FIFDH (Geneva International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights) organisers announced February 13 the programme for its 23rd edition, running March 7 to 16, in the process calling for a re-examination of “our political systems andto forge community in the face of the rise of far-right movements as well as the threat they pose to fundamental rights.”
Over the course of ten days, FIFDH “highlights the power of cinema to transform dominant narratives and imagine new futures”, the festival underlines, bringing together over 260 activists and filmmakers committed to defending human rights.
“The guests at this edition encourage us to rethink the collective, to place care and solidarity at the centre of our relationships and to refuse to give in to astonishment in the face of deadly conflicts, declining freedoms and disregard for international law,” say FIFDH co-editorial directors Laura Longobardi and Laila Alonso Huarte.
Guests include Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk, activist Paul Watson, author Douglas Kennedy, journalist Salomé Saqué, surgeon Ghassan Abu Sittah and actress Ángela Molina (Cosmos, by Germinal Roaux).
Key themes up for debate (as illustrated by the films in selection) include extremism as a global threat to freedom; the Middle East in crisis; the struggles and resilience of Civil Society; Switzerland in the hot Seat – the future of humanitarian law; feminist struggles on the front line; and transforming outrage and anger into solidarity and kindness in the face of political, environmental, and institutional upheaval.
The documentaries in selection are as follows:
COMPETITION – CREATIVE DOCUMENTARIES
- A State of Passion by Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi (2024, Palestine, Libya) International premiere
- Karuara, People of the River by Miguel Aráoz Cartagena and Stephanie Boyd (2024, Peru) Swiss premiere
- Khartoum by Anas Saeed, Rawia Alhag, Ibrahim Snoopy, Timeea M. Ahmed and Phil Cox (2025. Sudan, UK, Germany, Qatar) Swiss premiere
- Les Filles du Nil by Nada Riyadh and Ayman El Amir (2024, Egypt, France, Denmark, Qatar, Saudi Arabia)
- Les Immortels by Maja Tschumi (2024, Switzerland, Iraq) Swiss premiere
- Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat by Johan Grimonprez (2024, Belgium, France, Netherlands) Swiss Romandy premiere
- To Close Your Eyes and See Fire by Nicola von Leffern and Jakob Carl Sauer (Austria) Swiss Romandy premiere
- Trains by Maciej J. Drygas (Poland, Lithuania) Swiss premiere
- Writing Hawa by Najiba Noori and Rasul Noori (France, Netherlands, Qatar, Afghanistan) Swiss premiere
FOCUS COMPETITION
- Flowers of Ukraine by Adelina Borets (2024, Poland, Ukraine) Swiss premiere
- Hacking Hate by Simon Klose (2024 Sweden, Denmark, Norway) Swiss premiere
- Made in Ethiopia by Xinyan Yu et Max Duncan (2024, Canada, Ethiopia, US, UK, Denmark) Swiss premiere
- Queer Camp by Lucas van der Rhee and Chris Westendorp (2024, Netherlands) International premiere
- Scars of Growth by Monika Grassl and Linda Osusky (2024, Austria, Germany) World premiere
- The Bibi Files by Alexis Bloom (2024, US) Swiss premiere
- The Last Republican by Steve Pink (2024, US) European premiere
- The Tender Revolution by Annelie Boroș (2024, Germany) International premiere
- There is Another Way by Stephen Apkon (2024, US, Palestine, Israel) Swiss premiere
- Undercover: Exposing the Far Right by Havana Marking (2024, UK) Swiss premiere
- UNRWA, 75 ans d’une historie provisoire by Nicolas Wadimoff and Lyana Saleh (2025, Switzerland) World premiere
DOCUMENTARIES OUT OF COMPETITION
- 5 Seasons of Revolution by Lina (2023, Germany, Syria, Norway, Netherlands, Qatar) Swiss premiere
- Eat Bitter by Pascale Appora-Gnekindy and Ningyi Sun (2023, Central African Republic, China)
- High Tide Don’t Hide by Niva Kay, Emily McDowell, Nia Phipps and Phil Stebbing (2021, NZ) Swiss premiere
- L’Emprise des sentiments by Bernadette Saint-Remi (2023, Belgium)
- Life is not a Competition, but I’m Winning by Julia Fuhr Mann (2023, Germany) Swiss Romandy premiere
- Mediha by Hasan Oswald (2023, US) Swiss premiere
- Sultana’s Dream by Isabel Herguera (2023, Canada, France, Greece) Swiss Romandy premiere
- The Veto by Tim Slade (2025, US) World premiere
As earlier reported FIFDH Impact Days unveiled January 29 its 2025 programme which brings together NGOs, filmmakers, impact practitioners and funders to develop joint impact strategies around urgent, present-day issues. (Read here)
