Peter’s atelier and retrospective at Visions du Réel 2020 was a great success. The festival’s decision to move its programming online due to COVID-19 allowed its reach to be radically expanded, with audiences numbering in the thousands viewing thirteen of Peter’s feature-length and short films via Doc Alliance Films for the entirety of the festival’s duration.

Peter’s masterclass with Jean Perret and Emmanuel Chicon was also broadcast online to a large and engaged live streaming audience. In case you missed it, or want to revisit it, you can view it on Youtube:

Some select reviews of Peter’s work around #VdR2020:

“Journaux Cosmogoniques,” Bernard Tappolet, Le Courrier, April 17, 2020.
“Des regards sur le monde,” Bernard Tappolet, Gauchebdo, April 17, 2020.
“Peter Mettler: Explorer les zones d’ombre,” Adrien Kuenzy, 24 Heures, April 30, 2020.
“Visions du Réel: Peter Mettler Masterclass,” Nick Cunningham, Business Doc Europe, May 8, 2020.

Peter also did a second video interview with Kristyna Balaban of DAFilms, which is available to stream on Facebook here.

Kristyna Balaban of DAFilms interviews Peter.

Visions du Réel presents a live masterclass with Peter Mettler on May 1st, at 15:00 Central European Standard Time (9:00 AM Eastern Standard Time), moderated by Jean Perret and Emmanuel Chicon. This workshop is free for all to attend online!

Visit the Visions du Réel website to participate in the masterclass here.

Peter will also be performing a live-streamed visual mix to the audio recordings of YoshtoYoshto, previously performed together live with anthropologist Jeremy Narby (The Cosmic Serpent) and musician Franz Treichler (The Young Gods). To compose this "live divination", the three artists have drawn their inspiration from the Amazonian Yaminuaha people’s metaphorical language, creating an improvisation that describes our world, its ambiguities and its interactions. The live performance will take place at 2200 Central European Standard Time, or 4:00 pm Eastern Standard Time.

Visit the Visions du Réel website to watch the live show here.

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Download the Visions du Réel 2020 programme (PDF) here

View Peter’s retrospective here

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On the occasion of his Visions du Réel atelier, Peter extends an invitation for collaboration:

“In just a matter of days a biological invisible entity has brought the world to its knees begging for mercy. Many of us are engaged in a quiet resistance, trying to stop a quickly spreading fire. Now we have a great opportunity to reflect upon how we have been living our lives.

“Paradoxically, our presence is globally inter-connected to one another by our fragile technologies of image and sound, wires and pulses – these things that seem ever more a part of our biology, our nature.

“I consider myself lucky, because I have been holed up editing a film series for several months already. Only a short time ago, I was out in the big, real world, meeting people and asking them what the expression ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’ means to them. This expression has now taken on yet another relevance.

“Now, during this rupture from our usual hectic activity, is a chance to imagine and start creating our future lives. To cultivate our gardens – of science, community, technology, and dirt. To make and keep our grass green.

“On the occasion of this virtual Visions du Réel, I’d like to invite any filmmakers or participants of the festival to contribute a little piece of cinema. Something that observes what is happening now, or considers what life might be like on the other side of this experience. It can be a dream, an intuition, a proposition, or a simple fragment of perception. I’d be honoured to receive and assemble a collection of your thoughts and points of view for a future VdR presentation, and possible integration into the series project we are currently working on. Any moving images or sounds from 1-10 minutes or texts are welcome.”

Please contact us at  info@petermettler.com with the subject “VdR Green Grass” for upload information.

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Amidst the unprecedented measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Visions du Réel 2020 is taking place entirely online! As festival director Émilie Bujès explains, Visions du Réel 2020 “will resolutely be held on the Internet, in almost all its generous diversity, and will visit the spectators at home, further expanding the possible territories.” While much has been lost in this unavoidable change, what makes it wonderful is that all of the work will be presented online for free, for anyone to watch!

Peter’s atelier retrospective is continuing as planned, with DAFilms.com hosting the free presentation of his films from April 17th to May 2nd, along with the festival’s other offerings. All of the work is available to view only for this limited time so be sure to check it out!

Peter will present his masterclass online on Friday 1 May at 1500 CET, moderated by Jean Perret and Emmanuel Chicon. Peter will also present a live video mixing performance on the same day at 2200 CET.

Links to attend these streaming events will be updated as soon as they are available!

Visit the Visions du Réel site for more information.

Visions du Réel is a highly acclaimed film festival screening everything from international premieres to career-spanning retrospectives. This Swiss festival hosts masterclasses, debates with film directors, meetings with professionals and many cultural mediation activities, as well as industry events from April 24 to May 2, 2020.

This year, Visions du Réel will honour Peter’s work with a retrospective spanning the festival, as well as a Masterclass open to the public for those wishing to learn about his unique style and approach to filmmaking.

For more information, visit Visions du Réel's website.