COVID-19: Change of plans for FIFF 2020

Wednesday 04 March 2020

The 34th edition of the Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF), which was to take place between 20th and 28th March 2020, has been cancelled. The FIFF team is currently working on an alternative format that would, circumstances permitting, make it possible to screen at least parts of the 2020 programme over the year.

Owing to the COVID-19 outbreak, FIFF 2020 (20th – 28th March) has been called off. Following recommendations from the authorities, and a subsequent call from the DICS (Cantonal Department of Education, Culture and Sport) to cancel the school screenings – a cornerstone of the Festival – the FIFF Organising Committee has decided not to go ahead with the 2020 edition. It concluded that it would be impossible to comply with the important public health and safety restrictions which the current situation demands and at the same time offer the public the cordial, open and quality experience it has come to expect from the Festival.

The Festival team is currently exploring a range of options that would allow not only the public to enjoy the FIFF 2020 programme, albeit in a different format, but also the Festival to celebrate the filmmakers and their work it had chosen to showcase this year. Some of the alternatives the FIFF are currently looking into include screening the programme online or hosting special screenings throughout the year, notably for films in the following sections: Genre Cinema: Topsy-Turvy Worlds (alternate history), New Territory: Rwanda, and Planète Cinéma (school programme).

For anyone who has already bought tickets or passes for FIFF 2020, three options are available: use them for the 35th edition, ask for a refund or, as a gesture of support, donate the refund to FIFF. A form is available on our special page.

FIFF will provide more detailed information about the revised 34th edition during its next press conference, now rescheduled for 10.15 am, Wednesday, 11th March at the Safe Gallery BCF (Boulevard de Pérolles 1, Fribourg).

Due to restrictions currently in place in the canton of Bern, FIFF has also decided to cancel its preview event, planned for Thursday, 12th March 2020 at the Kino REX.

In the meantime, FIFF’s operational director Philippe Clivaz is available if you have any questions.

Thank you for all your support to date and we look forward to sharing our plans for the “34.5” edition of FIFF with you in the very near future.