NIFFF INVASION is a free program that offers activities all over town. The 2025 edition has more for children and includes several works of art related to the theme of ‘care’, echoing the TAKE CARE! retrospective. The NIFFF INVASION label, which is part of the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF, 4–12 July), is coproduced and financed by the City of Neuchâtel.
OPEN AIR – WELCOME TO THE HALLES OBSCURA
As usual, our CLASSICS RELOADED section will give our audience an opportunity to (re)discover five cult films for free. This year, festivalgoers will also be able to try out our brand-new Open Air, which now includes deckchairs, chairs, and the outside seating areas from the Place des Halles restaurants. Live the spellbinding story of four young Australian women who disappear mysteriously in PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK (Peter Weir, AU, 1975), embark on an epic journey filled with swordfights and romance in CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (Ang Lee, CN/TW/HK/US, 2000), or feel the apocalyptic wrath of CARRIE (Brian De Palma, US, 1976)! For even more thrills, come experience the burning passion of a couple on the road to perdition in WILD AT HEART, shown to honor the memory of the late David Lynch, (US, 1990), or come laugh with us at the iconic lines from the likeable, ghost-hunting misfits of GHOSTBUSTERS (Ivan Reitman, US, 1984). Everyone in the audience will feel the buzz under the stars of the Halles Obscura! This is the name that was selected for the 2025 Open Air among nearly 200 audience suggestions sent as part of a competition organized by the NIFFF.
PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK
Peter Weir, AU, 1975
Synopsis : Young girls in bloom vanish in the mountains. A mystery in broad daylight, a sensual awakening, a haunting spell. A cult film that served as an aesthetic blueprint for directors from Coppola to Guadagnino.
Trailer
GHOSTBUSTERS
Ivan Reitman, US, 1984
Synopsis : Ghosts, iconic one-liners, and pure 80s energy: a team of misfits faces the supernatural with flair. A legendary pop comedy where Sigourney Weaver, Dan Aykroyd, and Bill Murray let loose. Who you gonna call?
Trailer
WILD AT HEART
David Lynch, US, 1990
Images courtesy of Park Circus/Universal
Synopsis : Mad love, raw violence, dream and nightmare intertwined: Wild at Heart blazes like a rock’n’roll scream in Lynch’s desert. A road movie of passion and perdition. “Treat me like a fool, treat me mean and cruel, but love me!”
Trailer
CARRIE
Brian De Palma, US, 1976
© 1976 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc
Synopsis : Between a fanatically religious mother and cruel classmates, Carrie White’s life is pure hell. When they decide to play one final — and bloody — prank on her, the young girl sees red. Her vengeance is apocalyptic. A classic that is as heartbreaking as it is horrifying.
Trailer
CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON
Ang Lee, CN/TW/HK/US, 2000
Synopsis : Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, and Zhang Ziyi in a breathtaking ballet of swords and silence: a dizzying epic where love, honor, and fate collide between heaven and earth.
ENCHANTING MORNING STREET ART PERFORMANCES
Tales, circus shows, theater plays, songs, and clown acts: the CCHAR (Centre de Création Helvétique des Arts de la Rue) will take center stage in the morning, for the first time on Place du Coq D’Inde this year instead of Place des Halles. Our street art performances program runs from Monday, July 7th to Friday, July 11th, 11 a.m. each day, and is suitable for people of all ages.
Behind the Mist
Cie Amandine Berger – Website
Monday, July 7, 11:00 AM, Place du Coq d’Inde
All audiences / Duration: 45 minutes / Storytelling
Description : What if, in a distant future, the stories of yesterday and today had paved the way to a brighter world? In this performance, a storyteller from times to come initiates us into the Mysteries to reveal which tales have endured through the ages and what new myths have arisen.
From forgotten fables to prophecies come true, the audience will discover how the dreams of the past helped shape a desirable tomorrow. What faces will the Living bear? What wisdom will our descendants choose to preserve? A journey between past and future, where imagination weaves the stories of what is yet to be.
We Said No Touching
Cie Le Cirque Compost – Website
Tuesday, July 8, 11:00 AM, Place du Coq d’Inde
All audiences / Duration: 45 minutes / Circus
Description : They are two. They adore each other. They move forward together. And above all: they must not touch. If they do, they must start all over again. They are touching – yet must not touch.
As their bodies express themselves, a delicate balance of skill and tenderness unfolds. They explore the possibilities of two bodies moving in harmony without contact—or almost.
A reflection on physical connection emerges.
What does it mean to touch? What does it do? What do we do with it?
Theatron
Cie The Big Bang Company – Website
Wednesday, July 9, 11:00 AM, Place du Coq d’Inde
All audiences / Duration: 50 minutes / Theatre
Description : The history of theatre told in under an hour.
A quick journey through time that takes us to Ancient Greece, Elizabethan England, and, of course, the land of Molière—before ending our epic in the curious realm of contemporary theatre.
Expect rap, puppets, and mustaches along the way.
