The 26^th edition of the Fribourg International Film Festival starts to roll from 24 to 31 March 2012.

Twelve films vie for the festival’s top award, the Regard d’Or, which includes a prize of  CHF 30,000. In the 2012 competition, new productions were culled FIFF’s target points, namely Latin America, Asia and Africa. In addition, the Near East and Middle East are also represented, with films from Jordan, Egypt and Iran.

Opening and closing film

This year's opening ceremony is on Saturday, March 24, with Swiss Federal Councilor Alain Berset in attendance. The opening film, Sal by Diego Rougier (Chile, Argentina, 2011), offers a foretaste of the section Genre cinema: Once Upon a Time in the South. Diego Rougier shall attend the Swiss premiere of his film.

This year's closing ceremony takes place on Saturday, March 31, 2012 where directors of works in the International Competition are expected to be present. The closing film, Miss Bala by Gerardo Naranjo (Mexico,USA, 2010), is screened as a Swiss premiere.

Five luminaries of world cinema will determine who shall win this year’s Regard d’or. They include Bangladeshi director Golam Rabbany Biblop, Iranian director Sepideh Farsi, French producer Jacky Goldberg, Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof and Swiss musician Franz Treichler.

Carte blanche to the Festival del film Locarno and a Masterclass with Ivan Passer

The FIFF’s Carte Blanche is a regular invitation to a Swiss festival to present a selected film at the festival. This year, Olivier Père, artistic director of the Festival del Film Locarno, has selected Cutter’s Way (1981). This American masterpiece by Ivan Passer, a filmmaker of Czech origin, is a “whodunit” set in the midst of the Vietnam War. Director Passer will be present to about his films and his remarkable trajectory.

Spotlight on Bangladesh

This year the festival’s Forum will center on Bangladesh and its lively film scene. In spite of political unrest, poverty and natural disasters – and despite the dearth of production infrastructures, film schools and public cinemas – an independent filmmaking tradition continues to stubbornly persist, blurring the boundaries between popular entertainment and auteur cinema.

FIFF showcase in Bern

As part of the festival’s tradition, Bern locals had their taste of FIFF last Tuesday, March 13, 2012. This Is Not a Film by Jafar Panahi and Mojitaba Mirtahmasb (Iran, 2011) was the highlight of this year’s pre-event.