30 October – 8 November

GIFF – 32nd Geneva International Film Festival

Founded in 1995, the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF) is one of Geneva’s longest-standing cinema festivals and among the first in the world to integrate television into its programming. A hub for experimentation, encounters, and celebration, the ten-day festival presents films, series, and immersive audiovisual experiences to some 35,000 visitors each year. GIFF also hosts the Geneva Digital Market, Switzerland’s only meeting point for professionals in innovation and audiovisual content, and maintains year-round activities including school programmes and GIFF UNLIMITED events. Recognized as a key driver of Switzerland’s audiovisual sector, GIFF combines artistic ambition with international reach.

Genève,
Switzerland

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3 September – 10 October

Double Extraction de Nibards

Independent Cinema

Halle Nord

Ciel Sourdeau’s eight-minute, seventeen-second video unfolds as a subversive tutorial: part gore, part experimental film, it repurposes pedagogical forms into an improvised, transgressive bricolage. Mixed by Adrien Kessler, the piece layers tactile sound and rough-edged visuals to probe bodies, identity and the limits of instruction. Its stripped, confrontational aesthetic alternates shock and dark humour, inviting a re-examination of learning rituals and the politics of representation through intimate, unsettling imagery.

Opening: 3 September, 18:00

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28 January – 23 December

Our Biodiversity: Memory game

Lectures & Workshops

Jardin botanique

This interactive memory challenge invites participants to test their memory while exploring practical ways to preserve biodiversity based on Geneva’s municipal strategy. Players match “before-and-after” images that illustrate individual and institutional actions, and each correct pair reveals concise information explaining the measure. The activity examines themes such as habitat restoration, species-friendly practices, urban greening and policy responses, helping participants understand the impact and rationale behind everyday and organisational conservation choices.

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28 January – 23 December

Create Your Own Rousseau-Style Herbarium

Lectures & Workshops

Jardin botanique

This workshop explores the traditional process of assembling a herbarium specimen, inspired by Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s collections. Participants learn scientific techniques for pressing and mounting dried plants on old paper, practice botanical labelling and nomenclature, and select specimens to create a personal herbarium sheet. The session examines preservation methods, identification principles and the historical context of Rousseau’s approach, combining practical skills with scientific insight to produce a lasting botanical object.

In French.

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Sunday 6 September

Boycott of the Allianz-Sponsored Cinema Day

Independent Cinema

Cinélux

Organized with BDS, CETIM and the Lebanese Film Festival, this programme reflects on the cultural and political reasons for boycotting an Allianz‑sponsored cinema day. It presents a curated shorts programme (Some Strings), whose formal experiments and intimate textures examine memory and connection; and the feature Un monde fragile & merveilleux, introduced live and followed by a videoconference with director Cyril Aris and actress Mounia Akl. Discussions include activists from BDS and aim to situate the cinematic work within broader political debates. Proceeds from the shorts session will be donated to the YAFFA association for Palestine.

In Arabic with French subtitles.

17:00 – SOME STRINGS de AA. VV. (short films)
Followed by a discussion on the reasons for the boycott with guests (in partnership with BDS Geneva).

19:00 – UN MONDE FRAGILE & MERVEILLEUX by Cyril Aris
Followed by a video conference with director Cyril Aris and actress Mounia Akl.

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Sunday 6 September, 19:00

Festival de la Bâtie – Nihil oder Alle Zeit der Welt

Independent Cinema

Alhambra

Uli M. Schueppel’s 1987 debut feature plunges into an apocalyptic nocturne of despair, mysticism and a stark Berlin underground aesthetic. Rendered in raw, expressionistic images, the film follows fragmented lives on the edge of collapse, blending documentary grit with poetic surrealism. Alexander Hacke’s original score—rooted in industrial textures and haunting melodies—underscores the film’s hypnotic atmosphere; his live re-creation heightens the visceral drama and the work’s otherworldly intensity.

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Sunday 6 September, 14:00

Artists’ Rendez-vous: In Capital Letters

Lectures & Workshops

MAH

Serval, a Geneva graffiti artist, and Kalonji, an illustrator from Geneva, lead monthly artist encounters that combine dialogue and shared creative practice.

Participants discuss works in situ and create responses alongside the exhibition, exploring processes of observation, interpretation and collaborative making. The session examines how immediate exchange with artworks can inspire new approaches to image-making and public practice. Attendees are invited to experiment with materials and techniques in response to exhibited works, fostering critical reflection on artistic gestures.

In French.

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GIFF – 32nd Geneva International Film Festival