LET’S OPEN THE DEBATE AT THE FIFDH

The FIFDH is the leading international event dedicated to film and human rights. For the past 15 years, the festival has taken place in the heart of Geneva, the human rights capital, parallel to the annual main session of the UN Human Rights Council in March.

2018 ACTIVITY REPORT >>

(In french)

A 10-day forum parallel to the UN Human Rights Council

Each evening, the FIFDH provides high-level debates in which human rights violations are denounced and debated robustly, wherever they occur. Diplomats, NGOs, victims, artists, philanthropists, activists, journalists, decision makers, and the general public are invited to debate their views in this unique setting. All the discussions are broadcasted live online and posess their dedicated hashtag : you can submit questions and engage with the debate directly, wherever you are.

Prominent personalities who have participated in these debates include : Nobel Prize laureates Shirin Ebadi, Joseph Stiglitz and Tawakkol Karman, High Commissioners Navi Pillay and Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, whistleblowers Edward Snowden and Jesselyn Radack, former President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff, activists Pussy Riot and the Yes Men, artists JR, Nancy Huston, Taslima Nasrin and Ai Weiwei, lawyers Fatou Bensouda, Carla del Ponte and Baltasar Garzon, diplomats Leila Shahid and Samantha Power, journalist Anna Politkovskaïa, as well as leading human rights thinkers Pinar Selek, Rokhaya Diallo, Edgar Morin, Jean Ziegler and Stéphane Hessel.

An international film festival

We run two international competitions – fiction and documentary – offering a world class selection of feature films that challenge the ways in which we see the world, in the presence of filmmakers and protagonists.
Two prestigious Juries award the Grand Prix de Genève (10’000 €), the Grand Prix Fiction (10’000 €) and the Prix Sergio Vieira de Mello (5000€).

The FIFDH brings some of the biggest names in world cinema : Angelina Jolie, Rithy Panh, Raoul Peck, Juliette Binoche, Joshua Oppenheimer, Bertrand Bonello, Joachim Lafosse, Amos Gitai, William Hurt, Abderrhamane Sissako, Nabil Ayouch, Gael Garcia Bernal, Reda Kateb, and Brillante Mendoza presented their films at the Festival

Getting communities involved

The FIFDH is an unmissable event in Geneva, attracting 36’000 festivalgoers annually. Outside of the main debates at its centre, the Festival also offers screenings at the UN, in museums, but also in community centres, sports associations, migrants’ shelters, hospitals and local prisons. Our international guests participate in these events.

School and student screenings

The FIFDH reaches out to young people: more than half of its audience is younger than 35! We offer an ambitious and exciting programme of films and debates for school students. The Festival also schedules special screenings for students of the University of Geneva, the Graduate Institute and film schools, complete with workshops and dedicated Masterclasses.

Human Rights Film Tour 2018

To celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the FIFDH, the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights are lauching a tour in 45 countries including Zimbabwe, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Guatemala.
Between 10. December 2017 and 10. December 2018, the Swiss embassies are organizing events based on the FIFDH format: screenings followed by debates with local NGOs, journalists, students and activists. For the occasion, TED has produced an animated short film on the Universal Declaration.

The FIFDH in the media

The Festival is covered extensively by international press. Our official partners are Euronews, TV5Monde, Le Huffington Post, Courrier International, ARTE, Le Temps and the Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS).

International partners

We are supported by126 partners also include Amnesty International, OMCT, FIDH, ISHR and MSF, Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the City of Geneva, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and private institutions such as the OAK Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Human Rights Film Network, the Swiss Cinémathèque, the Agence France-Presse (AFP) and the Geneva Airport.

Patrons of the festival

Sergio Vieira de Mello, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights tragically killed in Baghdad, was the Festival’s first patron, alongside singer Barbara Hendricks, filmmaker Ken Loach, former french Minister of Justice Robert Badinter, former President of Switzerland Ruth Dreifuss, actor William Hurt and Louise Arbour.

FIFDH Code of conduct

The FIFDH is a space for open and frank discussions, for sharing ideas, reports and analysis concerning human rights around the world. Featured films and debates address some of the most sensitive topics in the world today. By the simple fact of their participation, all those attending any part of the Festival and Forum commit to do so in a spirit of open-mindedness, respect and tolerance. Any form of discrimination, harassment, racism, sexism, homophobia, hate, political or social insult, or other disruptive behavior will not be tolerated in the scope of the FIFDH.