The 2025 Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival hit the ground running during its first weekend with nearly 18,000 tickets sold – a testament to the festivalgoers’ desire to explore the rich worlds of fantastic films despite the heat, and to the fact that the Neuchâtel magic will always happen not matter how warm it gets.

NIFFF EXTENDED, the festival’s multidisciplinary program, which puts cinema, science, literature, and technology in relation to push back the frontiers of the imaginary, is set to start in style as soon as this Monday, July 7th.

The festival is set to stay on a roll until July 12th with many screenings and public talks celebrating the possibilities of the fantasy genre. 

EXPLORING NEW WORLDS WITH NIFFF EXTENDED 

At the crossroads of cinema, innovation, science, literature, and video games, the NIFFF EXTENDED program includes many free conferences and roundtable discussions.

Starting today, the IMAGING THE FUTURE symposium is putting the spotlight on Jean de Meuron, Neuchâtel-based collaborator of Roland Emmerich, and on Aleksi Briclot, star artist at Marvel. On the FX side, the Important Looking Pirates studio will go behind the scenes of the Shogun TV series, while Framestore will talk about their collaboration with Bong Joon-Ho on Mickey 17. Fans of video game thrills should attend the AHEAD OF THE GAME roundtable discussion dedicated to the mechanics of fear with LUAL (CH) and Deconstructeam (ES). 

As for the ART OF SUSTAINABILITY conference, it is set to open the discussion on how to make the future of the audiovisual industry greener. 

As far as fantasy literature is concerned, NEW WORLDS OF FANTASY is going all out: Emil Ferris (MY FAVORITE THING IS MONSTERS) will be giving an exclusive masterclass, and Boulet will deliver a never-seen-before performance-talk.
Prix Goncourt winner Jean-Baptiste Del Amo will discuss his love for the fantasy genre as well as his latest novel, La Nuit ravagée, which pays homage to both Stephen King and John Carpenter. 

Last but not least, the conference/tribute to David Lynch from essayist Pacôme Thiellement, and the CRÉER POUR LA TERRE roundtable discussion about the healing powers of fantasy are not to be missed!