Above: Apricot sellers in the Valais - See below A reader has sent details of this house in Begnins which is available to rent from the 1st of September. Semi-detached triplex house to rent with 5,5 rooms and garden (Begnins, VD) A wonderful semi-detached house with 5,5 rooms, within 3 minutes walking distance of the centre of the village. Close to shops, schools and public transport. Within 20 minutes (driving time) of Geneva. Built in 2005. This is a sunny and spacious house of 189 m2 with the following layout: Entry level: 1 hall, 1 guest WC, fitted kitchen, a large dining room with access to a terrace and a garden. 1st Floor: 3 bedrooms (2 with terrace), 1 separate toilet, a shower room. 2nd Floor: 1 large bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 small closet room. Basement: a large cellar, a double garage with direct entry to the house. Rent: 3,500 CHF / Charges: 320 CHF. Free from: 01.09.2011. Phone: 0788785046 E-mail: begnins.maison@gmail.com Apricots galore on sale in Nyon shops It's the apricot season right now and the shops and markets are full of fresh apricots for sale. Did you know that these apricots come from the Valais (the next canton to Vaud), and that the area around the village of Saxon is in one of the biggest raspberry and apricot growing areas in Switzerland? The Valais is also a very popular spot for walkers, hikers, cyclists and for family days out. Why not take a short drive or take the train to check the area out at this time of year? See the Valais tourism site for more information.

Update 11:00 Tuesday There is a now a rain contingency plan in place for those intending to go to Paléo by car -see end of this post. The weather maybe a little unsettled right now (and it's set to stay that way for the next few days), but hopefully Paléo will be injecting a little bit of a Caribbean atmosphere to the festival with its Village du Monde themed area. Tropical fish, tropical colours, a beach area, all representing a giant coral reef, with soul food and music are on the agenda for its visitors. Paléo starts today the 19th July and the line up includes Jack Johnson, The National, Cali, Zaz, Bomba Estero and more. See site for the 6 day programme here. At yesterday's press conference there were new attractions on show, including massive water mattresses for the public to lie on. These are called the "Les Galets Bleus". They have been put together by Nyon artist Bernard Garo, Pierre-André Getaz, a designer, and Thierry Moreillon, an architect, (see previous interview with artist Garo here on this site). The colours of the matresses will change as night falls! These mattresses replace the Carabosse fires and installations that have featured at Paléo in previous years. Also new for 2011, is a different layout to the staging in the Dome tent. Instead of raised seating, there will now be a more relaxed area with tables and chairs, this is to create a more open atmosphere and to encourage more dancing! This year, the charity partner of Paléo Festival is Médecins sans Frontierès , an NGO that is celebrating 40 years of assistance and support throughout the world. The organisation will be presenting its aid programme for Haiti. Other news - there is now a "Paléo Buddy" phone app that is downloadable for free, This lets you know the news as it is happening , you can log your tent pitch and/ or car parking space on the Festival map with the GPS function! Also new - Paléo have produced a printed plan of the food stalls this year. With 113 food stalls to choose from, this should be a real help deciding what to eat at the festival. The plan not only gives the location of each stall but also tells you what specialities are on offer. There will be more photos and reporting from Paléo every day here on this site. Not got tickets for this festival? There are 1500 that are sold each morning at 09:00 for every day of the festival online at Paléo and at Ticket Corner outlets. For full information on traffic/ access/ public transport options all practical info - see Paléo. Photo above - The new style seating in the Dome tent Photo below - The sunflower field at Paléo - an annual tradition Photo below - The new blue mattresses. Photo above - winching down the speakers on the big stage, below last minute prep to the lights. THE RAIN CONTINGENCY PLAN IS PARTIALLY EFFECTIVE - In view of the heavy rainfall forecast, the rain contingency plan «Diluvio» is now effective. Some car parks around the Festival are unusable and therefore partially closed. Part of the motorists will be directed to parking in the city of Nyon where the free shuttle bus service will be strengthened. In all events, we would ask everyone to kindly follow the directions now in place and behave with patience and courtesy. Use public transport and share cars! Festivalgoers are strongly encouraged by the organisation to use the public transport system, a reliable way to reach the Festival site. Paléo would like to take this opportunity of reminding the public that the public transport system now in place serves all of Western Switzerland. In the Lake Geneva area, special trains run at night towards Geneva and Lausanne, then Fribourg and Montreux. In the Nyon district, buses run between the site and numerous localities. Finally, the special TCS bus network covers the rest of Western Switzerland. See Paléo for more details

