Aside from its international competitions, FIFF offers each year six or seven sections which celebrate cinema from all around the world. But there is much more to the Festival than films! FIFF also offers the public a great choice of side events, including Q&As, panel discussions, exhibitions, as well as special receptions and parties.
The themes of parallel sections of FIFF24 will be announced over the coming months, from October to February.
The complete programme will be revealed on Wednesday 28th February 2024 around noon.
Scroll down to view FIFF23's programme by section.
GENRE CINÉMA (I): Bon appétit!
Presentation
Food has always inspired filmmakers. But rather than listing the films that deal directly or indirectly with this subject, we prefer to recall the scene from The Gold Rush, which shows Charlie Chaplin greedily eating his shoe. The menu that the Genre Cinema programmes will dish up this year is no less original. From bittersweet comedies to spicy horror films, from bloody thrillers to starred documentaries, it promises to be a delectable feast.
The films
| ADIEU PARIS Édouard Baer, 2021 France | A BANQUET Ruth Paxton, 2021 United Kingdom |
| DIARIO DI SPEZIE Massimo Donati, 2021 Italy | FEAST Brillante Mendoza, 2022 Philippines, Hong Kong |
| HEAVY CRAVING Hsieh Pei-ju, 2019 Taïwan | POULET FRITES Jean Libon, Yves Hinant, 2021 France, Belgium |
| RECIPE FOR FAREWELL Lee Ho-jae, 2022 South Korea | SOUL KITCHEN Fatih Akin, 2009 Germany, France, Italy |
| THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw, 2020 Italy, Greece, United States | TUESDAY CLUB Annika Appelin, 2022 Sweden |
The event
| Movie and a dinner |  |
| Conversation | Marc Atallah and Thierry Jobin La folle histoire culinaire de la fiction. Wednesday 22.03.2023 | 18:00-19:30 | ARENA 4 In French only Details and booking |  |
| Houmous et mousse – Kitchen workshop |  |
GENRE CINEMA (II) : Audience choice
Presentation
FIFF is currently the only film festival in the world that invites the public to curate an entire section of its programme. For the last three years, the public has shown exquisite taste. This year is no different: from Delicatessen to Ramen Shop, over 220 people have voted for their five favourite food-related films. It is an impressive choice that is sure to whet the appetite and touch the hearts of the FIFF audience. It is also a choice that reflects FIFF’s philosophy and its tireless exploration of uncharted territory..
The films
| DELICATESSEN Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1991 France | AN (SWEET BEAN) Naomi Kawase, 2015 Japan |
| THE LUNCHBOX Ritesh Batra, 2013 India, France, Germany, United States | FRIED GREEN TOMATOES Jon Avnet, 1992 United States |
| RAMEN SHOP Eric Khoo, 2018 Singapore, Japan, France | |
The events
| Movie and a dinner | |
| Conversation | Marc Atallah and Thierry Jobin La folle histoire culinaire de la fiction. Wednesday 22.03.2023 | 18:00-19:30 | ARENA 4 In French only Details and booking | |
| Houmous et mousse – Kitchen workshop | |
MAKE IT FAMILY TIME
Presentation
A family trip to the cinema is like feasting on a delicious banquet! The Make it family time section takes kids and their parents on a journey to cinematic worlds and cultures that are rarely seen in mainstream movie theatres. On the 2023 travel itinerary are eye-opening trips to Iran, Korea, Australia and Japan. The “Programme: Miam-Miam” features dialogue-free films, which are sure to go down a treat with younger kids.
The films
| MIAM-MIAM Short films programme Suggested age 4+ | HUG ME – THE MOVIE Anna Blaszczyk, 2022 Poland, China Suggested age 6+ |
| SINGO Alireza Mohammadi Rouzbahany, 2022 Iran Suggested age 8+ | MOTHER LAND Park Jae-beom, 2022 South Korea Suggested age 10+ |
| SWEET AS Jub Clerc, 2022 Australia Suggested age 14+ | SI TU ES UN HOMME Simon Panay, 2022 Burkina Faso, France Suggested age 16+ |
The event
| Salsifylm - Stop motion workshop 11.03 and 18.03, 14:00 Fribourg Centre Booking |  |
| MEMO – Introduction to film critic 18.03, 13:45 ARENA and MEMO Details and booking |  |
DECRYPTION: Reality check
Presentation
The Decryption section has always sought to challenge our versions of reality, whether it be the depiction of Islam in western cinema (2012) or comedies that were once much loved, but are now viewed as problematic (2022). This year’s programme features four highly topical documentaries. They deal with two forms of male violence – white supremacy and violence against women – and serve as an antidote to fake news. As Raoul Peck explains in Exterminate All the Brutes, “A certain worldview holds that the historical account is only one fiction among many. This is wrong: there are no alternative facts.”
