ANAÏS EMERY

executive and artistic director

We have known for a long time that the only true constant is change, and like our societies, the entire audiovisual industry is no exception: it is transforming before our eyes, disrupted by new production, distribution, and consumption practices.

Amidst this flux, however, the mission of festivals remains essentially unchanged: to provide a space that celebrates the plurality of voices, encourages creative audacity, fosters encounters, and opens up unexpected paths to discovery. This mission may seem obvious, but behind the scenes, it becomes more demanding every year as global and societal issues become more complex.
Far from discouraging us, however, this observation reinforces the GIFF team’s joy in presenting the program for its 31st edition: a proposal that goes against algorithmic logic, inviting viewers to explore uncharted cinematic territories, powerful series, visionary films, and to traverse new narrative spaces within the framework of our Virtual Territories. The risks are high with such an exploratory and playful program, but it is this audacity that we believe in.

We hope that audiences will enjoy listening to the hybrid concerts presented by the Ensemble Contrechamps, discovering virtual reality operas with La Magie Opéra and From Dust, creating new plant forms with their phones in Future Botanica, collectively imagining future generations of humanity in the immersive experience Ancestors, or venture into a dark theater to rediscover the shared magic of a great film or a high-quality series on the big screen.

This edition highlights pioneering and sensitive personalities such as Nathalie Nath, Sir Stephen Frears, Alan Ball, Kantarama Gahigiri, and Teona Strugar Mitevska, alongside a new generation of creators. All of them will meet the public during discussions that will feed the collective imagination.
For ten days, Geneva will become a laboratory where emotions, ideas, technologies, and storytelling intertwine; a place where everyone can come and take the pulse of the audiovisual world.

Thierry Apothéloz

President of the State Council and State Councilor in charge of the Department of Social Cohesion

A unique explorer of changes in the audiovisual sector, the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF) confirms its role as a meeting place where cinema, series, and immersive experiences come together to shape the future with this 31st edition. More than just a festival, it positions itself as a true crossroads of ideas and discovery, a catalyst for innovation and a laboratory for reflection and international dialogue.

In its approach to stimulating creativity in our region and beyond, and in forging synergies between local and international professionals, the GIFF is perfectly aligned with the Canton’s vision and ambitions for the audiovisual sector. Geneva has just placed the creative and digital industries among the priority areas for its economic development over the next ten years. The Canton and City of Geneva are currently launching an incentive scheme to encourage production within its territory.

A pioneer in its early days and now a leading platform, the Festival embodies the dynamism of these promising fields. With its hybrid programming, which attracts a large proportion of festival-goers under the age of 35, and its outreach programs, which are of great interest to younger generations, this event appeals to audiences of today and tomorrow. Innovation, inclusion, and excellence: the GIFF is a window onto the cultural and economic future of our canton.

Elisabeth Baume-Schneider

Federal Councillor
Head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs

For over thirty years, the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF) has provided a glittering fusion of heritage and creativity. It shows us how art and technology inspire, provoke, question and guide ideas. And how they allow us, to connect with others and form bonds. The GIFF is a space that transcends boundaries between genres, media, audiences and worlds. Here we can observe how innovation leads to new possibilities and instruments, to new forms of cinematic storytelling and new perspectives on our realities.

In an increasingly polarised society, in which social cohesion seems to be weakening, we face the challenge of managing the digital space responsibly. The GIFF offers us food for thought, acting as a laboratory of ideas on how to shape our digital future.

The GIFF also successfully brings together young audiences, Swiss talent – notably in the magnificent showcase the Swiss Series Storytelling Award – and professionals from the industry, who year after year come from far and wide to visit the Geneva Digital Market (GDM). It is a unique event connecting people across borders and generations.

I cannot conclude without paying tribute to GIFF’s vital work in promoting visual literacy. I would also like to thank the entire GIFF team for their remarkable success in making this year’s Festival one of the most exciting and engaging ever.