The Polyphonic Wardrobe
Collectif Les Aimants – Website
Thursday, July 10, 11:00 AM, Place du Coq d’Inde
All audiences / Duration: 30 minutes / Baroque song
Description : The Polyphonic Wardrobe is an old wardrobe left behind on a roadside, a street corner, or a patch of grass in a park or meadow. On its door, a sign reads “Open me,” inviting the audience. When the door swings open, three polyphonists come to life to perform one of their delightfully anachronistic songs, then close the doors once more.
Light-hearted and offbeat, The Polyphonic Wardrobe is a musical interlude—like a human-sized music box.
Out of Order
Cie du Petit Monsieur – Website
Friday, July 11, 11:00 AM, Place du Coq d’Inde
All audiences / Duration: 50 minutes / Clown performance
Description : “As simple as a phone call”: refreshing, accessible, and for all audiences.
Well… not for this impeccably dressed little man, slightly uncomfortable in his tight-fitting suit with too-short sleeves.
Because the phone booth door won’t open, and since he’s not one to give up, he tries every possible way to pick up the receiver.
This leads him into absurd postures and unbelievable acrobatics.
It’s a merciless battle: man versus machine—
Except the man isn’t a brawny Schwarzenegger, but rather a perfectly ordinary little fellow.
BRINGING OUR YOUTH’S DREAMS TO LIFE
Who said the fantasy genre was just for grown-ups? As part of KID-O-NIFFF, Neuchâtel-based pupils aged 5 to 15 will present their stop-motion animation short films, created during workshops organized by the SEEO (Service de l’enseignement obligatoire) and managed by the Filmetic association. Drawing inspiration from the theme Mysteries of the Night, these original short films are equal parts creative, poetic, and enigmatic. The films directed by students aged 15 to 19, who are closer to the world of digital and urban legends, will be shown on the big screen at the FANTASTIC SHORTS special screening.
As far as features are concerned, the NIFFF will be showing SPACE CADET (Kid Koala, CA, 2025), a tender, spellbinding musical fable about memories and the passing of time. Perfect for the whole family.
After having successfully explored science fiction in 2024, the Lanterne Magique will be back with a cine-conference dedicated to the supernatural. Professeur Patate will take us on a new journey that also takes us back to our roots, to show us how, unbeknownst to us, we’ve all been in contact with the genre from our very early years… Finally, an animated shorts program made in collaboration with Fantoche will invite young audience members to explore the theme of ‘care’ in a sensitive and poetic way.
DOUDOU MONSTRES
KID-O-NIFFF
FANTASTIC SHORTS
NIFFF 2025
SPACE CADET
Kid Koala, CA, 2025
While Celeste sets off to explore the stars, her faithful guardian Robot stays behind on Earth, facing the emptiness left by her departure. A vibrant musical fable about memory and the passing of time – to be enjoyed with the whole family!
LA LANTERNE MAGIQUE
Fantastic cinema at child’s eye level
Contrary to popular belief, some naysayers argue that fantastic cinema is a genre only meant for adults. In a brand-new film lecture by Professor Patate, La Lanterne Magique sets out to prove otherwise. In its broadest sense, the fantastic is intrinsic to the spirit of childhood, which thrives on imagination. Without even realizing it, we’ve all experienced it from an early age…
Peppered with evocative film clips, this cine-conference will be both an introduction and a return to our imaginative roots.
DER KLEINE VOGEL UND DAS BLATT
FANTOCHE
CARE CRAZE
Our 2025 retrospective inspires others! The CAN Centre d’art Neuchâtel is giving a carte blanche to Neuchâtel-based artist Maria Guta. Through her project named CARE, TAKEN, which goes hand in hand with the NIFFF’s TAKE CARE! retrospective, she will explore the ways horror and fantasy films can aestheticize suffering and vulnerability while also questioning gender norms and myths about beauty and desire.
Still as an extension to the TAKE CARE! retrospective, the ‘Mens sana in corpore sano’ exhibition will cast an unusual look at the imagination of the medical world. From hygienicist utopias of the 15th century to the fetishizing of bodies put under duress by modern therapeutic devices, the Maison d’Ailleurs will highlight a duality that distinguishes between the flesh and the soul.
Finally, the Villa’s mission is simple: to heal the soul through groundbreaking installations and state-of-the-art treatments. In the ephemeral sanatorium, you can wander from one game to the next, be fully immersed in the world of the Colibri Foudre book, experience a musical exhibition from Bastien Bron (in collaboration with He-Arc), or discover the imaginary animals of artist Mary-Audrey Ramirez (in collaboration with Octobre Numérique). The whole healthcare team is looking forward to helping you every step of the way to reach a better version of yourself.
MARIA GUTA
Carte blanche du CAN
GAME SELECTION AT THE VILLA
COLIBRI-FOUDRE
© Paul-Emile Boucher
MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO
© coll. Maison d’Ailleurs
FORCED AMNESIA
© Mary-Audrey Ramirez
TIME TO WRITE!
Author, musician, and journalist Magali Bossi will once again be moderating a writing workshop. This year, it will take place as part of the Tour du Fantastique. Have you ever dreamed of meeting fantastical creatures covered in feathers, fur, or scales, or of coming up with legends where robots meet fairies? This is for you!
REGISTRATION FORM
© Sarah Adatte / NIFFF 2024