Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF) is pleased to unveil the programme for its upcoming 39th edition. This year's line-up features 108 films from 52 countries, including 17 world premieres, 3 international premieres, 5 European premieres and 42 Swiss premieres. From 21st to 30th March 2025, the FIFF audience will have an opportunity to indulge their love of whodunnits, as well as venture into the cinematic world of Sri Lanka. The Festival's carte blanche goes to Jérôme Paillard, a former film producer and the man who oversaw the exponential rise of the Cannes Marché du Film. The Decryption section travels to Africa to explore the influence of the Communist system on filmmaking on the African continent during the Cold War. Finally, Midnight Screenings, Make it family time and FIFForum round off an engaged, engaging and extremely entertaining programme.
The 39th edition of FIFF opens and closes with documentaries on Afghanistan. The first (Champions of the Golden Valley) follows a group of skiers struggling to keep their sporting dreams alive as their homeland teeters on the brink of collapse. The second (Bread & Roses) tells the stories of several Afghan women and their courageous opposition to the Taliban who have stripped them of their rights. Both films vividly capture the precariousness of freedom and the fragility of hope. "When taken together, they form a perfect diptych and set the tone of our 39th edition: resistance. By exposing ourselves to stories from countries whose cinematic output tends to languish in a dark corner of the film market, this year’s programme prompts us to reflect on the importance of our freedoms and realise how fragile they are. Also, 'If you don't see these films at FIFF, you won't see them anywhere else' is especially true this year as only three of the 67 films which will premiere at FIFF will go on wider cinema release in Switzerland", Thierry Jobin, the Festival's artistic director, points out.
The short and feature-length films in FIFF's International competitions are proof that the spirit of freedom still exists. As Thierry Jobin notes, "Amplifying the voices of filmmakers who see cinema as an effective soft power tool is nothing new to FIFF. However, the films on the 39th edition programme go one step further by centring their narrative on resistance, especially among women." From Nigeria (The Legend of the Vagabond Queen of Lagos) to Malaysia (Pavane for an Infant) and all the way to Brazil (Senhoritas and O silêncio das ostras), many of the films focus on women fighting to protect their community, their personal reputations and their fundamental human rights. Of the 16 entries in the International competition: Short Films, 10 have a female protagonist. Another common thread in FIFF's choices this year is the strong presence of animals in the stories, and the relationship between humans and nature more broadly. For example, Black Dog and Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo document the power of human-canine friendship in times of oppression, solitude and exclusion. For FIFF's artistic director, "We are living in brutal times. But it is precisely this brutality that forces us to confront the fact that our society is in the grip of a culture of ruthless self-interest. Humans are reduced to their basic instincts and, in their quest for solutions, find themselves on a par with animals. The fact that filmmakers choose to centre animals in their storytelling testifies to this temptation to rise above the fray and see things through different eyes." What these stories of violence and disillusionment, but also of solidarity and courage, have in common is that they have a cry of rage, and of hope at their heart.
Thrilling parallel sections
The celebration of filmmaking from Asia, Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe continues in the other sections of FIFF's programme. Former film producer, Jérôme Paillard, who spearheaded the meteoric rise of the Cannes Marché du Film, uses his FIFF carte blanche to share his passion for Spanish-language cinema, with choices including Blancanieves (Spain), Relatos salvajes (Argentina) and El secreto de sus ojos (Argentina). Films from Africa and Asia also feature prominently in other sections of the 2025 programme. Decryption: Africa beyond the Cold War, which is curated this year by the Contemporary History Department of the University of Fribourg, plunges into the heart of Africa during the Cold War with three films that tell stories of personal and collective struggle against the ruling colonial regime. The line-up includes Chronique des années de braise, the only Algerian film to win a Palme d'Or (1975), and Mandabi, from Senegal, which won the Special Jury Prize at Venice in 1968. The New Territory section shines a spotlight on Asian cinema, specifically contemporary Sri Lankan filmmaking. Whether made by directors in exile or based in the country, all 13 films in this section are filled with a sense of hope, humour and lucidity.
The whodunnits in the Genre Cinema: Murders and Mysteries section offer an unconventional yet astute commentary on the cultural and political landscape of the countries where they were made and/or set. For Thierry Jobin, "These stories that revolve around analysis, autopsy and investigation resonate all the more powerfully in a programme where resistance is the through line. This film genre uses humour, intrigue and suspense to address the dangers that threaten our society." The same is also true of the four documentaries in the FIFF favourites section. Each one examines an event, phenomenon or situation in forensic detail. They include Chain Reactions from director Alexandre O. Philippe (International jury: Short Films). This ode to the hidden beauty of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (Midnight Screenings) took home the Best Documentary award at Venice 2024. The documentary will be shown immediately after the legendary film itself. As FIFF's artistic director explains, "Made at a time when the world was in turmoil, young people were in open revolt and the Vietnam war was still claiming untold lives, this cinematic masterpiece sought to find beauty in the horror."
For proof of the programme's diversity and inclusion, one needs to look no further than the Make it family time section for budding film fans aged 3 and over, and the popular Passeport Suisse, which this year will include the winning amateur and professional music-themed films of the new Une Histoire de Fribourg short films competition, launched by FIFF in spring 2024. Due to the success of the inaugural edition and the quality of the entries received, the decision was taken to hold the competition again. The theme of the 2026 edition will be announced during the Festival.
Week-long conversation between film fans and filmmakers
The FIFForum programme includes a dozen or so discussions and roundtables. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Se7en, two of Switzerland's leading crime novelists Nicolas Feuz and Marc Voltenauer will be on hand after the screening to share their thoughts about this late-night cult classic. Another highlight of this year's thrilling line-up will be the conversation (in German) with Swiss actresses Sarah Spale and Anna Pieri Zuercher, who will also be judging the entries in this year's International competitions. They will talk about their experiences playing female detectives on screen (Wilder, Tatort Zürich). This is not the only event with direct appeal for FIFF's growing German-speaking audience. The programme this year also features 55 films which either have no dialogue or will be screened with German subtitles. The award-winning British photographer Derek Hudson (International jury: Feature Films) will also be in conversation at FIFForum. Last but not least, Beki Probst and Jérôme Paillard will take to the stage to offer the audience an insider's view of the film market and its evolution over the last few decades.
More determined and driven than ever
With one year to go until the 40th edition of the Festival, the FIFF 2025 team is looking forward to once again transforming the city of Fribourg, its wider region, cinemas, restaurants, shops and streets into a must-go destination. FIFF's unstinting drive and determination have never been more crucial than they are now. The dynamism that the Festival brings not only benefits the local economy but also helps raise the canton's profile. Both of these qualities will be key to FIFF successfully rising to the short-term challenges it faces as the result of public funding cuts. As FIFF President Mathieu Fleury explains, the Festival has "a robust action plan to secure the sustainable funding needed for its future development." One of the key thrusts of the plan will be bringing new private partners on board.
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