Every year, in Geneva and its municipalities, the FIFOG presents an anthology of films related to the East in its relation to the West. In addition to the quality of films, accentuated by the awarding of the Best Film Award by internationally renowned juries, FIFOG has an impact on human rights. At the local level, the FIFOG is opposed to recruitment and amalgamation. It promotes a dialogue contributive to the dispelling of stupidity and violence. In this sense, it invites cinemas, cafes, museums, prisons etc. to promote the idea of Living Together. On the international level, the Festival gives voice to the oppressed who are fighting for their rights. Hence, this year, women and young people, often mistreated, are in the spotlight. Since the world of cinema has been shaken by scandals, women are a focal point for all. FIFOG dedicates its 13th spring to the stories and creations of women.
Is the FIFOG in pursuit of the news? The answer is no. This is the merging of the real world with the FIFOG. Quality programming requires time to explore both novelties in film and the context through which they emerge. This choice thereby precedes the media buzz about women in the West.
Moreover, the women who are at the center of the13th FIFOG, are those who exist far from plush lounges or magical evenings. They risk their lives daily, facing the forces of regression and lack of freedom and confronting the archaic mentalities that want to perpetuate their confined positions as eternally inferior. Even more insidious, those who are subjected since childhood to mechanisms of recruitment that then lead them to extol the virtues of their prisons.
This new edition is dedicated to the spring of women. Demonstrating that despite extensive pressures, especially through legislation, women and young people assert themselves with courage, express themselves with determination and create freely and without censorship. It is this libertarian impetus that the FIFOG aims to support.
Happy festival to all!
Tahar Houchi
General and Artistic Director