Accessibility

The main venues of the FIFDH and the vast majority of other venues are accessible to people with reduced mobility. The number of seats available for people with reduced mobility is however limited: we therefore kindly ask you to contact the accessibility advisor on +41 77 987 66 88 (telephone or WhatsApp, see opening hours above) or by email at access@fifdh.org.

• The Maison communale de Plainpalais is the main venue of the Festival. For information on accessibility at La Maison communale de Plainpalais, click here. For information on accessibility at Théâtre Pitoëff (1st floor of the Maison communale de Plainpalais), click here.

• Several Festival events and screenings take place at the Cinémas du Grütli. For information on accessibility at the Cinémas du Grütli, click here.

• The Festival takes place in different venues in Geneva. Below is a list of the venues and their accessibility information.
  • Fonction: cinéma (Maison des Arts du Grütli): you will find information on accessibility here.
  • Théâtre du Forum Meyrin: you will find information on accessibility here.
  • Bains des Pâquis: you will find information on accessibility here.
  • Musée d’ethnographie de Genève (MEG): you will find information on accessibility here.
  • Théâtre de la Parfumerie: you will find information on accessibility here.
  • Société de Lecture: in order to ensure the best possible conditions for visitors to this building, wheelchair users are kindly requested to notify the Société de Lecture (022 311 45 90) no later than 1 p.m. on the day before the event.

For more information on accessible venues in Geneva, click here.

Guide dogs and assistance dogs are authorised on all the sites, including in the screening rooms.

Additional Accessibility Measures

• Walkers are available to make waiting in lines easier (in the Maison communale de Plainpalais).
• Reusable straws and cups are provided at the Festival bars.
• A Sunflower badge or lanyard, or an ‘I am autistic’ card may be worn to indicate a non-visible disability. Already used by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and Geneva Airport, this system helps Festival staff and volunteers provide tailored support.

Audio description is essential for making films and videos accessible to visually impaired and blind people. It takes the form of a voice-over describing what is happening on screen – in order to enable everyone to follow the plot. Every year at the FIFDH, several films are shown with audio description and subtitles via the Greta application, thanks to Regards Neufs.

Film: Olivia et le tremblement de terre invisible
By Irene Iborra Rizo
Spain/France/Belgium/Chili/Switzerland, 2025, 70’
OV French, ST French SME, from 10 years old

Synopsis: At twelve years old, Olivia’s life is turned upside down when she, her mother and her younger brother are evicted from their home. To protect her little brother Tim, Olivia pretends that what they are going through is a film – and that he is the hero.

Screening: Wednesday 11 March, 11:00, Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève (MEG), RELAX SCREENING, audio described, SME. Free entry, no booking required. More information HERE 

Film: Belleville Beats
By Hugo Sobelman
France, 2025, 87′, OV French, ST French/English

Synopsis: La Perm’ welcomes the teenagers of Belleville as a second home. Both a refuge and a space for creation, the centre enables them to resist gentrification, to create, and to prepare a festival where their dreams and collective struggles come to life.

Screenings:

• Sunday 8 March, 15:00, Fonction:Cinema (Cinémas du Grütli), followed by a listening session of the last episode of the Bibliothèque Braille Romande podcast, Le Point Son. Free admission – booking required. More information and booking HERE
• Wednesday 11 March, 14:00, Grande Salle of the Maison Communale de Plainpalais, followed by a discussion with the director. More information and tickets HERE
• Sunday 15 March, 18:00, Grande Salle of the Maison Communale de Plainpalais, followed by the Forum “Exposing and Abolishing Police Brutality”. More information and tickets HERE

Using the Greta Application

We recommend that you complete these steps in advance, for example at home. Here’s how to proceed:

Before the screening

• Connect your smartphone to the internet (e.g. at home)
• Download the Greta application, for instance from the Regards Neufs website.
• Activate the ‘audio description’ option in the settings
• Log in or create an account (if you create an account, you will receive an e-mail to confirm your registration. You will need to click on it before you can log in).
• Search for the desired film under the ‘events’ category.
• Download the audio description.
• Make sure your phone battery is fully charged before the screening.

In the cinema

• When you enter the cinema, open the selected film on the Greta app. You do not need internet access during the film if the audio description has been downloaded in advance. Synchronisation takes place without the internet.
• When the film starts, during synchronisation, you will hear a heartbeat-like sound for a few seconds.
• Make sure your phone’s microphone is not covered. The app uses the phone’s microphone to synchronise the audio subtitles. Synchronisation is automatic and the audio description will start playing in your headphones.

Subtitles

• All foreign language films are subtitled in French. All French films are subtitled in English.
• All French films are now also subtitled in French. This allows for broader understanding.

Subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing (SME)

The subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing (SME) are integrated directly into the image and visible to everyone. They reproduce the dialogue and sound information necessary for understanding. These are not colour-coded SME subtitles.

Film: Olivia et le tremblement de terre invisible
By Irene Iborra Rizo
Spain/France/Belgium/Chili/Switzerland, 2025, 70’
OV French, ST French SME, from 10 years old

Synopsis: At twelve years old, Olivia’s life is turned upside down when she, her mother and her younger brother are evicted from their home. To protect her little brother Tim, Olivia pretends that what they are going through is a film – and that he is the hero.

