Saturday 30 January, 17:15

Persepolis

Free

Directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, Persepolis adapts Satrapi’s graphic memoir into a stark, black-and-white animated portrait. Following young Marjane from 1978 Tehran through exile in Vienna and adolescence, the film traces personal and political upheaval without sensationalism. Its graphic-novel rhythms, bold contrasts, and intimate close-ups create a textured emotional register that balances irony, grief and resilience. Themes of identity, displacement and coming of age are rendered with austere beauty and lively wit, giving the story a clear, unforgettable voice.

Rue Henri-Veyrassat 9,
1202 Genève

Photo Credit: illustrations Marjane Satrapi

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Photo Credit: illustrations Marjane Satrapi

1 July – 1 September

Les Étoiles

Independent Cinema

Les Cinémas du Grütli

Spanning a century of cinema, this retrospective traces the evolving face of stardom from silent-era pioneers to contemporary icons. Through nine thematic chapters and a curated selection of one hundred films, it examines the star system, shifting modernities, emerging representations of desire and identity, and the rise of anti-heroes. Shot and assembled for a keen focus on the human visage, the program foregrounds cinematic techniques that reinvent how films capture presence and persona.

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Tuesday 25 August, 20:00

Special Screening: Mélodie

Independent Cinema

Cinéma Bio

Directed by Anka Schmid, Mélodie follows people of diverse origins as they engage with singing, alone and in groups. The film treats voice as a reservoir of resilience and comfort, tracing how song awakens memories and sustains the spirit amid life’s uncertainties. Shot with attentive, intimate framing, its approach blends observational realism and lyrical moments, exploring community, identity and the restorative power of collective voice.

In presence of director Anka Schmid.

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20 – 25 August

Screening: The North

Independent Cinema

Cinélux

Thirty days of walking across Scotland: two longtime friends trek six hundred kilometres through the Scottish Highlands to reconnect with each other, renew their bond with nature and recover parts of themselves they had lost. Shot in expansive, luminous landscapes and driven by subtle, naturalistic performances, the film offers a careful, contemplative portrait of time’s passage, friendship and the small, telling details of everyday life. A meditative road movie that privileges atmosphere, silence and quiet emotional shifts.

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Tuesday 26 August, 21:00

Outdoor Screening: Slingshot Hiphop

Independent Cinema

Place des Volontaires

Jackie Reem Salloum’s documentary traces the rise of Palestinian hip hop in the late 1990s through intimate portraits of artists such as DAM, Mahmood Shalabi (MWR), Abeer Al Zinati, Arapeyat and Palestinian Rapperz. Shot with observational empathy, the film blends road-like encounters and performance footage to capture anger, resilience and lyrical dissent against occupation, inequality and gender discrimination. Raw, rhythmic and compassionate, it foregrounds music as a vehicle of identity, resistance and communal longing.

Original version with French subtitles

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Thursday 27 August, 20:00

Festival de la Bâtie – Sirāt

Independent Cinema

Les Cinémas du Grütli

Óliver Laxe’s Sirāt is a hypnotic cinematic journey propelled by electronic pulses and a magnetic soundtrack by Kangding Ray. The film follows a collective adventure where music becomes an agent of attraction, moving between communal euphoria and moments of existential vertigo. Shot with immersive sound design and a patient, sensory camera, it explores desire, identity and the communal power of rhythm. Intense and meditative, Sirāt blends documentary textures and lyrical abstraction to map emotional intensities without conventional narrative anchors.

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Wednesday 2 September, 20:00

Special Screening: Laundry

Independent Cinema

Cinéma Bio

Zamo Mkhwanazi’s powerful drama follows a young man who fights to protect his family, his dignity and his dream of freedom against the brutal backdrop of apartheid. Shot with intimate, unflinching cinematography and a measured, humanist gaze, the film blends raw realism with moments of tenderness. It explores courage, resistance and the moral costs of survival, portraying how hope and personal dignity can become sources of strength even in the darkest circumstances.

In presence of director Zamo Mkhwanazi

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Persepolis