ANAÏS EMERY
General and Artistic Director

Anaïs Emery is the General and Artistic Director of the GIFF from 2021. Co-founder of the NIFFF, she was its artistic director from 2006 to 2020, bringing the festival to international recognition. In 2017, she completed a DAS in digital communication and web expertise at the UNIGE, in addition to her film studies. Committed to the next generation of Swiss cinema and to innovation, she officiates at Cinéforom, the Swiss Film Academy, the Foundation for Digital Creation and launched the FutureStoryWorlds@CERN workshop.

MATHIEU GAYET
Head of Industry and Immersive Programmer

After studying film and audiovisual law, Mathieu Gayet became involved in new media (crossmedia, transmedia…) as his passion for storytelling grew. With the emergence of immersive and interactive creation, in 2017 he founded the online medium XRMust.com, which deals with new forms of digital storytelling. Since then, accompanied by a team of freelance editors, he has published +800 articles and interviews on the subject and built up an essential database around the XR industry worldwide. Since 2019, he has been accompanying professional events on the subject: in Angouleme (France), Immersity, the think tank of the French immersive ecosystem, as well as the Annecy Festival (MIFA) or NewImages. In 2023, he joins the Geneva International Film Festival as Head of Industry for the Geneva Digital Market, then in 2025 the Cannes Film Festival Market to manage a new Immersive Market dedicated to location-based entertainment.

FABIENNE MORIS
Cinema Programmer

An activist in the film and visual arts, Fabienne Moris participated in its creation (production manager), its distribution (programming coordinator for FIDMarseille), and its international development and its coproduction ecosystem (founder and director of FIDLab). In 2025, she joined the programming teams of GIFF and the Lux Film Festival. Since 2026, she has directed the Centre des Écritures Cinématographiques (Center for Cinematographic Writing), a filmmakers’ residency in Normandy. Independently, she contributes to international coproduction funds.

MARYAM ESMAÏL ZAVIEH
Cinema Programmer

Maryam Esmaïl Zavieh is a curator and film programmer based in Geneva. She holds a Master’s degree in Curatorial Research (Critical Curatorial Cybermedia – CCC) from HEAD – Genève and a Bachelor’s degree in Film History and Aesthetics from the University of Lausanne. Her curatorial practice explores a wide range of cinematic forms and moving images, with a particular focus on critical perspectives, including feminist, decolonial, and diasporic approaches. She is a co-programmer at Cinéma Spoutnik in Geneva and has worked in the programming departments of several festivals, including FIDMarseille, the La Roche-sur-Yon International Film Festival, and Visions du Réel.

DAMIEN BRODARD
Cinema Programmer

Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Theories and Practices of Cinema at the University of Lausanne, Damien Brodard is passionate about contemporary international film production. In parallel, he has also written critical articles on cinema, notably covering the Venice Film Festival from 2022 to 2024. He joined the GIFF programming team in 2024, where he is part of the feature film selection committee and contributes to writing the program texts.

MARAL MOHSENIN
Series Programmer

Holding a PhD in Film History and Aesthetics (University of Lausanne and University of Amsterdam), Maral Moshenin is currently the Director of Collection and Knowledge Sharing at Eye Filmmuseum (The Netherlands). Previously, she was part of the GIFF programming team from 2015, first as retrospective curator, then as series programmer, and finally as Head of Programs from 2022 to 2025. Simultaneously, she worked as a film restorer and conservator at the Cinémathèque Suisse from 2016 to 2022, collaborated with several festivals in Switzerland (Visions du Réel, VIFFF), and regularly participates in academic conferences and courses.

JULIA SCHUBIGER
Series Programmer

After obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Ethnology at the University of Neuchâtel, followed by a Master’s degree in Communication at La Sorbonne in Paris, Julia Schubiger began her career at various film festivals as a programmer (Locarno, FIFF, NIFFF). Today, Julia is a member of the artistic committee of GIFF (series section) and a producer of feature-length and short films with the Zurich-based production company LANGFILM.

CHRISTELLE MICHEL
Series Programmer

Born in 1980, Christelle Michel obtained a Federal Certificate of Proficiency (CFC) in commercial business in 1999. Alongside her work for the State of Neuchâtel and driven by her passion for cinema, she programmed films at Ciné2520. At the end of 2007, she shifted her career toward film, joining both the feature film selection committee and the organizing team of the NIFFF. For 11 years, she worked at Box Productions in Lausanne as an executive producer. Since 2024, she has been working as an independent producer and production manager.

PAOLA GAZZANI MARINELLI
IMMERSIVE Programmer

Holding a degree in social and political sciences, Paola Gazzani Marinelli is a member of the XR selection committee for GIFF, and works currently as head of programs at the Digital Creation Hub. Previously, she worked at GIFF from 2014 to 2023, as the head of professional and digital programs. Passionate about digital creation and experimenting with new modes of storytelling, she is interested in the future of audiovisual creation and its link with new technologies. Since January 2026, she has been in charge of programming at Pyxis Explo in Lausanne.

LAURENT KEMPF
Immersive Progammer – international works

Having studied film at ECAL, Laurent Kempf spent six years leading support for digital experiences at Cinéforom. Passionate about interactive storytelling, he has recently developed his own practice in virtual reality creation. He is also actively involved in advancing digital and video game creation in French-speaking Switzerland, notably through the professional association XN Swiss. In 2026, he joined the GIFF team and its XR programming committee, for international immersive works.