and showcase activities and delegations.
- Creating a series of talks on contemporary topics.
- Creating and managing the guest budget with the Guest Coordinator.
- Overseeing the management of one-on-one meetings.
- Supervising the creation of the annual Industry Catalogue.
- Overseeing the running of the VdR–Film Market.
- Supervising the general organisation of the department, working closely with the industry staff, the selection and advisory committees as well as other Visions du Réel departments to ensure a smooth and timely delivery of the event.
- Securing financing for the Industry activities from both government and private enterprises.
Selection Criteria
- Have a deep knowledge of the film industry, ideally having worked within/or in connection to film festivals and/or markets (fiction or documentary).
- Have experience in management of small teams.
- Have a strong international network in the film industry with Swiss connections an advantage.
- Have experience working with partners and in grant writing.
- Have experience in developing strategy (or have a demonstrable interest in this).
- Have experience using Macs, the Google suite, with Adobe Suite a plus.
- Be able to create and stick to multiple budgets.
- Have strong communication skills.
- Have experience working in teams.
- Speak and write in English fluently, with French very desirable.
- Have a university or equivalent level of qualification.
Application Deadline: End of day, Sunday 29 June, 2025
If you are interested in this opportunity, please send a cover letter addressing the selection criteria and your curriculum vitae (including three references) by no later than end of day, Sunday 29 June, 2025, to Emilie Bujès, Artistic Director, with the email subject “Head of Industry” to rh@visionsdureel.ch.
For further information, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Emilie Bujès by email: rh@visionsdureel.ch.