In front and behind each stage at the start of every Paléo concert, there are always a handful of photographers taking shots of the bands, the singers and the action. Many of these official photographers work with the big photo agencies such as Keystone and Reuters etc. However, Paléo also employs three photographers to record the events of the 6 day festival. One of these is Anne Colliard. With her distinctive blonde curly hair and camera poised, Anne is there well before the gates open at 16.30, until the last concert of the evening. Anne who is from Geneva chatted to Living in Nyon about her work and life as a photographer. Living in Nyon: "Anne, what appeals to you about being a photographer at events like these?" Anne: "I like the drama of live performances. I try if I can, to capture the emotion of it all, the intensity of the moment. A performer gives their all on stage and I want to record it, to get behind the person. The reaction between the person on stage to their setting, the crowd, their fellow performers is always different and it's fascinating to watch. It's also a privilege to be in such a close position to take the picture. LIN: "What are the difficulties of being a concert photographer?" Anne: "With each concert, each artist (or their management company) places certain restrictions on the time period that we can take photos. In the majority of cases we have permission to be there just for the first three songs. The reasons behind these restrictions are various, mainly I guess because in the early stages of the evening the artist still looks good, for example their make up hasn't begun to to run, they are not perspiring too much etc and also it means that the artist can relax a bit more after we have left. Photo above - the photo restrictions at each concert This of course can be frustrating as it's often then when they have warmed up, thats when you get the best shots. It's when their emotions are high and the artists are more likely to do unpredictable things. However rules are rules and we all abide by the code, and there are occasions when some artists let us stay for the whole performance. Photo below courtesy - Paléo. Anne's photo of William White in performance . "The practical difficulties of taking pictures are when you can't quite get the angle you want from the position you have been given and there's not much room to move, or the artist keeps his or her face close to the microphone all the time. The other hazard is the use of all the dry ice and smoke in some stage acts or poor lighting. It can be really tricky for contrast. Having said that I don't use filters and work very little on photos in the editing process, just a little cleaning up for dust etc. Photo below - courtesy Paléo. Anne's photo of Chucho Valdez LIN: "How do all the three photographers work together during the festival?" Anne: "We work as a a team. I usually have a preference for the smaller stages, I'm not too worried about getting the shots of the big named acts, I like to take photos of the "up and coming" artists. So at the start of each festival we sit down together and work out a schedule for us all; who is going to be where and when. It can be a long day but I'm not complaining, the Paléo week is a very special one, there is a camaraderie amongst us all and we all get the blues when it's over. I live in Geneva and when I first started covering Paléo, I used to go home each night and then the following morning I would spend hours uploading photos from the previous day and start to edit them. But working this way meant I could never really relax. I would often stay awake thinking about the shots and what I needed to do the following day. Now I upload pretty much every concert, deal with them, post them to the Paléo site and then go home and have a good sleep, its the only way you can get through a long week like this! Anne originally taught herself photography and then followed this up with a technical course at Studio 23 in Geneva. "Once you learn the basics, it's then like driving a car, you don't need to think twice about the mechanics before taking what will hopefully, be the perfect shot". She mainly used Canon cameras at the start of her career but has now switched to a Nikon D3S ("it's just fantastic for low light") Photo below - courtesy Paléo. Anne's photo of a vocalist from the Boukman Eksperyans. LIN: "I see there are a few other women photographers at the concerts but it still seems like the majority are men. What's it like being in what essentially sems to be a masculine world?" Anne : "I didn't start my career in this business (Anne was a teacher before she turned to photography). So I feel I have the maturity and confidence to deal with certain situations that can crop up in the concert and photography world. Having said that on the whole there is a politeness and respect amongst us all, particularly here in Switzerland. Photo below - courtesy Paléo. Anne's photo of the Solillaquists of Sound LIN: How many photos do you take per concert? Anne: "With digital photography, it would be easy to take hundreds of pictures but I find that around 30 is usually enough to get at least one or two good shots" LIN: Do you have time to enjoy the music while you are at a concert or are you too focussed on taking the picture? Anne: "I do enjoy the music and you can often find me dancing along, I try to pick up on the atmosphere myself it's all part of trying to capture the image". As to admiring the work of other photographers, Anne is particularly fond of Cartier Bresson. " There are other local photographers that I admire, Claude Dussex takes some superb black and white images of concerts that are truly amazing". LIN:Which concert at Paléo this year has been the most memorable for you for images? Anne: The lead singer from the BellRays what a character, what a performance! I could have taken photos of her all night! (Anne's photo below - courtesy Paléo) You can see more of Anne's work on her own website here

