THE GIFF PROGRAMMING TEAM
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.
MARAL MOHSENIN
Head of Programs
Holding a PhD in film history and aesthetics (University of Lausanne, University of Amsterdam), Maral has been working since 2015 in the programming team of the GIFF, first as the retrospective curator, then the series programmer, and finally the head of programs since 2022. At the same time, she was a film restorer and conserver at the Cinémathèque Suisse from 2016 to 2022, has collaborated with several festivals in Switzerland (Visions du Réel, VIFFF) and occasionally intervenes in conferences and courses at the University of Lausanne.
MATHIEU GAYET
Responsable de l’Industry et programmateur programmes immersifs
Mathieu Gayet is a Paris-based digital strategist and journalist specializing in new media and immersive storytelling. He launched XRMust.com in 2018, a platform dedicated to immersive storytelling, which has gained recognition within the XR industry. Mathieu is also the curator of Immersity, a 3-day workshop in Angoulême, France, where he brings together creative minds from the French immersive industry to discuss and shape the future of XR storytelling. He has been responsible for industry at GDM since 2023 and also contributes to XR programming at GIFF.
LUCIE EMCH
Program Coordinator
Working since 2016 at GIFF as well as in various Swiss festivals and cultural events, Lucie Emch studied film history and aesthetics at the University of Lausanne and Global Creative and Cultural Industries at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. Passionate about gender representations on screen and innovation of narrative codes, she joined the GIFF immersive programming team in 2021, and is now in charge of program coordination since 2023.
FRAN GAYO
Cinema Programmer
Since 1997 Fran Gayo has been programming for different events like the Gijon International Film Festival (where he currently works as Head of Programming), the BAFICI in Buenos Aires, Las Palmas Film Festival, the NIFFF (Switzerland), Expotoons or the Ourense Film Festival in Spain. He’s in charge of the cinema contents of the Centro Niemeyer in Asturias (Spain) and since 2015 has been the programmer of Espanoramas, a yearly event dedicated to spanish cinema organized by the Spanish Embassy in Argentina.
GEORG BÜTLER
Cinema Programmer
Born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1981. Graduated from the University of Zurich in History and Film Studies with a thesis on the contemporary essay film. Focusing on new cinema from Europe, Latin America and Asia, he worked as a programmer for the Zurich Film Festival from 2011, heading the programme from 2019 until 2022. Currently works as a freelance film curator & consultant.
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 (FIFF, NIFFF, GIFF, Locarno). Today, Julia is a member of the artistic committees of the Locarno Film Festival (short film section) and GIFF (series section). She is also a producer of feature-length and short films with the Zurich-based production company LANGFILM.
AUGUSTIN LEROY
Series programmer
After studying history and obtaining a research master’s degree in contemporary history, Augustin turned to the audiovisual field by enrolling in the scriptwriting/directing master’s program at ESRA Paris. This was followed by a six-month internship with the production company Lizland Films. Today, he works as an acquisitions consultant for the international sales company Reel Suspects; in parallel, he develops fiction projects as a scriptwriter. In 2024, he joined the GIFF selection committee.
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.
STEN-KRISTIAN SALUVEER
Professional Program Consultant
Holding a degree from the University of Tokyo in the field of technology disruption and intellectual property for the film and festival industries, Sten Saluveer has been collaborating with Geneva Digital Market since 2021. He is an award winning audiovisual media innovation and policy strategist, audiovisual producer and content and technology entrepreneur. He is the founder of Storytek Innovation and Venture Studios, bringing together in-depth knowledge of the audiovisual sector, technology, and financing, as well as advising creators, industry and governments on the future of content, technology and media.
