If you haven't yet had the chance to watch any films at Visions du Réel, there are still a couple of days left to catch one or two of them. Tomorrow, Friday the 20th April is the last official day of the festival, however on Saturday 21st, 5 of the winning films entered in to the various competitions at the festival, will be screened from 10:30 in the morning until 20:00 at night. The winning films will be announced at the awards ceremony tomorrow night and will be on the VDR website shortly after. It's a great chance to catch up on the films you missed! There is quite a buzz at both temporary bars that have been created for the festival, particularly in the evening. You don't have to be a filmmaker to have a drink and be part of the atmosphere. There is a temporary restaurant on site and there are also three food trucks outside.

Nyon Tennis Club will be holding an Open Day on Sunday, April 22nd from 10:30 until 17:00. On the Open Day only, new sign-ups will get a 50% reduction on club registration fees. Check out the courts where Roger Federer once played (in a competition) and where some of today's top tennis stars still play and train! At the Open Day, visitors can find out more information on the club, test the rackets out, hit a few balls with both the instructors and members and check out the indoor and outdoor courts. There will be games for children, an exhibition match at 14:00, visitors can have a drink or a meal on the terrace. Visitors are also invited for an aperitif at 16:00. Contact details in the flyer below. Sat 28th and Sun 29th April - An opening tournament will take place. All members of all levels are welcome to participate free of charge. This is the ideal occasion for new members to meet players of the club.

"I am a dancer, music soothes our soul, but not the soul of our censors", says a teenager in a school in Egypt. We hear the voice of someone speaking on the radio, "There is no scholar that allows you to listen to the lyrics of Madonna and Beyoncé and Michael Jackson and those kinds of people. They are horrible and dirty, they encourage you to move your body and shake your thing". "My wife loved to dance - there were as many shoes in front of the house as outside a mosque," laments the husband of an elderly couple living in Morocco. "Islam teaches us to "glide" through life but yet we can't dance. Being a dancer is something to be ashamed of", says a traditional belly dancer in Egypt. But things weren't always like this for dancers and actors in their respective countries. With archive footage director Jawad Rhalib shows in this film that in the 1960's and 1970's people could dance. However, the rules are now changing which is making life tough for some young Muslim artists. A group of male and female actors living in Belgium rehearse a stage adaptation of Michel Houellebecq’s book Submission. They discuss the complexities of how to represent the main Muslim character on stage but they also question if they should alter some of the text and change some of the performance in the play to avoid upsetting fundamentalists. Along with the restriction on dance, other restrictions have crept into the personal lives of women in the countries featured in the film. We see an archive clip of President Nasser of Egypt telling a story of when he met with the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. Nasser recounts; "The leader listed his requests. What did he ask of me? You must make the hijab mandatory in Egypt and order every woman in the street to wear a headscarf. So I told him, "Sir you have a daughter studying medicine, she doesn't wear a headscarf, why don't you make her wear one? If you can't make your own daughter wear a headscarf, how do you expect me to make 10 million Egyptian women do it? There is much laughter from his audience at the absurdity of the idea and then the camera switches to a scene in present-day Egypt where virtually every woman in the director's lens is wearing a hijab and then on to a class of young children being told by their religious teacher not to watch movies that will lead them astray as they are the "work of the devil" and how non-religious films are forbidden to them. An Iranian young woman living in Belgium discusses with her mother what life used to be like in Iran. When she is with her friends, they talk about how they have to adapt and change when they visit the country today. Interspersed between the interviews with artists and dancers and the difficulties they face, there are also some lovely dance scenes in this film, beautiful sensual modern ballet accompanied by gentle piano music. The traditional belly dancer then performs to the camera. This a fascinating and courageous film. Living in Nyon was not at the film' first screening in Gland, however, Trish Thalman (an occasional correspondent for this site) was present and reports back that there were lots of questions for the director at the discussion at the end of the film from how he managed to film some of the scenes, on how safe the actors and dancers would be after the screening of the film, to the reaction of their relatives. The film will be screened again on Wednesday 18th April at the Théâtre de Marens at 16:30