The Jval rock and pop music festival begins tomorrow Thursday 25th and continues until Saturday 27th August. This festival is the last of the local outdoor music festivals and take places amongst the vineyards above Begnins. It's a great venue for music lovers to end the summer season and to soak up both the lovely scenery. There is a variety of music concerts on the programme this year including that of Lausanne funk and soul band Professor Wouassa (see Living in Nyon's review here of when they played at Paléo this year). Free transport is provided by the festival from Nyon and Gland railway station to and from the festival. For full details and programme of Jval, see site here Slow down for children. No more free parking in central Nyon at midday. This week saw school children return to school in the public system. Most private schools open their doors next week. Here in Switzerland, many children walk to school or take public transport and drivers may have noticed the posters along the roadside in the public information campaign "Merci de t'arrêter pour moi" - " Thankyou for stopping for me". This is a reminder from the police to drivers to slow down and take extra caution. On Monday in Morges, a local police officer was handing out car screen wipes to the public to remind drivers to take extra caution and to ensure they have clear visibility and to keep a safe distance from children walking and cycling to school. Note: Parking in Nyon - From the 1st September there will be no more free parking over the lunch time period at the Place Perdtemps car park in central Nyon. Parking fees will also be increased. Below - Interview with artist Christine Collet. Here is the first in a series of interviews with local artists who either live in the Vaud or Geneva area. These interviews are being held by Stephanie Fonteyn, an artist herself who lives in Duillier and who runs creative art classes (see previous post on Stephanie here). Stephanie begins this series with an interview on artist Christine Collet. Christine will be exhibiting her work at the Clinique de Genolier from the 5th September to the 5th November 2011. Christine is Swiss (born in Bern) and lives in Montreux. She lived in South Korea and Mexico before settling back down in Switzerland. She has a studio in Montreux and gives art courses to adults and children. Christine entered the world of painting at a very young age thanks to her grandfather, a painter, who she lived with during part of her childhood. For Christine, the paintbrush is a magical tool that allows her to enter into her imaginary world. She is like a storyteller who uses a paintbrush and colour versus one who uses words. Stephanie: “Could you describe a little bit more about your work?” Christine: “ I use two different techniques; Stucco (a material made of an aggregate, a binder and water) to create organic looking coloured abstract monochromes, and acrylics to create dream-like imaginary worlds. I both mediums I am searching for a sense of harmony.” Stephanie: “How would you describe your style?” Christine: “Free, figurative versus abstract, metaphoric, expressing a personal vision that is suggestive rather than imposing.” Stephanie: “What made you decide to use Stucco as a medium?” Christine: “I like the organic feel that stucco can give. I saw a painting in a gallery that used stucco and I knew that was the material I wanted to use in my paintings, and so I trained in this technique. Stephanie: “When did you decide to become an artist?” Christine: “I knew I wanted to paint at the age of 8 years. Due to various circumstances, I started painting later on in life and didn’t have the possibility to study art at school as I would have liked.” Stephanie: “When did you decide to become an artist?” Christine: “A friend gave me my first box of paints in her garden in 1997.” Stephanie: “What’s your strongest memory of your childhood that has influenced you as an artist?” Christine: “My grandfather was a painter, and I was fascinated by his studio and his paintings. We were not allowed to touch anything, just watch, and for me it was a magical world. The theme of houses and imaginary worlds in my acrylic paintings are influenced by my childhood association to home; which is a place where you receive love, a place of exchange, where you can grow physically and emotionally. It’s about the heart of the home rather than the appearance of the home.” Stephanie: “What do you like about your work?” Christine: “It’s like a sound coming out of my mouth, I don’t know what sound is going to come out, but it comes out. There is a feeling of happiness and freedom of expression,” Stephanie: “What do you dislike about your work?” Christine: “The impression that I sometimes cannot transmit on canvas the feeling I want, it is as if the canvas resists. This sensation is very frustrating.” Stephanie: “How do you overcome this? Christine: “I put the painting aside and later on, try again and again. Using with time, or a maturation process, I can later get to the expression I was looking for.” Stephanie: “Where do your ideas come from? Would you tell us something about your artistic process?” Christine: “My paintings are stories, colours and imaginary worlds. My ideas come from all the things I have seen on my travels, living in different countries.” Stephanie: “What is your greatest ambition as an artist?” Christine: “I would like to paint an enormous painting that is bigger than me, at least two metres by two metres. It would be an abstract painting that gives me the sense of entering a story or another world.” Stephanie: “Like Alice in Wonderland?” Christine: “Yes!” Stephanie: “Have you won any artistic awards?” Christine: “Yes, I won the second prize for a metaphoric painting in May 2011 at the Forum in Hotel de Ville, Lausanne.” Stephanie: “What are you working on at present?” Christine: “I have two upcoming exhibitions that I am preparing a series of stucco paintings called “Aspects végétales” one of which will be at the Montreux Art Gallery in November. Stephanie: “When and where can we next see your paintings?” Christine: "At the Clinique Genolier from the 5th of September until the 5th of November 2011 or MAG (Montreux Art Gallery) from the 10th to the 14th of November 2011".

