Don’t just like it, live it!

Wednesday 11 March, 19:30

A critical forum on the future of development aid and its possible privatisation, preceded by a screening of Free Money. Researchers, development practitioners and social entrepreneurs examine the growing role of private actors in development financing, questioning promises of efficiency alongside concerns about governance, justice and North–South power imbalances.

The discussion is interpreted in French; the film is in English and Swahili, with French and English subtitles.

6 – 15 March

Since 2003, FIFDH has combined cinema with the promotion of human rights, presenting socially conscious films alongside debates and discussions that engage activists, journalists, artists, diplomats, and the public. Held across multiple venues in Geneva, including the UN, theaters, museums, and hospitals, the festival showcases feature films and documentaries that highlight human rights struggles worldwide, encouraging dialogue, reflection, and action. FIFDH has welcomed Nobel laureates, renowned filmmakers, and leading voices in activism, making it a unique platform where art and advocacy intersect.

4 – 15 March

Choreographed and performed by Lucy Nightingale, Le moi, Blanc threads together four short films and live percussion into a meditative dance-performance. Nightingale links Alan Bogana’s and Anna Winteler’s expansive moving landscapes with Robert Cahen’s suspended gestures and Thierry Géhin’s intimate address, while percussionist JB Meier responds with textured sound and vibration. The creative approach blends film, live music and somatic movement to explore attention, proximity and the body’s sensitivity, inviting slow, attentive perception.

11 – 15 March

Explore family ties with six quirky characters in a playful, child-height performance. They roam a poetic world, asking what makes a family and how we name bonds. Kids will listen to whimsical voices, watch colorful movements and imaginative scenes, and join gentle games that invite sharing and welcome. The piece mixes laughter, small surprises and moments for thinking, sparking curiosity about chosen families and how we open our hearts to someone new.

In French. Kids ages 6 and up.

6 – 15 March

Senegalese artists Mao Sidibé and Def Mama Def, together with dancers from École des Sables, present Oya – Clima Yaakaar, a collective project responding to the climate crisis. The work merges music, contemporary African dance and photography to foreground the health impacts of environmental change on vulnerable communities. Photographer Sylvain Cherkaoui contributes a visual layer that links performance with lived experience and humanitarian realities. The project evokes resilience and calls attention to collective hope and urgent care.

6 – 15 March

Belleville-based photographer Souleymane Fofana, known as Commeas and also a player with JA Drancy, presents a body of photographic works that approach football through instinct and immediacy. Using motion, blur and saturated colour, he captures energy rather than fixed form, privileging rhythm, perception and spontaneous gesture over technical precision.

The images emerge from intuitive, in-the-moment shooting, a visual language of movement that evokes play, chaos and collective intensity. The presentation runs alongside the film Belleville nous verra toujours danser.

Wednesday 11 March, 19:30

A critical forum on the future of development aid and its possible privatisation, preceded by a screening of Free Money. Researchers, development practitioners and social entrepreneurs examine the growing role of private actors in development financing, questioning promises of efficiency alongside concerns about governance, justice and North–South power imbalances.

The discussion is interpreted in French; the film is in English and Swahili, with French and English subtitles.

6 – 15 March

Since 2003, FIFDH has combined cinema with the promotion of human rights, presenting socially conscious films alongside debates and discussions that engage activists, journalists, artists, diplomats, and the public. Held across multiple venues in Geneva, including the UN, theaters, museums, and hospitals, the festival showcases feature films and documentaries that highlight human rights struggles worldwide, encouraging dialogue, reflection, and action. FIFDH has welcomed Nobel laureates, renowned filmmakers, and leading voices in activism, making it a unique platform where art and advocacy intersect.

4 – 15 March

Choreographed and performed by Lucy Nightingale, Le moi, Blanc threads together four short films and live percussion into a meditative dance-performance. Nightingale links Alan Bogana’s and Anna Winteler’s expansive moving landscapes with Robert Cahen’s suspended gestures and Thierry Géhin’s intimate address, while percussionist JB Meier responds with textured sound and vibration. The creative approach blends film, live music and somatic movement to explore attention, proximity and the body’s sensitivity, inviting slow, attentive perception.