Screening: Wednesday 11 March, 11:00, Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève (MEG), RELAX SCREENING, audio described, SME. Free entry, no booking required. More information HERE 

Live transcription, or surtitling, is a service generally used in the performing arts and is particularly beneficial for people who are deaf or visually impaired. During the discussion sessions held as part of the Forums, the speakers’ words are transcribed in real time and immediately displayed on screen (in French only). This service, provided by SWISS TXT, facilitates understanding, eases daily life, and ensures equal participation in the FIFDH Forums.

Forum: United States: The Authoritarian Turn
Saturday 7 March, 19:30, Grande Salle of the Maison Communale de Plainpalais

Preceded by the film: The Librarians by Kim A. Snyder, United States, 2025, 88’, OV English/German, ST French/English

Forum theme: In just one year, Donald Trump has made the United States increasingly unsettling for allies and rivals alike, as his administration shows contempt for international law, attacks human rights and undermines the separation of powers.

More information and tickets HERE

Forum: Solidarity Is Not a Slogan
Monday 9 March, 19:00, Grande Salle of the Maison Communale de Plainpalais

Preceded by the film: Portuali by Perla Sardella, Italy, 2024, 81’, OV Italian/German, ST French/English

Forum theme: Solidarity is often invoked but rarely fully assumed. What happens when it is put into practice through concrete struggles – feminist, LGBTQIA+, anti-racist or in solidarity with Palestine – and comes with conflict, rupture and risk?

More information and tickets HERE

Forum: Health: A Right or a Privilege?
Thursday 12 March, 19:00, Grande Salle of the Maison Communale de Plainpalais

Preceded by the film: Chronically Ignored by Sibylle Dahrendorf and Daniela Schmidt-Langels, Germany/Austria, 2025, 52’, OV German/English, ST French/English

Forum theme: The medical system is marked by deep flaws: limited political commitment, underfunded research and social exclusion. These failures are not accidental: they expose the structural inequalities of Western healthcare systems.

More information and tickets HERE

Magnetic loops, or hearing loop systems, enable people with hearing impairments to receive sound from the microphone and loudspeakers directly into their hearing aids, without any surrounding noise. To benefit from this, please set your hearing aid to the T position.

The following venues are equipped with hearing loop systems:

• The movie theaters of the Cinémas du Grütli
• The Musée d’ethnographie de Genève (MEG)
• The main auditorium of the Bio Cinema
• The Théâtre du Forum Meyrin (rows J to O)

Find out more information about these places on this page, as well as in the directory of venues equipped with magnetic loops.

The FIFDH offers Relax screening

• A relaxed and caring environment
• An adapted welcome

During a Relax activity, the codes are a little more flexible. For example, the public can:

• Move
• Talk
• Express their emotions

During a Relax activity at the FIFDH, there are:

• People at the reception desk wearing Relax t-shirts
• A soft light in the cinema
• The sound of the film is lowered
• The cinema door is open

Relax activities in Geneva are organised by Out of the Box Association.

Film: Olivia et le tremblement de terre invisible
By Irene Iborra Rizo
Spain/France/Belgium/Chili/Switzerland, 2025, 70’
OV French, ST French SME, from 10 years old

Synopsis: At twelve years old, Olivia’s life is turned upside down when she, her mother and her younger brother are evicted from their home. To protect her little brother Tim, Olivia pretends that what they are going through is a film – and that he is the hero.

Screening: Wednesday 11 March, 11;00, Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève (MEG), RELAX SCREENING, audio described, SME. Free entry, no booking required. More information HERE 

Film: La Vie de château, mon enfance à Versailles
By Clémence Madeleine-Perdrillat and Nathaniel H’limi
France, Luxembourg, 2020, 81′, OV French, from 6 years old

Synopsis: Eight-year-old Violette loses her parents overnight and is sent to live with her uncle Régis, who works as a maintenance worker at the Palace of Versailles. Wary of each other at first, they slowly learn how to live together and build a new life.  

Screening: Wednesday 11 March, 14:45, Cinémas du Grütli (Salle Simon), RELAX SCREENING. More information and tickets HERE

If you have a disability and require an assistant, a free ticket can be reserved for this person (online at billetterie@fifdh.org or at the box office).

All ticket holders are eligible for the discounts offered by the Festival:

• Reduced rate: AVS, unemployed, AI, asylum seekers, members Function: Cinema, AACDG members.
• Youth rate: Under 20s, apprentices, students.
• 20 years/20 francs: Holders of the 20 years/20 francs card. The 20 years/20 francs rates are subsidized by the City of Geneva, the Fond intercommunal des communes genevoises and the Republic and Canton of Geneva.

Established several years ago, solidarity tickets provide people facing precarious situations and socio-cultural associations with the opportunity to attend a determined screening of the FIFDH. In 2025, 200 people attended a free screening of the film Sultana’s Dream by Isabel Herguera.