Photo above: courtesy Visions du Réel from the film "Sniegs" - "Snow Crazy". The Visions du Réel film festival in Nyon finishes today the 27th April with a prize giving ceremony at 19:30 at the Théatre de Marens in Nyon. The ceremony will then be followed by the screening of the film "Vivan las Antipodas!" featuring the landscapes and people of Argentina, Siberia, Patagonia, Shanghai and Botswana. This year as in previous years, it has been another good festival for those who love documentary film. There have been some real gems of films on offer. Some of these were big budget films from experienced film makers with a cast and crew of many; others were just short films shot on a tight budget from directors at the start of their career. Both Trish Thalman and Suzy Nelson-Pollard have seen and been very impressed by many of these big films, and reviewed them in previous posts. Note: Trish's latest review of "Nanook "will be shortly be posted on this site. This year the Living in Nyon editor chose to view the smaller, quieter contemplative films, those that didn't necesarily come with a message for the viewer, but were more of an observation on communities or individual people around the world. There were many of these kind of films on the programme, and many of them excellent. However, heavy editing was needed for quie a few films - some were simply too long, or with too many close up and lingering shots of faces or landscapes. Yet in some films the lingering on scenes was appropriate and helped to paint a picture of the person or their surroundings. Such was the case of the film "El Olor de Aquel Lugar" by director Andrés Boero. In the Q & A with the director and the audience afterwards, Boero said he was trying to portray the peacefulness and quiet of the rural Uruguayan countryside and to show the kind of life his grandmother had grown up with. He also revealed that when he was trying to pitch his idea of a documentary about his grandmother he was asked "Well who is she? Has she done anything important?" His answer was, "She is just my grandmother, but her story is worth telling". Photo above: courtesy Visions du Réel from the film "El Olor de Aquel Lugar" The film that followed this screening, "Work Hard, Play Hard" by Marcel Wyss about different individuals living in Switzerland, one a tight rope artist whose long term cocaine use had brought him close to death and another, a young man, a party animal who tried to justfy his drug taking to get him through pressured work days was a complete contrast and it was clever programming on the part of Visions du Réel. Photo above: courtesy Visions du Réel from the film " Work Hard, Play Hard" There were some other interesting portraits revealed in films such as "Checkpoint". This film was about policemen housed in makeshift huts inspecting vehicles entering the centre of Kabul. The men recruited in different parts of the country did not really know why they were there and Hamed Alizadeh recorded the absurd quality of the daily lives of these men. Whereas the young woman in the following film "Szukajac Soni" knew exactly what she was doing as she had chosen to devote herself to be a nun in a Russian Orthodox monastery. There were some lighter films too on the agenda this year (though perhaps not enough) "Sniegs" was indeed, as the VDR programme described: "Ski madness in a mountainless country". This was an amusing surreal portrait of a people in Latvia determined to satisfy their craving to ski. The film "La Vierge, Les Coptes et Mois" was also an amusing part documentary/part staged film by Namir Abdel Messeh. This film maker travelled to his native Egypt from Paris to make a film about the miraculous appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary among the Coptic Christian Community. His investigation provided an excuse to visit his family, in the countryside and to involve the whole family in a fantastic celebration. There were many other films definitely worthy of a mention, particularly for the super photography in the two films shown last night at the Capitole Cinema "Ved Havet" about a small fishing village in the North of Denmark and "Le Gosse " featuring a French boy living in rural France on the threshold of becoming an adult. Photo above: courtesy Visions du Réel from the film "Ved Havet" Both Trish and Suzy have come up with their list of favourite films at this festival, it will be interesting to see if any of these are chosen as winners at the prize giving ceremony tonight. Living in Nyon will be tweeting the results as they are revealed. If you are not following the Living in Nyon tweets (see Julius Caesar icon at the bottom of the this site to follow us) then just check this site out during the course of the evening. Trish's top six films 1. Forbidden Voices 2. Tahrir 3. Chronique d'un mort oubilee 4. Skinhead Attitude 5. Nanook of the North 6. Tropicalia and Suzy's favourite films 1. Forbidden Voices 2. Reunion 3. Capitaine Thomas Sankara 4. Nés derrière les pierres The Editor's favourite films 1. "Forbidden Voices" 2. "A Home Far Away" (for its local interest) 3. "Ved Havet" Film above: courtesy Visions du Réel from the film "Nés derrières les pierres"