11 – 15 March

Explore family ties with six quirky characters in a playful, child-height performance. They roam a poetic world, asking what makes a family and how we name bonds. Kids will listen to whimsical voices, watch colorful movements and imaginative scenes, and join gentle games that invite sharing and welcome. The piece mixes laughter, small surprises and moments for thinking, sparking curiosity about chosen families and how we open our hearts to someone new.

In French. Kids ages 6 and up.

6 – 15 March

Senegalese artists Mao Sidibé and Def Mama Def, together with dancers from École des Sables, present Oya – Clima Yaakaar, a collective project responding to the climate crisis. The work merges music, contemporary African dance and photography to foreground the health impacts of environmental change on vulnerable communities. Photographer Sylvain Cherkaoui contributes a visual layer that links performance with lived experience and humanitarian realities. The project evokes resilience and calls attention to collective hope and urgent care.

6 – 15 March

Belleville-based photographer Souleymane Fofana, known as Commeas and also a player with JA Drancy, presents a body of photographic works that approach football through instinct and immediacy. Using motion, blur and saturated colour, he captures energy rather than fixed form, privileging rhythm, perception and spontaneous gesture over technical precision.

The images emerge from intuitive, in-the-moment shooting, a visual language of movement that evokes play, chaos and collective intensity. The presentation runs alongside the film Belleville nous verra toujours danser.

Wednesday 11 March, 19:30

A critical forum on the future of development aid and its possible privatisation, preceded by a screening of Free Money. Researchers, development practitioners and social entrepreneurs examine the growing role of private actors in development financing, questioning promises of efficiency alongside concerns about governance, justice and North–South power imbalances.

The discussion is interpreted in French; the film is in English and Swahili, with French and English subtitles.

6 – 15 March

Since 2003, FIFDH has combined cinema with the promotion of human rights, presenting socially conscious films alongside debates and discussions that engage activists, journalists, artists, diplomats, and the public. Held across multiple venues in Geneva, including the UN, theaters, museums, and hospitals, the festival showcases feature films and documentaries that highlight human rights struggles worldwide, encouraging dialogue, reflection, and action. FIFDH has welcomed Nobel laureates, renowned filmmakers, and leading voices in activism, making it a unique platform where art and advocacy intersect.

4 – 15 March

Choreographed and performed by Lucy Nightingale, Le moi, Blanc threads together four short films and live percussion into a meditative dance-performance. Nightingale links Alan Bogana’s and Anna Winteler’s expansive moving landscapes with Robert Cahen’s suspended gestures and Thierry Géhin’s intimate address, while percussionist JB Meier responds with textured sound and vibration. The creative approach blends film, live music and somatic movement to explore attention, proximity and the body’s sensitivity, inviting slow, attentive perception.

11 – 15 March

Explore family ties with six quirky characters in a playful, child-height performance. They roam a poetic world, asking what makes a family and how we name bonds. Kids will listen to whimsical voices, watch colorful movements and imaginative scenes, and join gentle games that invite sharing and welcome. The piece mixes laughter, small surprises and moments for thinking, sparking curiosity about chosen families and how we open our hearts to someone new.

In French. Kids ages 6 and up.

6 – 15 March

Senegalese artists Mao Sidibé and Def Mama Def, together with dancers from École des Sables, present Oya – Clima Yaakaar, a collective project responding to the climate crisis. The work merges music, contemporary African dance and photography to foreground the health impacts of environmental change on vulnerable communities. Photographer Sylvain Cherkaoui contributes a visual layer that links performance with lived experience and humanitarian realities. The project evokes resilience and calls attention to collective hope and urgent care.

6 – 15 March

Belleville-based photographer Souleymane Fofana, known as Commeas and also a player with JA Drancy, presents a body of photographic works that approach football through instinct and immediacy. Using motion, blur and saturated colour, he captures energy rather than fixed form, privileging rhythm, perception and spontaneous gesture over technical precision.

The images emerge from intuitive, in-the-moment shooting, a visual language of movement that evokes play, chaos and collective intensity. The presentation runs alongside the film Belleville nous verra toujours danser.