Films at Visions du Réel are not only screened in Nyon, but they are also being shown at the Théâtre de Grand Champ in Gland. Shuttle buses have been arranged between Nyon and Gland and are timed to arrive for the start and end of screenings in Gland. Yesterday, Sunday 14th April there was a completely packed house in Gland for the screening of the superb film "Ladies", directed by Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond, this is a film with a local connection featuring divorced, widowed or single ladies living in Vaud who felt that they’ve become transparent since they no longer have men in their lives. The ladies in the film question came on stage to the delight of both the audience and the filmmakers. These ladies had opened their hearts out to the camera, there were many touching, sad, funny and poignant moments, from the lady who tried internet dating, to the woman who tried to conquer her fears since her divorce by taking the cable car up to Glacier 3000. This was an extraordinary scene, the brave woman tried to contain her fright as she peeked through the window of the cable car and saw the sheer drop below, but eventually, she broke down in tears. The moment when one very elegant lady started clearing out the study of her late husband and came across an old dictaphone that he had once used. He had recorded his own spoken directions to a destination in the days before sat-nav. "He was very precise" she reminisced. The bombshell of the moment when one lady revealed that both her brothers had committed suicide, and even though all her family were doctors she was not encouraged to do the same simply because she was a woman. She went on to become a physiotherapist and is now also a brilliant photographer and seems to have accepted her lot and is happy with life. The lady who tried internet dating found love and a new found zest for life. She was a filmmaker's dream, funny, witty and brilliant on camera, the audience were all rooting for a happy ending for her. The ladies were filmed over a year through their trials and tribulations and on the whole, the film ended on an upbeat note, the audience gave the film a rapturous applause to these women of a certain age who are rarely represented on film. The next two screenings of the film are now sold out completely at this festival, but such is its success it is bound to appear again on Swiss TV or in local cinema screens.

Visions du Réel. Nyon's International Documentary Film Festival will open tonight with an official ceremony, followed by the screening of the film "Of Fathers and Sons", which focusses on the day-to-day life of an important member of a branch of Al-Qaeda in Syria. This film is sold out for tonight (Friday 13th) but will have an additional screening in Gland at the Théâtre de Grand Champ in Gland on Sunday 25th at 13:30. There are hundreds of films on offer at the festival and tickets can be bought online. See our 2 previous reviews of films being screened this weekend, "Barstow, California" and "Sisters" here. One documentary that may interest Living in Nyon's Canadian readers, is the film "Snowbirds". In this film, the director Mika Goodfriend observes a group of 1,800 retirees from Quebec who move to the beaches of Florida each winter, just like migrating birds fleeing the snow. This film is an affectionate portrait of some of these retirees who live temporarily in a massive motorhome/trailer park in the Breezy Hill Resort. We witness their daily routine, we see them celebrating Christmas in the warm weather, dressing up in costumes for St Patrick's Day. There are some lovely touching moments between one elderly couple, he does his exercises first thing in the morning and grows alfa alfa sprouts and vegetables in the motorhome to give him and his wife a healthy lifestyle. He plays the accordion and she sings, they rehearse for a show. Another couple is simply content to drink wine with their lunch and sunbathe. Some retirees play golf, others head off to the pool for Aquagym and others catch up with TV soap operas. There are some funny moments in this film such as when the curtain is pulled back behind a priest taking a service in the church (which is actually the resort's clubhouse) we see a bingo board - the clubhouse has to double up for many events. When Christmas arrives, the retirees decorate the outside of their temporary homes with as much pizzazz as if they were at home. The residents seem to be content with their lot. It's a happy retirement. It's a fond portrait of these Canadian "Snowbirds". The film will be screened on Tuesday 17th April at 18:45 at the Salle Colombière and Wednesday 18th April at 12:00 at the Capitole Cinema Fellini.

