GIFF PRO (formerly Geneva Digital Market) unveils the first announcements for its 14ᵗʰ edition, taking place from 3 to 6 November as part of the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF). The Festival’s professional programme is structured around three strands: conferences, Market and networking. These first announcements highlight several conferences dedicated to new immersive technologies and artificial intelligence, featuring HTC VIVE, Meta, ARTE, Atlas V and the Ars Electronica festival, as well as two case studies onParadoxesby Maxime Donzel, Emilie Valentin and Pierre Zandrowicz, and Gilles Jobin’sSunset Motel, selected for Venice Immersive in September 2026. The full GIFF PRO programme will be unveiled on 8 October. The Digital Night, a key event for audiovisual and digital professionals, will take place on Wednesday, 4 November. GIFF also unveils the prestigious international jury for the Swiss Series Storytelling Award, comprising Veronika Grob (Head of Film Funding, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH), Leandra White (Senior Editor & Festival Manager, Beta Film) and Sylvain Louvet (Director of Original Documentary Productions, HBO Max).

THE FIRST GIFF PRO TALKS

GIFF PRO’s Talks are structured around four strands – Gamification of Cinema, Extended Realities, BR.AI.N and Series. All Talks are open to the public.

BR.AI.N – Paradoxes: reinventing How Fiction Is Made

The Talk will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the series project created by Maxime Donzel, Emilie Valentin and Pierre Zandrowicz. The series is presented in the Future Is Sensible competition. From live-action footage to generative AI tools, this case study will explore new ways of conceiving and producing a series through a project experimenting with hybrid formats and audiovisual fiction.

With Pierre Zandrowicz – online (Creator and Director, FR), Oriane Hurard (Producer & COO, Atlas V, FR) and Marianne Lévy-Leblond (Director, Digital Creation Unit, ARTE France, FR).

Extended Realities – Headsets, Glasses, Interfaces: The New Tools of Immersion

This Talk explores the upcoming technologies on the horizon and how they could transform creative practices and audience experiences.

With Thomas Dexmier (VP of Sales and Marketing EMEA, HTC VIVE, FR), Sami Belmokadem (Head of Business Development, ByteDance, GB) and Eric J. Krueger – online (Head of AI Strategy and Enablement – RL Content, Meta, US).

Extended Realities – Sunset Motel: From Line to Body, Drawing Virtual Reality

Gilles Jobin will offer a behind-the-scenes look at his new virtual reality creation, which translates illustrator Thomas Ott’s black-and-white visual universe into an immersive space. Selected for the Venice Immersive competition in September 2026, the project had previously been presented in development at the Geneva Digital Market’s XR Coproduction Sessions in 2022.

With Gilles Jobin (Director, choreographer, dancer and producer / Cie Gilles Jobin, CH), Susana Panadés Diaz (Movement coordinator, dancer and mocap integration manager / Cie Gilles Jobin, CH) and Tristan Siodlak (Lead 3D Artist, VR Lead, Developer, 3D Characters, Environments and Lighting, CH).

Extended Realities – 1996-2026: 30 Years Looking Ahead

Marking the 30ᵗʰ anniversaries of the Ars Electronica Center and the Society for Arts and Technology (SAT), the Talk will explore the future of creation in the face of technological change.

With Veronika Liebl (Managing Director, Ars Electronica, AT) and Jenny Thibault – online (Executive Director, Society for Arts and Technology (SAT), CA).

MARKET

Running alongside the Talks, the three Market sessions – the Swiss Interactive Sessions, XR Coproduction Sessions andImmersive Connect Sessions – will present 26 Swiss and international digital projects to funders and curators.
The selected projects will be announced shortly.

NETWORKING: DIGITAL NIGHT, A KEY GIFF PRO EVENT

On Wednesday, November 4, Digital Night will once again bring together audiovisual and digital professionals in Geneva. A key gathering for GIFF PRO, this evening dedicated to networking and exchange has established itself as an unmissable event for the digital creative industries in Switzerland and internationally. Rooted in the latest developments in Switzerland’s digital sector, Digital Night will also offer the opportunity to discover the immersive works presented at GIFF, including several shown exclusively during the evening, and to meet their creators and discuss their work.

SWISS SERIES STORYTELLING AWARD: THE 2026 JURY

With the support of the Suissimage and SSA cultural funds, the Swiss Series Storytelling Awardreturns for a new edition dedicated to Swiss series creation. This year, the award will be given to a Swiss documentary series. Its prestigious international jury will compriseVeronika Grob (Head of Film Funding, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH),Leandra White (Senior Editor & Festival Manager, Beta Film) and Sylvain Louvet (Director of Original Documentary Productions, HBO Max). The award will be presented during the GIFF PRO closing event on Thursday, November 5 at the Maison communale de Plainpalais, in the presence of teams and professionals from the Swiss series industry. The award ceremony will be followed by a networking cocktail.