True to its DNA, the Geneva International Film Festival (GIF) will offer, from November 1 to 30, a unique panorama of the best contemporary audiovisual productions, including films, series and leading immersive experiences. The series program is distinguished this year by the exclusive presentation of highly anticipated works such as the latest creation by the team of The Bridge (2011), Whiskey on the Rocks or Families Like Oursby the brilliant Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, A devoted frienda series on the mythomaniac of the Bataclan played by an imperial Laure Calamy, Generation Zthe series by Ben Wheatley which promises to set England ablaze this Halloween, The Art of Joyan intense literary adaptation supervised by Valeria Golino, as well as the Swiss series Winter Palace, On the high seaset Those who blush which complete this prestigious program.
At the same time, films that push the boundaries of the cinematic experience will also be on view, including The Brutalist (Brady Corbet | 2024 | US), Future Diva (Giulia Louise Steigerwalt | 2024 | IT), Kneecap (Rich Peppiatt | 2024 | IE, GB), Rumours (Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, Guy Maddin | 2024 | CA, DE), et Spermageddon (Rasmus Andre Sivertsen, Tommy Wirkola | 2024 | NO).
Finally, the festival will offer striking immersive experiences such as the Taiwanese performance Free Ur HeadJoséphine’s collaborative experience Steal me wildthe monumental digital restoration of Panorama of the Battle of Murtenet The golden keya cutting-edge AI-generated video installation.
In total, nearly 93 works (44 films, 26 series, 23 immersive experiences) including 11 world premieres, 3 international premieres, 1 European premiere and 54 Swiss premieres will make Geneva vibrate for around ten days, paying tribute to the the creative excitement of the audiovisual industry of today and tomorrow.
WhileAva DuVernay will receive the Film & Beyond prize, the Professor Sarah Kenderdine will share his artistic and heritage vision within the framework of the section Tales of Swiss Innovationet Leos Carax will return to his unique and fascinating universe during a moderated conference. Aude will also be present Léa Rapin et Souheila Yacoub (Planet *), Kirill Serebrennikov (Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie), Louis Garrel (Saint-Ex), Pierre Monnard, Lindsay Shapero (Winter Palace) et Niels Schneider (The World does not exist), alongside Benjamin Voisin, Stefan Crepon (Playing with fire) and Patrick Muroni (Rave).
The GIFF enters a new decade with the launch of a core project, the Swiss Series Award. First Swiss competition rewarding the best series script, with a prize of 20,000 CHF, offered by the SSA and Suissimage cultural funds.
The Winter Palace series: previewed this Saturday, November 2
The argument for this new series: The Swiss Alps, 1899. The ambitious Swiss hotelier André Morel has a bold vision: a five-star hotel that will remain open throughout the winter season. But his risky business will be undermined by extreme weather conditions, somewhat boorish staff and customer demands. This eight-episode series, inspired by true events, depicts the birth of luxury Alpine tourism and more generally of winter holidays and offers, in addition to a sumptuous period drama, captivating stories of characters filled with desires, of aspirations and hidden loves.
Its director Pierre Monnard, a true figurehead of Swiss audiovisual, is known in particular for his films Platzspitzbaby (2020) and Bisons (2024), the latter having collected three trophies at the 2024 Swiss Cinema Awards, as well as for the series Hors -season (2022) and Wilder S01 and S02 (2017, 2019). He will be accompanied by Cyril Metzger, Astrid Roos and Axel Granberger, all of whom appear in the casting of this extraordinary project, as well as by creator Lindsay Shapero. Please note that Winter Palace will be presented as part of the Highlights section which brings together all the major events of the Festival.
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