The following film review of "Forbidden Voices" is written by Suzy Nelson-Pollard. Forbidden Voices will be shown on Monday 23rd April at 10:o0 am at the Salle Communale. How much do you value the freedom of speech in your country? Are you free to post observations on Facebook, cries for change on Twitter, criticism on your blog? What does it mean to have free press reporting on the current situation around you? "Forbidden Voices" will be shown for the second time on Monday morning at 10 a.m at the Salle Communale, and if there is one film that shouldn’t be missed this week at Vision du Réel, it is this one. The documentary follows three renowned female dissident bloggers from Cuba, Iran and China in their struggle to continue publishing the truth on the Internet, despite state repression and persecution. “I’m living in a Utopia, that isn’t my own”. Yoani Sanchez’s blog Generation Y, a rare insight in to Cuba through the eyes of a political enemy, has already been praised by the likes of the Obamas, Hillary Clinton and most of the Western press. Despite the fact that Cuba has one of the lowest internet connections in the world and that Sanchez has been denied an exit visa nineteen times, the Cuban blogger is one of the leading internet journalists of our time with a huge global following. The film concentrates mainly on her, as the camera crew are able to film within her home and gain access to her life with more ease than with the other two women. Sanchez says the fact that she is internationally recognised in a way keeps her safe and protects her from persecution, although she reveals later on in the film that she was a victim of an extremely violent attack by three government agents, which she manages to film on her mobile phone. We see the daily life of Yoani Sanchez, the meetings and the rallies she organises, her hopes and dreams for a freer, more tolerant Cuba. The internet is accelerating this process; it was online that Cubans first saw pictures of the fall of the Berlin Wall and Tiananmen Square, ten or eleven years after the events themselves. “Exiled Iranians live on the internet, it is our virtual country” Farnaz Seifi started blogging in the early 2000's about her experiences as a women in Iran, focusing on the gender in equality in the Islamic Republic. “If there was a car accident, insurance companies have to pay out more money if there is damage to a man’s genitals than if there is a female death. We women are officially considered to be half of a man”. After organising peaceful feminist rallies, Seifi was arrested, interrogated and then forced to flee due to fear for her family. She now lives in exile in Germany, and works closely with Reporters Without Borders. The documentary shows beautifully the deep sorrow of exile especially as Seifi speaks to other Iranian dissidents abroad. “My keyboard is the only thing that helps me to bear the sorrow and the indignation” Zeng Jinyan and her husband Hu Jia are so closely monitored and censored by the Chinese state that most of the documentary footage is either from long distance shots, homemade videos or a skype camera. They are both shadowed at all times by two surveillance state employees and their internet connection often cut off, but this does not stop either of them from voicing their opinions on human rights and AIDS in China online. Zeng Jinyan’s husband is sentenced to three and a half years of prison, leaving her alone with their baby daughter under house arrest. “He has done nothing wrong,” she cries “Freedom of Speech is in the Chinese Constitution”. Although alone and desperate, she never stops trying to break through the Great FireWall. The director of the film Barbara Miller said that raising money to make a documentary about women, technology and politics was a painstaking process, but this film could not be more topical, showing the lives of the women behind the repressed voices of authoritarian regimes. Not violence, repression, exile nor humiliation can stop the hope and struggle for a better future in the hearts of these three women and for dissident bloggers worldwide.

From the 24th July to the 26th August, an open air cinema will be installed near the centre of Nyon. Over 34 evenings of films are planned to be screened in the area called "Parc de la Combe" (this is a temporary name for the park at L'esplanade la Combe on the Promenade de 'lItalie ) See location on map here This area, not too far from the lake and the town,will be open at 19:00 for film lovers to come and meet for a drink or to eat before the film (there will be a temporary bar and food stalls set up in the area). Films will then be screened at 21:00. In this 1200m2 area of park, there will be seating for up to 600, a screen of 100m2, a covered area and a VIP area (available for rent for private events). Jean-Pierre Grey who is responsible for the programming of films at the permanent Nyon cinema, is working alongside Monsieur Phillipe Bertholet an expert in running open air cinemas. This exciting new summer Nyon venture will be called CinèAir Nyon. Even more good news for Anglophones is that Mr Grey intends to show many films in digital form and in English, such the classic "An American in Paris" starring Gene Kelly. The full programme for all the films will be released at a later stage after the Cannes Film festival. Open air cinemas are very popular across Switzerland, particularly in the Swiss German speaking part of the country where there are at least 60 set up in towns and small villages each summer. However there are only six open air cinemas in Swiss Romande, so citizens of this area are very lucky to have one installed in their town to address this balance! More news on this project will be reported here on this site.

