The Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) is happy to introduce you to its programming team. We look forward to seeing you in person in Neuchâtel, from July 5th to July 13th, 2024, to show you all the genre cinema gems we work so hard to find! In the meantime, the members of the programming team will be attending various film markets. In addition, you can still submit your film to the festival on NIFFF.CH.
PIERRE-YVES WALDER
General and Artistic Director
Born in Neuchâtel, Pierre-Yves studied fine arts and holds a Diploma of Advanced Studies in cultural management. He started his career in Paris as a media relations specialist before working for several Swiss festivals (Cinéma Tous Ecrans, Visions du Réel, Zurich Film Festival, Festival de Locarno), all the while regularly collaborating with RTS. For two years, he worked for the Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council (Zurich). He joined the NIFFF team in 2008, first as part of the Communications team, and then as a Programme Coordinator (until 2015), before taking on the role of General and Artistic Director in autumn 2021.
© Miguel Bueno / NIFFF 2021
ALICE MORONI
Programme Coordinator
Alice holds a bachelor’s degree in D.A.M.S. Dicipline of Arts, Musics and Performance from the University of Bologna Faculty of Letters and Arts, in Italy. She earned her stripes at Filmmaker, a Milan-based festival that promotes independent cinema. Over the past 20 years, she has worked various roles for many film-related events and cultural organisations (Alba International Film Festival, Festival dei Popoli, Mostra Internazionale d’Arte Cinematografica, FrontDoc, Regione Autonoma Valle d’Aosta, and so on). She notably partook in the creation of the Vallée Film Commission d’Aoste foundation. In 2011, she moved to Switzerland, where she became the head of the programming office for Visions du Réel from 2011 to 2014. She has been a Programme Coordinator at the NIFFF since 2016.
© Miguel Bueno / NIFFF 2020
KATE REIDY
Programmer
Kate holds a degree of fine arts in cinema from HEAD Geneva. She has been playing a key role in the region’s cultural landscape for 25 years. Founder of the Cinéma Spoutnik collective, former permanent spokesperson for État d’Urgences (central association of the alternative cultural centre L’Usine), she was also the Co-Director of the International Independent Film Festival Black-Movie from 2003 to 2021. She then took charge of the City of Geneva Cultural Services in 2021-2022. She brings in novel approaches to film distribution, successfully incorporating aesthetic and societal themes to attract a wide diversity of audiences. Her commitment stands out thanks to her proven open-mindedness, which gives equal importance to emerging auteur cinema and to more traditional filmmaking. She joined the NIFFF programming team in 2024.
© Olivier Zimmermann
CHARLOTTE SERRAND
Short Film Programmer
Born in 1988, Charlotte studied classical and modern literature, and went on to obtain a master’s degree in film studies at Université Paris 3 Sorbonne Nouvelle. Since 2020, she is the Artistic Director of La Roche-sur-Yon International Film Festival, where she had been working with the programming team since 2012. From 2019 to 2021, she took on the role of Programming Advisor for the Directors’ Fortnight (Cannes Festival). She has also regularly worked as an artistic advisor for Visions du Réel since 2018.
She has been collaborating with filmmaker Albert Serra as an artistic advisor since 2012 (notably for STORY OF MY DEATH, THE DEATH OF LOUIS XIV, LIBERTÉ). In 2014, she directed the film 1048 LUNES (FIDMarseille, Bafici). She became part of the NIFFF programming team in 2024 and is now in charge of the various short film programmes.
© Blumone
NADÈGE PIO
NIFFF EXTENDED Coordinator
Nadège is a sociologist specialised in the study of digital cultures and practices, and holds a master’s degree in digital humanities from the University of Lausanne. She recently collaborated with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology as part of their Digital Education Project in the Vaud canton. Initially trained in forensic sciences and anti-cybercriminality, Nadège previously worked as a strategic analyst for the Vaud Cantonal Police. Her passion for the arts led her to work for the Lausanne university radio during her studies. She has long been cultivating a strong interest for the fantasy genre and has therefore been attending the NIFFF for close to a decade. Drawing from her unique experience, she will be coordinating the NIFFF EXTENDED programme in 2024 and will also continue developing activities related to La Tour du fantastique.
MARIE KLAY
NIFFF INVASION Coordinator
As the Administrative Director of the LUFF — Lausanne Underground Film & Music Festival since 2014, Marie Klay has garnered significant experience in the cultural world of Romandie, with a particular interest in film and audiovisual works. Even before graduating in art history from the University of Lausanne in 2015, she started working for the Lausanne Zinéma in administrative and programming roles. From 2015 to 2017, she joined the Cinéma Spoutnik team in Geneva while the cultural sector faced massive budgetary cuts. She comes out of the experience a fierce political defender of culture. In addition to her commitment to the LUFF, she is part of the NIFFF team as the NIFFF INVASION Coordinator since 2017, and in 2024, she is also taking over programming duties.
© Miguel Bueno / NIFFF 2020
Feature Film Selection Committee:
Frederike Dellert (DE), Alice Moroni (IT/CH), Alexandre Rallo (FR/DE), Kate Reidy (CH), Rocío Rocha (AR), Charlotte Serrand (FR), Loïc Valceschini (CH), Pierre-Yves Walder (CH)
Short Film Selection Committee:
James Berclaz-Lewis (CH), Léa Eigenmann (CH), Sonia Pfeuti (CH), Raphaëlle Pralong (CH), Alexandre Rallo (FR/DE), Kate Reidy (CH), Charlotte Serrand (FR)
Consultants: Joanne Giger (FR/US), Adam Torel (UK/JP)
NIFFF Extended consultants: Boris Bruckler (CH), Ian Failes (AU), Vincent Frei (CH)
THE NIFFF WILL BE IN…
- Rotterdam : 30 January – 2 February 2024
- Clermont-Ferrand: 5-8 February 2024
- EFM: 14-21 February 2024
- Marché du Film: 13-22 May 2024
Contact them:
CALL FOR ENTRIES
NIFFF submissions are open ! You can try to partake in the 23rd edition by submitting your film and compete for the prestigious H.R. Giger “Narcisse” Award (CHF 10,000 granted by the City of Neuchâtel).
