The 39th Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF) will end on Sunday 30th March with attendance figures at an all-time high and around 30 more sold-out screenings than in 2024. Four of the 12 feature films and three of the 16 shorts in this year's International competitions won awards. Guan Hu's Black Dog, a wonderful tale of friendship between a man and his dog, took home not only the Grand Prix but also the Critics' Choice Award. The film will go on general release in French-speaking Switzerland on 2nd April, and on 10th April in German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino. Another Chinese production, My Friend An Delie, which had its European premiere at FIFF, won both the Special Jury Award and the Ecumenical Jury Award. The 2025 Audience Award went to Kenyan film Nawi. The Malaysian film Pavane for an Infant picked up the Youth Jury Award, while Bitter Chocolate, from Iran, was crowned Best International Short Film.
After Day Tripper in 2024, FIFF's Grand Prix this year was awarded to another Chinese film, Black Dog. The 2025 International Jury: Feature Films, called it "a powerful exploration of redemption and societal transformation, driven by compelling performances and breathtaking visuals." The jury, which comprised Asha Magrati (Nepal), Anna Pieri Zuercher (Switzerland) and Christian Lutz (Switzerland), also praised director Guan Hu's ability to "subtly highlight political issues related to China without being overt. The rich use of layered storytelling deeply engages the public imagination, elevating the film into a true masterpiece." Black Dog also won the Critics' Choice Award. FIFF is delighted that, thanks to Swiss distributor trigon-film, the double prize-winning film will be in cinemas across French-speaking Switzerland from Wednesday 2nd April, and from 10th April in German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino.
A second Chinese feature, My Friend An Delie, was another double winner this year, picking up both the Special Jury Award and the Ecumenical Jury Award. For the International Jury: Feature Films, the directorial debut by actor Dong Zijian, who is already a major star in his own country, is "a powerful and deeply honest portrayal of childhood trauma, friendship and memory."
The Youth Jury Award went to the Malaysian film Pavane for an Infant by Chong Keat Aun. The jury, which comprised students from the University of Fribourg, was impressed by its “polished aesthetics and poignant theme.” The film addresses Malaysia’s growing problem of abandoned babies through the story of a social worker employed at a baby hatch. The coveted Audience Award honoured the Kenyan-German co-production, Nawi. This courageous film, which was produced by a Kenyan NGO, is a rallying cry against forced child marriage. Word of mouth undoubtedly worked wonders as the film enjoyed four sold-out public screenings in a row.
Just as Chinese films have won the Grand Prix for two years running, Iranian productions have accomplished the same feat in FIFF's International competition: Short Films. Last year, it was Mrs. Iran's Husband which was crowned Best International Short Film. This year, the award went to Bitter Chocolate by Sahar Sotoodeh. The International Jury: Short Films, comprising Alexandre O. Philippe (Switzerland, USA), Sarah Spale (Switzerland) and Tamer Ruggli (Switzerland), praised the film, which tells the story of a teenage girl forced to have an illegal abortion in Tehran, for its "power, humour and sensitivity". Mañana, by Colombian director Ingrid Pérez López, won the CH Cinema Network Award. The winner of the inaugural Seniors' Jury Award, chosen by three retired film buffs, was Amplified, a Jordanian-Palestinian co-production by director Dina Naser.
"China and the Grand Prix, Iran and the Best International Short Film Award, both are cases of history repeating itself, but for the better", Thierry Jobin, Artistic Director of FIFF enthusiastically notes. "The same applies to the number of official admissions. Last year, FIFF did come close to reaching the symbolic 50,000 mark. But it's already clear that the 39th edition of FIFF is on course to smash this record. There is more great news for the organising team: more than 70 screenings sold out this year, compared to 43 last year. This reflects growing public enthusiasm and is proof of the important role that cinemas play in bringing film fans, generations and cultures together. Ultimately, it also shows that FIFF is meeting a real need." Mathieu Fleury, President of the FIFF Association, greatly appreciates the public's unwavering loyalty: "We see these record attendance figures as a wonderful continuation of the standing ovation that happened after the Opening Film. The growing public success of the Festival provides us with a solid and invaluable foundation on which to build our development strategy for the years ahead." Another major success this year, and an integral part of FIFF's identity, was Planète Cinéma, the Festival's programme that seeks to nurture the next generation of film buffs. Once again, over 11,000 school-aged children and adolescents had the opportunity to watch selected films from the FIFF programme either at special morning screenings held throughout Festival week or at other points during the year.
Global attendance has doubled since the addition of the Genre Cinema, New Territory and the Midnight Screenings sections in 2012 by the then newly appointed artistic director Thierry Jobin. "We have managed to change the minds of all those who thought that the Festival was arcane or elitist, by being open to popular cinema while preserving FIFF's DNA and continuing to amplify the voices of filmmakers from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Eastern Europe, particularly through our competitions. Credit for the widening appeal of the Festival must go to the remarkable work of our organising teams, for example the cultural projects team, particularly on the schools' programme, or the communication team, which has successfully revamped the Festival's image to make it a fun, welcoming, appetising and thought-provoking event."
Screened after the closing ceremony, the Closing Film Bread & Roses is a documentary consisting of footage filmed secretly by Afghan women which capture their everyday acts of defiance in the face of Taliban repression. It is also available to watch on the pay-per-view Apple TV+ platform. FIFF fans can continue their cinematic adventure on Festival Scope. From today, the platform will be showing the entries in this year's International competition: Short Films, as well as selected films from the New Territory: Sri Lanka section. Several films related to the Genre Cinema: Murders and Mysteries section are available on the Play Suisse platform and the European libraries' streaming platform, filmfriend. Some of FIFF films will be freely available on all three of these platforms until the end of April.
FIFF has gone from strength to strength over the last decade and the 39th edition brings its roaring 30s to a fitting end. The Festival is now ready to embrace its fourth decade. FIFF's landmark 40th edition will be held from 20th to 29th March 2026.
Screening of the awarded films
Sunday 30th March – Rex 1
11:00: Special Jury Award, My Friend An Delie
13:30: Best International Short Film, Bitter Chocolate, and Grand Prix, Black Dog
16:00: Audience Award, Nawi