"Reunion - Ti Ar Etter Krigen" showing tonight at the Capitole 2, this film review is written by Suzy Nelson-Pollard. The international world premiere of « Reunion – ten years after the war » directed by Jon Haukeland, was shown yesterday at the Vision du Réel film festival and will be repeated again today at 18:00 at the Capitole 2. The documentary is a fascinating insight in to peace dialogue initiatives, human relations and the lesser-known aftermath of a well-known conflict. In 1999 before the breakout of war in Kosovo, several brave young Albanian and Serbian students agreed to participate in an interethnic dialogue mediated by a Norwegian peace studies specialist. The discussion was electric, with Albanian fury and Serbian accusations; neither side could be brought to understand the other’s pain. The exchange was filmed by Jon Haukeland, but was never shown back in Kosovo due to the war that erupted only weeks later. Ten years later, Haukeland decided to organise a reunion with the same articulate students, to bring them back together and to recreate a discussion around the topic of Kosovo. Some of the students were untraceable, had disappeared or were killed during the war, most of the Serbs had moved away from Kosovo, many were married, had children and had started new lives. After having been tracked down, most agreed to sit back around the table, to listen to each others' stories and to rekindle the discussion that had in most cases been repressed from public dialogue. The mediator asked each person around the table to start with explaining where they were during the war and their life adjusting afterwards. The Albanians were taken aback hearing the Serbian stories of their brothers killed, their escapes abroad and the unease they felt now in Kosovo. The Serbs tried to understand how desperate the Albanians must have been that they felt relief when the war started. The peace specialist wisely explained that while two independent sides of the story coexist without overlapping, politicians, media and propaganda can perpetually manipulate the fear and animosity. It is only when the two sides start to intertwine that reconciliation can be plausible. “We are getting in to the core of the subject here, who is writing the history”. “Are you happy now? Now that you got what you wanted, free Kosovo?” ask the Serbs, many exiled. “The tables have turned, you repressed us for so many years, now the power is in our hands, what can we do for you?” The Albanians suggest that the future may be brighter once the wounds have healed. The director of the film doesn’t claim to have a solution to the situation or a method to erase the pain, nor does he attempt to explain all the nuances of the conflict or to endorse dialogue initiatives as the only method. The film is especially fascinating on a more human level, how the participants have suffered, matured, how much more measured their responses are. The dialogue opens up deep repressed traumas that at times are extremely moving. How many generations will peaceful coexistence take, and could it be accelerated by initiatives such as this Norwegian film?

After the great success of the "Fun Fondue" night for newly arrived expats back in February this year, another "Welcome to La Côte" event has been organised by Nyon tourism, Migros école- club Migros and Living in Nyon. This second event on the 22nd May is in response to the survey that was carried out at the fondue evening. Please note, places are limited for this next event, please register by May 5 . Click on the flyer below to see full details in larger print.

Photo above: This year Elastique Citrique, the Nyon circus school worked with Visions du Réel to provide entertainment for both film goers and the public. Visions du Réel 2012 ended with a closing ceremony at the Théatre de Marens on Friday night with film makers stepping up to the podium to receive prizes in the various categories of film at this year's festival -see full list below. There was a particularly emotional speech from Marc Schmidt, the director of "Matthew's Laws" and winner of the Grand Prix La Poste Suisse CHF 20,000 due to the fact that the protaganist featured in the film suffered from autism and was unable to be there that night. Claude Rey, president of Visions du Réel announced that this year the festival had surpassed its objective in terms of artistic content and the organisers were extremely happy with the attendance figures. The festival drew 790 participants from 68 countries - an increase compared to 2011. With yet more screenings on Saturday 28th April in the Salle Communale in Nyon, the numbers of total film goers ath festival this year is expected to reach approximately 25, 000. Here is a selection of the winning films that will be shown tomorrow at the Salle Communale 14:00. Nos jours, absolument, doivent être illuminés by Jean-Gabriel Périot France - Le Gosse de Louise Jaillette, France16:00. Schildkrötenwut / The Turtles's Rage by Pary El-Qalqili20:00 Hiver Nomade by Manuel von Stürler22:00 De Regels von Matthijs / Matthew's Laws by Marc Schmidt, Netherlands If you have been reading the reviews on this site over the past few days you will notice that the reviewers didn't mention any of the winning films as they didn't see them! Therefore the winners below don't appear in the reviewers list