Friborg International Airport in Switzerland celebrated its 40th anniversary. The festival has quietly expanded its reach, emphasizing the qualities that have long made up its DNA: a strong audience, a politically engaged program, and a deep commitment to films that are often underrepresented on European screens.
This year’s edition, held from March 20 to 29 in the Swiss city, attracted more than 51,000 admissions to in-person and online screenings in a city of just 40,000 people, reinforcing the festival’s established relationship with local audiences. Rather than acting as a market or industry hub, FIFF continues to operate as a curator-led, audience-friendly festival where films are seen, shared and discussed in theaters and across the city.
Covering the jury, new initiatives and winners, the anniversary edition provides a clear picture of how the festival is refining, rather than reinventing, its identity.
“Divine Comedy”
At 40 years old, FIFF remains true to its core mission
If this commemorative edition signaled a renewal, it did so without departing from the principles that have shaped the festival for decades. The wide-ranging line-up re-centres films from regions of the world that remain underrepresented on European screens, in particular Africa, Asia and Latin America, with a spotlight on Colombian films, while also making room for films originating from conflict zones and politically fragile situations.
For artistic director Thierry Jobin, it remains the cornerstone of the event. “This film festival was born as a window to the world, a window to the Global South,” he told Variety, noting that FIFF still seeks out films that “should have been made.”
The impact FIFF has had on attendees over the years was evident in videos sent in by past filmmaker attendees that were played during the closing ceremony from Iran, Morocco, India and China.
Looking to the future, the evolution of the festival is not about reinventing for the sake of reinventing, but rather continuing to build a model based on sharing films with a loyal and ever-expanding audience.
New award shows organization’s ambition
The introduction of the Friborg Film Prize marked one of the clearest signs of evolution at this FIFF. Established in collaboration with the University of Friborg, the Lifetime Achievement Award, along with an honorary degree, aims to recognize filmmakers whose work touches on contemporary social and political issues. Tunisian director Kauser Ben Hania (The Voice of Hind Rajab), who was unanimously chosen by the jury as its first winner, reflects that position by recognizing her work that bridges documentary and fiction while tackling some of the most pressing issues of our time.
More than just a ceremonial honor, the award signals FIFF’s growing ambition to assert itself in a broader national and international dialogue, treating film not just as an art form, but as a way to study and consider contemporary issues.
Ben Hania, who describes himself as an “eternal student”, said in response to the award: “I make films to learn…Every film is like getting a Ph.D.”
Get more visibility with less film
Another feature of FIFF is its relatively compact lineup. In recent years, festivals have reduced the number of films they screen, a change that has given each title more prominence in the program. Rather than competing with dozens of overlapping premieres, films tend to have wider circulation among audiences, creating a common point of reference across festivals. “By showing fewer movies, we’ve grown our audience,” Jobim said. “People are seeing the same movies more often, giving each film a more valuable place.” That momentum is evident in Audience Award winner DJ Ahmet, directed by Georgi M. Unkowski, which built strong word-of-mouth across festivals and is scheduled to be released in Swiss theaters next week. The result is a program that allows individual titles to break through, gain momentum, and generate discussion throughout the festival.
Different types of jury systems
One of the more distinctive aspects of FIFF is the way the jury is composed. In addition to an international jury of industry veterans, the festival includes a youth jury, an elderly jury, an ecumenical jury made up of members from various faith traditions, and a jury made up of students and artists from other fields, many of whom are not industry experts. These different perspectives form a prize list that goes beyond insider opinion. The result is a variety of winners that don’t always line up, illustrating how different viewers can evaluate a film. In a festival built around the audience, that feels intentional. Rather than separating public reaction from official awards, FIFF incorporates it directly into the process.
Awards that reflect a politically engaged lineup
The awards largely reflected trends in this year’s program, with several of the top awards going to films shaped by political pressure. The Grand Prize went to Ali Asghari’s The Divine Comedy, a satire of Iranian censorship and bureaucracy, while the Special Jury Prize went to Nigerian-British film director Akinola Davis Jr.’s Shadow of the Father. Ukrainian films also received significant attention, with Zhanna Ozilna’s Honeymoon winning both the Critics Award and the Youth Jury Award. In the short film competition, Iranian director Armin Etemadi’s “Prehistory” won the top prize, continuing the streak of Iranian short films winning awards at the festival.
When accepting awards, several filmmakers spoke directly about the situation in their home countries, both in Iran and Ukraine. For example, Asghari was unable to attend the festival, but instead of applause he sent a video message asking for a minute’s silence for the victims of political violence in Iran. These awards emphasized that this is a festival that not only shows films, but continues to resonate beyond the screen.