4 – 15 March

Mauren Brodbeck presents Imperfect Laughter, a series of unique risograph prints that foreground experimentation, sensuality and the beauty of error.
Through layered inks, bleeding, misalignment and photographic traces that appear and dissolve, the works combine printmaking and photographic gestures. Themes of bodily pleasure, spontaneity and the acceptance of accident run through the series. These unretouched pieces celebrate hesitation, overflow and the visible traces of moments when colour, touch and chance make images vibrate.

11 – 15 March

Explore family ties with six quirky characters in a playful, child-height performance. They roam a poetic world, asking what makes a family and how we name bonds. Kids will listen to whimsical voices, watch colorful movements and imaginative scenes, and join gentle games that invite sharing and welcome. The piece mixes laughter, small surprises and moments for thinking, sparking curiosity about chosen families and how we open our hearts to someone new.

In French. Kids ages 6 and up.

Saturday 14 March, 21:00

Sur Le Temps brings together Ensemble Batida, a contemporary trio of percussionists (Alexandra Bellon, Anne Briset, Jeanne Larrouturou), and the vocal quartet Contre le Temps, whose female voices specialise in medieval repertoire. The programme juxtaposes organum with open improvisation, exploring the distance between a centuries‑old vocal practice and an intensified attention to the present. The first part presents organum; later the musicians engage in improvised encounters that blur historical and contemporary sound worlds.

The project is organised by Ensemble Vide, an interdisciplinary platform for contemporary music and artistic research.

11 – 15 March

When we hear the word “family,” we often think of our own. But today, with so many different models, what truly defines a family?

In this playful, child-friendly performance, Muriel Imbach explores these questions through six whimsical characters — futuristic poets who reflect on chosen families, blended families, and the invisible bonds that connect us. A poetic journey into what it means to “make family” today.

In French.  Kids ages 8 and up.

Saturday 14 March, 13:30

A forum dedicated to non-violence in the face of climate urgency, preceded by a screening of the documentary The System. Activists, researchers and the film’s director examine forms of civil disobedience in the climate movement, questioning the very definition of violence and the political strategies available in the face of governmental inaction and the growing criminalisation of environmental activism.

The discussion is interpreted in French and English; the film is in English, Dutch and German, with French and English subtitles.

Saturday 14 March, 15:00

Imagine if dinosaurs had been able to foresee their own extinction. This unique show blends dance, humor, and science to reflect on today’s world through the fate of these vanished giants. Presented as a danced conference, the artists delve into themes such as growth, power, and evolution, drawing inspiration from Jurassic Park, Fantasia, and Steve Jobs’ talks. It’s a playful and poetic experience suitable for all ages, inviting audiences to rethink their choices and their connection to living beings. The performance is a collaboration with the Groove’N’Move Festival and the Institut Florimont. Choreographed by Santiago Codon Gras and performed by Ludovic Piscionneri, Maëlle Dufour, Virgile Garcia, and Santiago Codon Gras.

Kids ages 6 and up.

Wednesday 11 March, 19:30

A critical forum on the future of development aid and its possible privatisation, preceded by a screening of Free Money. Researchers, development practitioners and social entrepreneurs examine the growing role of private actors in development financing, questioning promises of efficiency alongside concerns about governance, justice and North–South power imbalances.

The discussion is interpreted in French; the film is in English and Swahili, with French and English subtitles.

6 – 15 March

Since 2003, FIFDH has combined cinema with the promotion of human rights, presenting socially conscious films alongside debates and discussions that engage activists, journalists, artists, diplomats, and the public. Held across multiple venues in Geneva, including the UN, theaters, museums, and hospitals, the festival showcases feature films and documentaries that highlight human rights struggles worldwide, encouraging dialogue, reflection, and action. FIFDH has welcomed Nobel laureates, renowned filmmakers, and leading voices in activism, making it a unique platform where art and advocacy intersect.

4 – 15 March

Choreographed and performed by Lucy Nightingale, Le moi, Blanc threads together four short films and live percussion into a meditative dance-performance. Nightingale links Alan Bogana’s and Anna Winteler’s expansive moving landscapes with Robert Cahen’s suspended gestures and Thierry Géhin’s intimate address, while percussionist JB Meier responds with textured sound and vibration. The creative approach blends film, live music and somatic movement to explore attention, proximity and the body’s sensitivity, inviting slow, attentive perception.