Advocacy and Representation for Women at the Highest Levels - Creating links between local and International Initiatives. Business and Professional Women Switzerland - Club Event Tuesday April 17 from 18:30 to 22:00 at the Restaurant du Casino, 15 Rue du Port, Rolle. Registration here Gender equality is a major goal internationally for Governments, organisations and individuals. This involves advocating equal access to resources, opportunities and protection as well as eliminating harmful and discriminatory practices. The equal rights of men and women is a key objective of some of the world’s foremost organisations, the United Nations, the World Health Organisation and the International Labour Office. BPW Lake Geneva is proud to host a discussion about advocacy for women, to share current initiatives and to inspire women to get involved. Chaired by Debbie Croft (Board Member for Communications), panellists Michele Gerber, Veronique Goy Veenhuys and Ann Wood will share their personal experience and perspectives. Michele is an expert clinician specialising in neurological healthcare and the BPW permanent representative to the WHO. Veronique is the Founder of Equal-SALARY Foundation and was a BPW delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women Conference in New York in 2017. Ann was past President of BPW Lake Geneva and is a Member of BPW International Task Force on Leadership & Lifelong Learning. Agenda 18:30 Registration & Networking 19:00 Presentation 20:30 Dinner Members 55 CHF, non-members 75 CHF (ladies only) More info: info@bpwlakegeneva.mail.cloudrexx.com

The Geneva Amateur Opera Society will present "South Pacific" at the Casino Theatre in Geneva from the 5-13th May 2018. Booking for this show (with a live orchestra) will open on the 14th April. Click here. Short synopsis: It is November 1942 on a tropical island in French Polynesia where American forces are gathering to oppose the Japanese. Based on James A. Michener’s prize-winning book Tales of the South Pacific, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s masterpiece contains many of their best-loved songs.

Nyon's International Documentary Film festival - Visions du Réel begins this Thursday 12th April and continues until the 21st. This festival is for both film professionals and the general public, with hundreds of films on offer screened throughout the day and evening. Many films are in English or are subtitled in English. During the festival, there are other events taking place alongside the film screenings, from film masterclasses to debates with film directors and more. There's even a temporary bar at the festival, a great meeting point right in the heart of town! Two documentaries in English are coming up this weekend Barstow, California directed by Rainer Komers and Sisters, directed by Peter Entell. They are set in different countries and continents, yet both feature individuals whose lives have taken a sad turn due to events from their childhood. Barstow, California - screening Saturday 14th April at 14:00, Sunday 15th at 10:00 at the Salle Communale"Mama and Papa tried 15 times to have a girl baby, but they ended up with 15 boys", narrates the rich voice of Spoon Jackson near the start of this film. Spoon is a poet but he is also an inmate, he began serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole in 1977. As he reads excerpts from his autobiography By Heart you immediately sense that life in the town was hard and tough for him growing up poor in a big family in a two-roomed shack in the town. Many years ago, a previous director of Visions du Réel quoted this film festival as bringing the world to Nyon's doorstep and with this film we are indeed transported into a place far removed from the 1260 postcode. Although Nyon and Barstow are similarly sized in population therein lies the only similarity. Present-day Barstow in the Mojave desert is barren, arid and dust-ridden. Tumbleweed abounds, summer temperatures can rise to 38°C, and the U.S Armed Forces National Training Centre in nearby Fort Irwin brings the noise of military helicopters, jeeps driving through the desert, and bombs exploding in military exercises. This film is a fascinating portrait of the town and includes reminiscences of growing up in it by two of "Spoon's" brothers and more narration by the author and poet from inside his cell. "I used to think a rainbow was made up of different coloured sidewalks, each one leading to its own mystery". The visual aspect of this film leaves the viewer with a deep impression of the town and landscape but the soundtrack is truly superb. The constant high pitched squeal of freight trains, the locking and unlocking of the prison doors, the soft easy going voices of the presenters on the local radio, the wind blowing through the desert scrubland all add to the image of this fascinating documentary. Sisters - Saturday 14th 20:30 and Sunday 15th 10:30 at the Capital Leone cinema Whilst Spoon Jackson's life came to a halt when he was sent to prison as a young man as the result of his own actions, the lives of two sisters growing up in Australia were decided upon by other adults. Adults who kept secrets, and chose not to tell each sister that each other existed. The sisters only discovered each other later in life. The film "Sisters" by local filmmaker Peter Entell focusses on three women, two of them biological sisters and the other, Sian, a childhood friend from Switzerland. Throughout the years Sian has become like a sister to Shelly when she came to live in St-Cergue as a young child from Australia. The opening scene begins at a birthday party in Switzerland which is being held for Shelly. Here she is visiting as an adult, blowing out candles, opening presents, surrounded by old friends and all seems well. We see the two girls reminiscing about their childhood which seemed a happy one. They played in the snow, they wander around the village, visiting their old school, pointing out where they hung their coats in the hallway, how they had to take their shoes off before entering their Swiss classrooms, it all seems idyllic until we hear the voice of Sian saying "I never realised. I thought she (Shelly) was a happy clown, at least that's the way she presented herself. She didn't talk about it, she didn't complain about it until a lot, lot later". Then it's revealed that the happy childhood wasn't all that it seemed. There is a darker side to it all and here, Linda, her biological sister takes up the story. The laughter and happiness in the scenes before suddenly turn into a sad, intimate moment in the film. The destinies of the brothers in Barstow and the sisters in St-Cergue and Australia were shaped by events and circumstances that changed their lives forever. These have been poignantly observed in these two films which will be screened this weekend.