of favourites (see previous post). No matter, it was an enriching festival for all. Until next year! Next year's festival will be held from 19 to 26 April, 2013. Prizes awarded The Jury of the International Competition for the category "Feature films" awards the Grand Prix Swiss Post for the best feature film CHF 20,000 to DE REGELS VAN MATTHIJS (MATTHEW’S LAWS) by Marc Schmidt, Netherlands The Jury's view - "With love and courage the filmmaker places us face to face with his childhood friend. This film crosses a border into the unknown and mysterious world of autism. Matthew’s Rules gives us the opportunity to experience friendship and self-determination in the face of society’s demands from a unique point of view". The Special Prize Swiss Post for the most innovative Feature Film, CHF 10,000 to : KOVASIKAJUTTU (THE PUNK SYNDROME) by J-P Passi and Jukka Kärikkäinen, Finland The Jury's view - "Full of warmth and humour The Punk Syndrome is an entertaining and challenging celebration of life’s pleasures. This is not only a generous encounter with people traditionally placed at society’s margins it is also a work of rigorous and inspired filmmaking. Special mention to :900 DAGEN (900 DAYS) by Jessica Gorter, Netherlands "900 Dagen unveils an episode of history from the perspective of everyday people who lived it. The filmmaker creates surprising connections between horror and humanity". The Jury of the international competition for the Medium Length and Short Films categories awards the Prize George Foundation for the best medium length film, CHF 10,000 to : LE GOSSE (THE KID) by Louise Jaillette, France The jury said "The filmmaker found a remarkable subject, a boy between childhood and adolescence in rural France. Her approach is realistic and sensitive, full of clarity, curiosity and honesty". The Special Prize George Foundation for the most innovating medium length film, CHF 5'000 to : L’ÂGE ADULTE (ADULTHOOD) de Eve Duchemin, Belgique/France "Two young adults feel the pressure of contemporary life against their own aspirations. The filmmaker finds dignity and beauty in lives lived against the grain of harsh economic times". The Prize Swiss Mobiliar for the best short film, 5'000 CHF to : NOS JOURS, ABSOLUMENT, DOIVENT ÊTRE ILLUMINÉS by Jean-Gabriel Périot, FranceSpecial Prize Swiss Mobiliar for the most innovating short film, CHF 2'500 to : ENKEL DER GESCHICHTE (SPINACH AND SUGAR) by Laura Laabs, Germany "A young filmmaker makes a film about her grandmother. While a common type of project, in this case it’s done with playfulness, self-awareness and wit, that provides a refreshing approach to memory and German historical reflection". Special mention to : 3 DNI WOLNOSCI (3 DAYS OF FREEDOM) by Lukasz Borowski, Poland "A profound meditation on personal freedom and its loss". The Cinéma Suisse jury, awards the Great Prize SSA/Suissimage for the best Swiss feature film (all sections), CHF 15'000 to: HIVER NOMADE by Manuel von Stürler, Switzerland The jury awards the best prize to HIVER NOMADE - for revealing through this engaging journey the impressive touch of his director, who is able to exploit the cinematographic potential of the film’s two main characters and of their incredible chemistry. These contemporary nomads live an adventure out of time, but still deeply rooted in our present. The director of this first feature documentary creates through the power of his photography, the subtleness of the editing and the use of music, a magic of simplicity. Special prize of the Jury – SRG SSR for the most innovating Swiss feature film (all sections), CHF 10'000 to : AMORE CARNE by Pippo Delbono, Italy/Switzerland Special mention to : WHERE THE CONDORS FLY by Carlos Klein, Switzerland/Germany/Chili The jury gives a special mention for this humorous, daring, moving, original documentary. For reflecting on the art of filmmaking and creation – not only through mind and brain, but rather also through physical force, instinct and intuition; for celebrating life and its wonder the jury decided to salute this film and give it a special commendation. The Regard Neuf Jury, Prize Regard Neuf of the Canton of Vaud for a first feature film of the International Competition, Helvétiques or État d’esprit section, CHF 10'000 to : SCHILDKRÖTENWUT (THE TURTLE’S RAGE) by Pary El-Qalquili, Germany Public, award the prize of the Young Public and Société des Hôteliers de la Côte for the best film in the First Step section, CHF 3’000 to : AFTER by Lukasz Konopa, United Kingdom Lukasz Konopa, is awarded this prize for the originality with which it goes into a subject used so many times. Through a coherent form, the filmmaker succeeds in making coexist in his shots both the objects of a painful memory and their ‘mise en scène’ ready to be consumed. With the help of a subtle irony, this ambiguity questions the role and preservation of places of memory within our society. And the C-Side Postproduction Prize for the best Swiss film of the First Step Section, worth CHF 5'000 to :MAN HASTAM (J’EXISTE – I AM) by Tara Parsa, Switzerland The Interreligious Jury, Prize of the Interreligious Jury for a feature film in the International Competition that sheds light on issues dealing with meaning and sense of direction of life, CHF 5'000 to : 900 DAGEN (900 DAYS) by Jessica Gorter, Netherlands Special mention to : DE REGELS VAN MATTHIJS (MATTHEW’S LAWS) by Marc Schmidt, Netherlands The Buyens-Chagoll Prize Jury, awards the Award Buyen s-Chagoll for a film of humanist dimension focusing on stories developing values that confer meaning to the future of mankind, CHF 5'000 to : SNAKE DANCE by Manu Riche and Patrick Marnham, Belgium/Irland/NetherlandsAudience Award of the City of Nyon for the best film of État d’Esprit section, CHF 10'000 to : LA VIERGE, LES COPTES ET MOI by Namir Abdel Messeh, France

