15/10/2026 - The Geneva-based festival champions contemporary audiovisual production with a tantalising line-up available for audiences to discover from 30 October-8 November

With a line-up that's been described as "joyful and diverse", the 32nd edition of the GIFF (Geneva International Film Festival) (30 October-8 November) invites audiences to discover 40 works competing in its four prestigious international competitions, not to mention 50 talks and conferences.

A trailblazing festival intent on spotlighting contemporary audiovisual production, GIFF showcases and celebrates the sheer diversity of creative approaches across films, series and immersive experiences. This edition will also be the last for Anaïs Emery, the artistic and general director, who will step down in June. Emilie Bujès, the new artistic director, and Audrey Olivier Muralt, the managing director, took up their co-directing roles in August 2026. They are therefore stewarding this edition amidst the transition between the two artistic directorships. The animated film Tangles by Leah Nelson will open the festivities, and the new feature by Japanese artist Sabu, Arrested Memory, will bring them to a close.

All of the films in the International Feature Competition, already showcased at several major festivals, are European productions and co-productions. Among them are the Cannes Critics’ Week winner La Gradiva by Marine Atlan, The Diary of a Chambermaid by inimitable Romanian director Radu Jude as well as A Day In the Life of Jo : Chapter Phaedra by Jacqueline Lentzou, winner of the Best Director Award in Venice's Orizzonti, Les Indes, the feature debut by Geneva-based artist Pauline Julier, co-directed with theatre director Nicolas Chapoulier, plus Dawning by Patrik Syversen. In the same competition, we also find Rehearsals for a Revolution by Pegah Ahangarani, awarded the L’Œil d’or at Cannes, The Loneliest Man in Town by Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel, Yesterday the Eye Didn’t Sleep by Palestinian director Rakan Mayasi, The Burning Giants by Thai director Phuttiphong Aroonpheng and The First Taste of Loneliness by Gu You, a co-production between China and France.

All of the series selected in the International Series Competition are also European productions and co-productions. Among them are the Spanish title Many People Need to Die by Victoria Martín, a portrait of three childhood friends that is both touching and humorous; Peccato by Emanuela Fanelli and Valerio Vestoso, a mockumentary offering an alternative version of actress Emanuela Fanelli’s life (she is also the series’ co-creator); as well as Burden of Justice by Jens Lapidus, which plunges us into the heart of a major criminal law firm in Stockholm. This competition will also welcome Das Manko by Das Manko GbR, Haemers by David Bourgie, Sylvie Coquart, Thomas François and Frédérique Muzzi, In Vitro-Creation of Happiness by Marc Crehuet and Alejandra Guimerà, Nourrices by Alexandra Echkenazi and Vincent Robert, Rififi by Vassilis Risvat and Dimitra Sakali, Summer of 1985 by Björn Stein, and Variola Vera by Piotr Derewenda and Wojciech Lepianka.

Meanwhile, Indian-US filmmaker Mira Nair will receive the Film & Beyond Award. The Geneva-based collective of independent filmmakers Exit Void, founded in 2015 by Emral Kadriov, Birdjan Kadriov and Alessandro Bucolo, is the guest of honour in the Tales of Swiss Innovation section. Lastly, a focus is dedicated to brilliant French screenwriter Fanny Herrero.

What's more, this year, the festival will host the 14th edition of GIFF PRO (3-6 November), which, over four days, will allow attendees to grapple with and discuss the major issues facing the audiovisual and creative industries.

(Translated from French)