During the next four weekends, Saturday the 7th and Sunday 8th, 14th and 15th, 21st and 22nd and the 28 and 29th of April 2018, if you intend travelling by train between Nyon and Geneva airport, allow 15 minutes more to get to the airport as there will be no direct trains during this period. Replacement trains on the Lausanne - Geneva airport route will be in operation and they stop at Lausanne, Renens, Morges, Allaman, Rolle, Gland, Nyon, Coppet, Geneva and Geneva Airport, They will operate every quarter of an hour (in both directions). For more info see here and check the CFF timetable to plan your journey. This temporary disruption is to allow work on the line as part of the Léman 2030 rail/public transport improvement programme.

Happy Easter to all Readers! The next post will be on Friday 6th April. As this will be a week before Vision du Réel officially starts in Nyon and Gland, we will back with recommendations of films to see and reporting on events happening at this prestigious International Film festival. The programme is already out and films can be booked online. Nyon's Easter Fountains Around 17 of Nyon's fountains have been decorated for the Easter period. Click here to see where they are located in the town. These fountains have been decorated by local Nyon clubs and societies. The local shops and business association (SIC) is running a competition (in French) linked to the decorated fountains and is offering prize money (vouchers) that can be spent in local businesses in the town. The first prize is CHF 300, 2nd prize CHF 150 and third prize CHF 50. Application form here

Nyon Business Forum Event The next Nyon Business Forum Event will take place on Friday, April 13 from 12:00 until 14:00 on the opening day of Nyon's international film festival Visions du Réel. The venue is the Village du Réel (adjacent to Nyon's Salle Communale ) and the guest speaker will be the film director Stéphane Goël who will talk about Switzerland’s important role in the documentary film industry. Please reserve by April 6 via SMS to 079 202 50 14 or by e-mail to info@nyonbusinessforum.ch Note: More info coming up soon on this site about the films being screened at the festival this year. Networking event There will be a British Swiss Chamber of Commerce Networking/ Get Together event on Tuesday 10th April from 18:30 to 20:00 at the Café Papon i n the old town of Geneva at 1 rue Henri-Fazy. This is an informal and cordial get-together. Non-Members welcome

Here are three music events coming up in April in Nyon. On the 5th April, there will be "math rock" (a style of indie rock) at La Parenthèse in Nyon with U.S Band "Tera Melos" from Northern California. Free Entry - Concert starts at 22:00 On the 13th April at the 1306 Club in Nyon, there will be Blue Grass/Country American Music. Concert starts at 20:30 Free entry - Hat passed round for the artists. On the 27th April, the American Song Quartet will perform songs by Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and Cole Porter at the Conservatoire de L'Ouest Vaudois. Concert starts at 20:30