The films
| L’ARGENT, LA LIBERTÉ, UNE HISTOIRE DU FRANC CFA Katy Léna Ndiaye, 2022 Senegal, France, Belgium, Germany | BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER Nina Menkes, 2022 United States |
| EXTERMINEZ TOUTES CES BRUTES Raoul Peck, 2021 United States, France | JANE CAMPION, THE CINEMA WOMAN Julie Bertuccelli, 2022 France |
The events
| Roundtable | Decryption: Reality check Switzerland and colonisation Monday 20.03.2023 | 18:00-19:30 | ARENA 4 In German and French only Details and booking |  |
NEW TERRITORY: Republic of Moldova
Presentation
The Republic of Moldova understands that there is nothing to be gained by imitating foreign filmmaking. The country, which shares a border with Ukraine and has grown accustomed to the presence of Russian troops in Transnistria, confirms the rule that the more local a film is, the more universal its message becomes. A chance meeting with Moldovan producer Ion Gnatiuc piqued our interest. What a treasure trove we found, and in Ion we have the perfect guide to our first tour of Moldovan filmmaking. Welcome to a country of 2.5 million people, where pain is soothed with irony and poetry.
The films
| ANIŞOARA Ana-Felicia Scutelnicu, 2016 Republic of Moldova, Germany | PIGEON’S MILK Eugene Marian, 2021 Republic of Moldova, Russia |
| CARBON Ion Borș, 2022 Republic of Moldova, Romania, Spain | THE SOVIET GARDEN Dragoș Turea, 2019 Republic of Moldova, Romania |
| GOODBYE, OLEGOVICI! Eugeniu Popovici, 2019 Republic of Moldova | PLEASE HOLD THE LINE Pavel Cuzuioc, 2020 Austria |
| MALURI Lucia Taut, 2021 Republic of Moldova | |
| SHORT FILMS PROGRAMMES 1 AND 2 Republic of Moldova | |
The events
| Roundtable | New Territory Filmmaking in the Republic of Moldova Sunday 19.03.2023 | 17:15 - 18:45 | ARENA 4 InEnglish/Romanian. A simultanous translation to French is available. Details and booking |  |
SUR LA CARTE DE : Fatih Akin
Presentation
Rheingold (on the Midnight Screenings programme) is the latest film by the German director Fatih Akin, and his most successful to date. It is the crowning glory in the director’s multiaward-winning career which includes a Golden Bear in Berlin (Head-On, 2004), the Prix du scénario at Cannes (The Edge of Heaven, 2007) and a Silver Lion at the Mostra di Venezia (Soul Kitchen, 2009). However, these awards reflect only a tiny part of Akin’s single-minded creative trajectory. In Sur la carte de, Akin shares the films that have inspired him – from Bruce Lee to Kieślowski.
The films
| AMATOR Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1979 Poland | BEAT STREET Stan Lathan, 1984 United States |
| FIST OF FURY Wei Lo |, 1972 Hong Kong | MÄDCHEN IN UNIFORM Leontine Sagan, 1931 Germany |
| POLICE STORY 3: SUPERCOP Ha Yoo, 2004 South Korea | SOUL KITCHEN Fatih Akin, 2009 Germany |
| ONCE UPON A TIME IN HIGH SCHOOL: THE SPIRIT OF JEET KUNE DO Stanley Tong, 1992 Hong Kong | |
| RHEINGOLD Fatih Akin, 2022 Germany | |
The events
| Conversation | Fatih Akin Friday 24.03.2023 | 18:00-19:30 | ARENA 4 In German. A simultanous translation to French is available. Details and booking |  |
Special screenings and Events
Passeport Suisse - Films made by Swiss directors or shot in Switzerland
Séances de minuit - Not for the faint-hearted!
FIFForum - The FIFF: Not just screenings