11 – 15 March

Explore family ties with six quirky characters in a playful, child-height performance. They roam a poetic world, asking what makes a family and how we name bonds. Kids will listen to whimsical voices, watch colorful movements and imaginative scenes, and join gentle games that invite sharing and welcome. The piece mixes laughter, small surprises and moments for thinking, sparking curiosity about chosen families and how we open our hearts to someone new.

In French. Kids ages 6 and up.

6 – 15 March

Senegalese artists Mao Sidibé and Def Mama Def, together with dancers from École des Sables, present Oya – Clima Yaakaar, a collective project responding to the climate crisis. The work merges music, contemporary African dance and photography to foreground the health impacts of environmental change on vulnerable communities. Photographer Sylvain Cherkaoui contributes a visual layer that links performance with lived experience and humanitarian realities. The project evokes resilience and calls attention to collective hope and urgent care.

6 – 15 March

Belleville-based photographer Souleymane Fofana, known as Commeas and also a player with JA Drancy, presents a body of photographic works that approach football through instinct and immediacy. Using motion, blur and saturated colour, he captures energy rather than fixed form, privileging rhythm, perception and spontaneous gesture over technical precision.

The images emerge from intuitive, in-the-moment shooting, a visual language of movement that evokes play, chaos and collective intensity. The presentation runs alongside the film Belleville nous verra toujours danser.

Stay in the loop!

Subscribe to Coolturalia’s weekly newsletter and get the best cultural picks delivered straight to your inbox.

CoolBytes

Celebrating Geneva’s vibrant heartbeat and the stories shaping culture today

Human rights lawyer Alain Werner, founder of Civitas Maxima, shares a few of his favourite cultural and everyday spots in Geneva.
Cultural director of the Société de Lecture, Emmanuel Tagnard shares his Geneva essentials — from must-see landmarks and favorite chocolatiers to the book currently on his bedside table.

Geneva Classics

Visiting for the first time? A quick guide to the city’s top attractions.

The MEG is a renowned museum dedicated to the exploration and presentation of cultural diversity from around the world. Located in the heart of Geneva, it houses an extensive collection of over 80,000 objects, including artifacts, textiles, and artworks that highlight the rich traditions and histories of various communities. The museum emphasizes interactive and immersive exhibitions, engaging visitors with contemporary issues related to culture and identity.

Cool fact: The e-MEG app serves as a digital twin of the permanent exhibition, providing an audio guide and detailed descriptions along with photographs of all displayed objects.

Array

– CLOSED FOR RENOVATION –

Since its opening in 1994, the MAMCO Geneva (Musée d’art moderne et contemporain)  has staged 450 exhibitions with works dating from the 1960s to the present day. Mamco’s holdings include works by Christo, Martin Kippenberger, Jenny Holzer, Dan Flavin, Sarkis, Franz Erhard Walther and Sylvie Fleury, among many others.

Cool fact: The MAMCO is the epicenter of the “Nuit des Bains”, held three times a year.  During this event, the district around the museum is transformed into a large gallery and attracts thousands of art lovers and sightseers each night.

Array

With a collection of 27,000 items from Switzerland, Europe and the Middle and Far East, and a witness to twelve centuries of ceramic art from the Middle Ages to modern times, the Ariana is one of Europe’s great museums specializing in glass and ceramics.

Cool fact: On the first Sunday of each month, the Ariana Museum opens its temporary exhibitions to the public.

Array

Add to Calendar

Select the date to be saved in your Google calendar.

calendar placeholder

Done!

Event removed from your CoolAgenda.

Yeah!

Event Saved to your CoolAgenda

Add to CoolAgenda

In your CoolAgenda

Reset password

Password was reset

Your password has been reset successfully. You can now log in with your new password.

Check your Inbox

We’ve sent you a password reset email to the address provided. Please check your inbox and/or spam folder.

Forgot your password?

Thank you!

Please check your inbox for a verification email to complete your sign-up.

Sign Up

Create your Account and Culture Up!