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.
Below you will find the parallel sections of FIFF 2025.
GENRE CINEMA (I): Murders and Mysteries
Presentation
FIFF can already announce the Genre Cinema theme and line-up. Aptly named Murders and Mysteries, the section will forensically investigate whodunnit films from around the world. The stories told by the ten or so films in the Genre cinema: Murders and Mysteries line-up range from light-hearted, cheery and entertaining to chilling and dark. But regardless of tone, their deft cinematographic and narrative choices shake up preconceived notions and lock in the attention of the audience, leaving them more deeply invested – or, in some cases, destabilised – in the quest for the truth.
GENRE CINEMA (II) : Audience choice
Presentation
For the fifth year running, the FIFF has invited the public to curate part of the Festival programme. This year, the public voted for their favourite five whodunnit films from a shortlist of 50. The audience’s choices perfectly complement this year’s Genre Cinema (I): Murders and Mysteries line-up. It is with great pleasure – and a certain eagerness to see them on the Festival’s silver screens – that FIFF announces here the five culprits: (1) The Silence of the Lambs, by Jonathan Demme (USA, 1991); (2) Se7en, by David Fincher (USA, 1995); (3) Vertigo, by Alfred Hitchcock (USA, 1958); (4) 8 Women, by François Ozon (France, 2002); (5) Rear Window, by Alfred Hitchcock (USA, 1954).
MAKE IT FAMILY TIME
Presentation
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 2025 travel itinerary are eye-opening trips to places like Indonesia, Brazil and Hungary, to name a few. These tales of friendship and adventures are a real treat for all the family. Our programme of dialogue-free animated films will leave our youngest audience members in seventh heaven!
DECRYPTION: Africa beyond the Cold War
Presentation
This section explores African cinema during the Cold War through
three films that tell stories of personal and collective struggle. Made by filmmakers who were trained in the former Soviet Union, they testify to the ties which the Communist bloc established with the continent. They offer diverse and thought-provoking perspectives on changing colonial and post-colonial societies. The quest for justice and tales of resistance and solidarity which these films depict are also global issues that transcend the simple binary oppositions of North versus South, East versus West.
NEW TERRITORY: Sri Lanka
Presentation
The end of British colonial rule in 1948 ushered in not only an economic and cultural revival in Sri Lanka but also political upheaval, ethnic tensions and armed conflict, most notably the civil war that tore the country apart for decades. Although the rift between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities remains, as recent history shows, Sri Lankan cinema holds out hope that reconciliation will ultimately prevail. FIFF invited director Keerthigan Sivakumar, who was born in 1988 in Jaffna and came to Switzerland as a refugee in 2009, to curate the New Territory section. He sought the input of other filmmakers to ensure that the programme fully captures the diversity of Sri Lankan cinematic output over the last 10 years and gives equal weight to works by Sinhalese and Tamil directors.
SUR LA CARTE DE: Jérôme Paillard
Presentation
Until 2022, Jérôme Paillard was the executive director of Cannes’
Marché du Film, one of the largest movie marketplaces in the world. For three decades, he oversaw the management, expansion and reinvention of this global hub for film funding, sales and distribution. His consummate professionalism, dedication and adaptability have ensured that the Marché du Film lets small arthouse films shine just as brightly as mainstream blockbusters. Ever generous with his deep knowledge and sincere love of cinema, Paillard has since shared his industry experience and insights with film markets in South America (Ventana Sur) and South Asia (Goa).
Special screenings and Events
FIFF Favourites - pearls from the artistic commission
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
