The 40th Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF) closes with a new attendance record and more than sixty sold-out screenings. During the Ceremony, the first Fribourg Cinema Award – a lifetime achievement award – was given to Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania, while five of the twelve feature films and three of the fifteen shorts in the International Competition received prizes. The Iranian satire Divine Comedy by Ali Asgari won the 2026 Grand Prix, while the Special Jury Award went to the Nigerian film My Father’s Shadow. Iranian cinema continued its remarkable trajectory, winning the Best International Short Film Award for the third consecutive year, this time for Prehistoric by Armin Etemadi. Ukrainian productions also stood out, with Honeymoon receiving two awards (Critics’ Choice Award and Youth Jury Award), and the short film Easter Day winning the Seniors’ Jury Award. The Ecumenical Jury Award went to the Chinese film The Sun Rises on Us All, while Festival audiences gave a warm reception to the Macedonian film DJ Ahmet, which received the Audience Award. FIFF continues on 29th March with screenings of selected award-winning films at cinemotion Rex (Fribourg), with its online offering available until 30 April, and throughout the year with Les Délices du FIFF and Le Petit FIFF.
The Grand Prix of the 40th FIFF went to Divine Comedy by Iranian director Ali Asgari, who portrays the absurdity of bureaucracy and censorship in his home country. Composed of Manuel Abramovich (Argentina/Germany), Milcah Cherotich (Kenya), and Ahmad Ghossein (Lebanon), the FIFF 2026 International Feature Film Jury highlighted the relevance of this film – which has been banned by Iran’s Ministry of Culture – in a geopolitical context marked by increasing repression and eroded civil liberties: “In a world marked by pain and war, and in a country where filmmakers must constantly improvise and invent ways to produce images, it reminds us that artists must continue to create, express their unease, and resist.” Thanks to Swiss distributor trigon-film, the Grand Prix will be released across German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino from 23rd April, and in French-speaking Switzerland from 29th April. The second prize of the International Feature Film Jury, the Special Jury Award, went to the Nigerian film My Father’s Shadow by Akinola Davies Jr, which, in the Jury’s words, “carries a quiet emotional truth, one that holds grief, love, and memory with extraordinary sensitivity.”
The only film to receive two awards in the 2026 line-up, Honeymoon by Ukrainian director Zhanna Ozirna won both the Critics’ Choice Award and the Youth Jury Award. The latter recognised “a disturbing work that captures the alienation of everyday life caused by a war so close to home.” The Critics’ Choice Jury also praised the decision to shoot “on location in Ukraine” and to use “filmmaking as an act of presence and commitment.” The Ecumenical Jury Award recognised how the Chinese feature The Sun Rises on Us All by Cai Shangjun “aptly captures the depth of life’s inextricable paths” thanks to its “restrained cinematography”.
Finally, the highly coveted Audience Award was given to the North Macedonian production DJ Ahmet by Georgi M. Unkovski. Drawing four consecutive sold-out screenings, this feature film will be released in German-speaking Switzerland from 2nd April and in French-speaking Switzerland from 8th April, via distributor trigon-film. The film also had 24 screenings as part of the Planète Cinéma school programme – a key component of FIFF’s identity – which set a new post-pandemic record, with more than 12,000 students having the chance to discover several films from the programme.
In the short film category, the Best International Short Film Award was given to an Iranian film for the third consecutive year: Prehistoric by Armin Etemadi. Composed of Manon Mullener (Switzerland), Michel FR (Switzerland), and Gérard-Philippe Mabillard (Switzerland), the Jury praised “its breathtaking aesthetic, its poetic settings, its outstanding performances, and its gateway to the imagination.” Upon Sunrise by Serbian filmmaker Stefan Ivančić received the CH Cinema Network Award, while Easter Day, a short film by Ukrainian director Mykola Zasieiev, received the Seniors’ Jury Award.
Swiss cinema also received recognition within the short film programme featuring works from the five Swiss film schools. Bringing together filmmakers from Colombia (New Territory section), the Foreign Visa Jury awarded the Foreign Visa Award to Recherche personne prête à tout contre somme considérable by Maéna Hirt (ECAL), and the Special Emerging Talent Award to Beth Barnes (ZHdK) for Eggshells. Finally, Warten bis zum Ruck by Fynn Gröber (HSLU) received the Prix Röstigraben.
At the end of the Ceremony, Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania was presented with the first Fribourg Cinema Award, an honorary degree recognising her outstanding contribution to the world through the art of cinema, by Katharina Fromm, Rector of the University of Fribourg.
FIFF is already set to reach a new record for official attendance (51,193 box office tickets and online viewings in 2025). Final figures will be announced once the online offering, which continues until the end of April, has concluded. This exceptional turnout was complemented by strong attendance at parallel events, particularly those made possible by the immediate appeal of the Festival’s new hub, the Nomad Wood Nest, which provided a buzzing festival centre that brought together long-time FIFF supporters, newcomers, and current and future partners. Mathieu Fleury expressed his satisfaction with this success in his final edition as President of the FIFF Association: “This Festival hub, which I have dreamed of since taking office in 2018, and this new attendance record undeniably mark solid milestones on which our future development will be built. FIFF brings together all audiences and, this year, all the sectors that contribute to the depth and magic of the Fribourg region. From the next edition onwards, I look forward to passing on a thriving Festival to my successor.”
Artistic Director Thierry Jobin added: “It seems we have not taken for granted the greatest gift our audience gives us each year: its trust. We often speak of turning points in the Festival’s history. This edition was perhaps the most important one. The Festival has gained decisive ground within cultural, local, international, political and economic networks, allowing it to reach every possible audience. We are already using this momentum to prepare for 2027.”
The Ceremony was followed by a screening of the closing film, Homo Sapiens? by Mariano Cohn and Gastón Duprat, the biggest Argentine box-office success of 2025. For audience members wishing to continue the FIFF experience, the Festival Scope platform now offers the chance to watch or re-watch some of the competition short films and a selection from the New Territory: Colombia section. Highlights from the Genre Cinema: Merci Maman! section are also available online, alongside Swiss productions and co-productions on Play Suisse, and films and series on the European library platform filmfriend. These three offerings are available free of charge until the end of April.
FIFF’s 41st edition will be held from 12th to 21st March 2027.
Screening of the awarded films
Sunday 29th March – Rex 1
11:00: Special Jury Award, My Father's Shadow
13:30: Best International Short Film, Prehistoric, and Grand Prix, Divine Comedy
16:00: Audience Award, DJ Ahmet
