The Geneva Black Movie International Independent Film Festival has concluded its 27th edition with a total attendance of 25,750 festival-goers, who attended films, round tables, meetings and parties. In terms of public attendance at screenings, the festival reports a 10% increase.
From 16 to 25 January, audiences could discover 104 films (48 feature films and 56 short films). Nearly twenty guests were present to accompany the feature films. Two encounters left a particularly strong impression: one with Chinese actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai, who came to present the film Silent Friend by Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi, and another with Ukrainian filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa, director of Deux Procureurs. The ciné concert and the five festive nights also attracted large audiences.
Among the most popular films, we note in particular Orwell: 2+2=5, by Haitian director Raoul Peck, which confronts Orwell’s writings with images of our time. The attendance at No Other Choice has once again demonstrated the public’s attachment to the work of South Korean director Park Chan-wook. Audiences also showed their curiosity by eagerly attending screenings of films made by new talents, including Mexican director and actress Mayra Hermosillo (Vainilla), Thai director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke (Fantôme utile), and American director Neo Sora (Happyend).
Once again, the success of the ‘Black Movie for Kids’ section, dedicated to younger film enthusiasts, was undeniable, particularly with the ciné concert Jean-Chat voit dans le noir and the feature film Planètes by Japanese director Momoko Seto.
The 2026 Prize-winners
The Critics’ Prize, worth CHF 5,000 offered by the City of Geneva’s Department of Culture and Digital Transition, was unanimously awarded by the critics’ jury to the film:
Al oeste, en Zapata by David Bim (Cuba).
The Young Adults’ Prize worth CHF 1,000 and offered by the City of Geneva’s Department of Social Cohesion and Solidarity was awarded by a jury of 9 post-obligatory school pupils to:
Singing Wings by Kurdish director Hemen Khaledi.
The Black Movie for Kids Payot Prize, worth CHF 1,000, goes to:
Autokar by Sylwia Szkiłądź (France, Belgium, Poland).
The jury awards a special mention to:
Birds of Paradise by Tomek Ducki (Poland).
The Children’s Prize is awarded to:
Backstreet Birds by Gertrūda Nemčauskaitė (Lithuania).
The Black Movie Festival will return for its 28th edition from 22 to 31 January 2027.