The Visions du Réel Festival starts today in Nyon and we have two pairs of tickets up for grabs for film screenings for readers of this site. Just email cnp at bluewin.ch with your name and telephone number by 22:00 on Friday 20th April. Names will go into a hat and 2 lucky winners will be informed on Saturday a. m 21st April. Every year, Living in Nyon writers review a selection of films on the festival programme and today we begin with the first review of the film "Virgin Tales" by Suzy Nelson-Pollard. Suzy is currently a student of International Relations at the University of Geneva. Read her first review below. "Virgin Tales", directed by Mirjam Von Arx, to be shown on Saturday at 17:00 (Théâtre de Marens) and Sunday at 10:00 (Salle Communale) is a Swiss made documentary about a family of evangelical Christians in Colorado. The Wilson family, who have seven home-schooled children, are vocal and influential within the local community, spreading the message of purity. So vocal indeed that for around a decade they have organised annual purity balls for the daughters and fathers of the community, a chance for both to pledge to protect and guard the daughters’ virginity until their wedding days. Religious middle America is an easy bandwagon for a European filmmaker to jump on. To many moderate Europeans, scenes of the tea party movement or politics entwined with religious rhetoric provoke incredulous disbelief, or even just plain mocking. But this is no sensationalist, hate-mongering portrayal of those “crazy Americans over the ocean”, the merit of this film comes from the family itself. The Wilsons are generally likeable, (perhaps with exception to the father, a tad creepily overzealous when talking about the responsibility to protect his daughter’s purity), the children are loving, caring, incisive, mature and extremely intelligent. "Purity brings joy" The focus is on the third daughter Jordan, a beautiful, poised and extremely bright 20 year old, waiting to follow her older sister’s footsteps in to marriage. Jordan is clearly full of contradictions. She speaks confidently about how “purity brings joy”, but looks positively bored to tears waiting for her “wonderful husband to arrive” and to move her in to the next chapter of her life. She talks about how she looks forward to being a mother and a wife most of all, and asks “why would I spend thousands of dollars on an education that I’m not going to use?”. As time goes by however and the wait gets longer, she starts a course in etiquette for young ladies, which by the end of the documentary blossoms, proving that she has quite the talent for business that an education may have boosted. One of the most interesting things about the community that was highlighted in the film was the use of symbolism to encourage purity in teenager years. Young daughters wear long white dresses to the purity balls and dance around a cross. Sons have coming of age or manhood ceremonies in which they are presented with a sword and even armour, so that they can fight their enemies (such as inappropriate thoughts and desires). A scene at the purity ball shows a father slipping a ring on his daughter’s engagement finger, telling her that the ring was a symbol of purity, and that she would never regret saving herself for her wedding day. The young girl looked about twelve years old, and one cant help but wonder if there would be a moment in her life when she wasn’t under the “protection” of a man, be it her father or husband. Although it's a subject that has been documented many times, this film offers an interesting and balanced insight in to not only the politics and ceremonies, but the thoughts and emotions of one of America’s most important religious groups today. For ticket sales, programming and all information on the film documentary festival click here for website (in English)

Photo above - crowd at Paléo 2011. There was a mad rush for Palèo tickets when they went on sale yesterday at midday and festival organisers announced that it took just 5.5 hours for all tickets to be sold-out. Concerts for the Sunday sold-out in 14 minutes, those for Thursday, Friday and Saturday in less than 45 minutes, and those for the Tuesday and Wednesday by 17:30. Missed out on tickets? Two other opportunities If you missed out yesterday there are two new opportunities to get tickets, the first is the traditional "bourse aux billets" . This platform will be begin on the Paléo site on 9 May at midday on and makes it possible for anybody to sell and/or buy tickets at a fair price and safely in an effort to fight against the black market. The second opportunity is that 1,500 tickets will be on sale each morning of the festival at 09:00 for the same night and through Ticketcorner outlets (no phone orders). No tickets will be sold on site. Check out Paléo for dull details.