Susanne Wille

Director General SRG SSR

Pascal Crittin

Director RTS

The 31st edition of the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF) opens, and we are proud to renew our support for this major event. Since its inception, SSR and RTS have accompanied GIFF in its evolution, witnessing its growth and increasing influence on the European scene.

Once again this year, the Festival is celebrating the diversity and creativity of Swiss and French-speaking Swiss film production. With the vote on the license fee (“200 francs is enough” initiative) just a few months away, this showcase highlights the importance of SSR’s support for Swiss production.

The 2025 program has some wonderful surprises in store, notably the eagerly awaited International premiere of Intraçables, a series co-produced by RTS. Other SSR co-productions will also be featured, such as En route pour Broadway and La Linea della Palma, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to producing quality content. A highlight of this edition will undoubtedly be the exceptional meeting with Nathalie Nath, an iconic figure at TSR. A visionary pioneer, she has left a lasting mark on the history of our television through her innovative and daring programs.

With its resolutely inventive approach and strong digital dimension, GIFF has established itself as one of the must-go-to events in the Swiss and European audiovisual landscape and in the field of digital creation. It is a festival that SRG SSR and RTS proudly support and accompany.
Have a great Festival!

Joëlle Bertossa

Administrative Advisor
in charge of the Department of Culture and Digital Transition
of the City of Geneva

As it does every year, the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF) lights up the Geneva fall season with an exhilarating mix of innovative and daring images and imaginations. The 2025 edition promises to be another special moment, bringing together artistic innovation, technological exploration, and critical reflection on our cinematic and digital cultures.

The GIFF occupies a unique place in the festival landscape, combining cinema, series, immersive arts, and interactive creations. It fosters dialogue between disciplines and generations, while questioning the ways in which we narrate and perceive the world. This ability to break down barriers and open up new perspectives illustrates the richness of contemporary creation and the relevance of a festival rooted in a cosmopolitan and open city like Geneva.

The City is delighted to support this event, which promotes both emerging talent and established figures, offering audiences privileged access to unique experiences. With the 13th Geneva Digital Market (GDM), which brings together more than 800 professionals, the GIFF is also a space for debate and encounters, where professionals, researchers, artists, and spectators build a shared vision of the cultural and technological future together.

May this new edition be, for each and every one of you, an invitation to curiosity, wonder, and discovery, at the heart of a festival that magnificently embodies the creative energy of Geneva.

Corinna Marschall

Managing Director, MEDIA Desk Suisse

Digital audiovisual production is evolving in ways that challenge our very notion of storytelling. The Geneva Digital Market (GDM) serves as a vital platform for exploring this evolution, inviting us to look beyond the surface of the familiar. It is an invitation to consider ideas, cultures, technologies, and people as the raw materials for reinvention, where recombination becomes an act of creation, crafting new meanings. A place where creators and industry professionals come together to push the boundaries of what audiovisual works can achieve.
This is why MEDIA Desk Suisse and the Federal Office of Culture are supporting the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF) and Geneva Digital Market (GDM) through its MEDIA Compensating Measures. We support a festival and a market which pave the way for the creative minds who will shape tomorrow’s digital audiovisual landscape: So let’s celebrate innovation and collaboration!

Delphine Bachmann

State Councilor in charge of the Department of Economy and Employment

I might as well admit it right away: I am a fervent supporter of the Geneva Digital Market (GDM). Not only because it is the only event dedicated to audiovisual innovation in Switzerland, but also because it offers a prime showcase for highlighting Geneva’s strengths in this sector.

The GDM is all the more important at a time when the State of Geneva has identified the creative industries as a sector with strong potential for our canton. I am convinced that this is an important economic and cultural sector, generating jobs and excitement. It will undoubtedly enhance our canton’s appeal on the international stage, which is more essential than ever in an increasingly competitive environment. It is in this spirit that we have joined forces with the City of Geneva to support the audiovisual sector, with the launch of the Geneva Film Commission this summer in Locarno. We are thus pooling our resources to ensure its success. Happy GDM to everyone, and see you next year!