2026 Guests and Jury

Over five days, the festival will bring together the faces and voices that embody contemporary comedy! Alongside Gérard Jugnot, guest of honour of this 12th edition, and the duo Nicolas & Bruno, guests of the “Funny Business” focus, come and meet the Swiss and international filmmakers, actors and screenwriters who bring laughter to life on the big screen. Screenings, masterclasses, meet-and-greets and discussions: so many opportunities to share laughs, ideas and emotions centred on cinema.

Sonia Rossier // Aude Thuries // Michael Zindel // Jasmin Basic // Léa Favre // Martin Jauvat // Gérard Jugnot // Jean-Baptiste Toussaint // Nicolas Charlet & Bruno Lavaine // Philippe Congiusti // Niccolò Gentili // Lisa Nur Sadun // Kade Atwood // Mélanie Charbonneau // Gabrielle Côté // Claude Schmitz // Francis Soetens // Lila Pinell // Leonor Oberson // Louiza Aura // Ian Faria // Rokhaya Marieme Balde // Davide Brancato // Tareq Daoud // Salomé Käsemodel // Natalia Ducrey // Raphaël Rivière // Tristan Aymon // Gaëtan Brügger // Balazs Gyenes // Salomé Crouzet // Marion Reymond // Vincent Bossel // Charlyne Genoud // Stéphane Goël // Laetitia Mischler // Adrien Knecht // Adrien Mani // Yacine Nemra // Anita Rodriguez // Maïa Roger // Chevalier De Rinchy // Nathalie Jendly // Vincent Adatte // Fabien Béquart // Eric Lecoultre // Gabriel Murisier // Etienne Chédeville // Jason Sereftug-Borruso // Julien Bouissoux // Antoine Humber // Robin Szymczak // Céline Dondénaz // Alexis Ramos

Guest of Honour: Gérard Jugnot

Gérard Jugnot

Guest of Honour (FR).

An actor, director and screenwriter, Gérard Jugnot made his name with the Splendid theatre troupe, where he created a gallery of grumbling, clumsy or pathetic characters who have since achieved cult status.

Moving behind the camera in 1984, he has skilfully combined slapstick with great sensitivity, remaining true to a formula dear to him: “ordinary characters faced with extraordinary situations”.

Jean-Baptiste Toussaint (TFTC)

Moderator of Gérard Jugnot’s masterclass (FR).

Ten years ago, Jean-Baptiste Toussaint founded the media platform TFTC (Tales From The Click), which has over 700,000 subscribers and has racked up more than 65 million views. He also hosts a film podcast that tops the charts in France and presents a culture programme on France Inter every Saturday.

"Funny Business" Focus: Nicolas & Bruno

Nicolas Charlet &

Guest of the “Funny Business” focus (FR).

As part of the “Funny Business” focus, the VIFFF welcomes the duo Nicolas & Bruno, screenwriters, directors and voice actors. For nearly thirty years, the workplace, its conventions and its absurdities have been their favourite playground. In 1998, they created COGIP, a fictional company with a mysterious line of business, in the programme Message à caractère informatif on Canal+, by re-dubbing the dialogue from real corporate films. This was followed by Le Bureau, the French adaptation of The Office, and then their foray into cinema, from La Personne aux deux personnes to Alter Ego.

Bruno Lavaine

Guest of the “Funny Business” focus (FR).

Philippe Congiusti (RTS)

Moderator of Nicolas & Bruno’s masterclass (CH).

Jury: International Feature Film Competition

Sonia Rossier

Jury member (CH).

A director based in the Lausanne area, Sonia honed her eye on set as an assistant director, where she learnt what comedy demands above all else: a sense of rhythm and timing. She now works across both film and TV series, focusing on stories where laughter mingles with melancholy. She is currently developing a comedy-drama centred on a former film star living in a care home — a way of looking, with tenderness and irony, at what remains when the spotlights go out.

Aude Thuries

Jury member (FR). Director of Saillie (international shorts).

After working as a dancer and a maths teacher, Aude Thuries turned her hand to screenwriting and film directing. In 2026, she directed Saillie, a short film starring Noémie Lvovsky and Guillaume Gallienne, and co-wrote the screenplay for Bastien Daret’s À double tour with José Garcia and Baptiste Lecaplain (scheduled for release in 2027).

Michael Zindel

Jury member (FR). Actor in L’Instinct paternel (Swiss shorts).

After completing a bachelor’s degree in film at the University of Paris VIII Vincennes, Michael Zindel enrolled in the theatre department at the Jacques Ibert Conservatoire. Together with his partner Louis Quendolo, he directed numerous self-produced short films under the banner of Schnitzel’s Films. At the same time, he worked at a school by day and in a kebab shop by night, until his cousin Jess told him about an audition that would lead him to Noé Debré’s short film Une fille moderne. They went on to collaborate on On n’est pas des animaux, followed by their first feature film, Le Dernier des Juifs.

He also played Schlock in Aimer perdre by the Guit’s Brothers (2024 VIFFF d’Or), in Micro Star by Leopold Kraus, and Isaac, the sandwich board man, in No Skate by Guil Sela. He currently stars in the short film L’Instinct paternel by Natalia Ducrey and Raphaël Rivière.

Jury: Swiss Short Film Competition

Jasmin Basic

Jury member (CH).

Jasmin Basic obtained a Master of Arts from the University of Lausanne. Since then, she has worked as a programmer for several festivals, including Visions du Réel, Ambulante Mexico, FIFDH Geneva, Animafest Zagreb, the NIFFF, the Solothurn Film Festival, the Winterthur International Short Film Festival and Fantoche, amongst others. She has also collaborated with the Tangier Cinémathèque, the La Virreina Centre for Visual Arts in Barcelona, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, the Cinémathèque Française, the Centre Pompidou and the Forum des Images in Paris. She is a co-founder of Pro Short, the Swiss association for short films. She has served as an expert for the Federal Office of Culture and as a member of the Geneva Film Commission. She is currently head of the Master’s in Cinema programme, a joint programme run by ECAL in Lausanne and HEAD in Geneva.

Léa Favre

Jury member (CH).

Lea a 29 ans et a obtenu en juillet 2024 un deuxième Bachelor en réalisation cinématographique à l’ECAL (École cantonale d’art de Lausanne) après un Bachelor de lettres à l’Université de Lausanne. Son film de diplôme, Qui part à la chasse, a été sélectionné dans plus de 80 festivals de cinéma et a reçu presque 30 prix au fil de son parcours, une reconnaissance qui lui semble encore aujourd’hui complètement irréelle. Elle travaille depuis deux ans comme assistante de production chez Hélium Films à Lausanne. Parallèlement à cette activité, elle continue d’écrire et de développer ses propres projets de films, en explorant aussi bien l’animation que la prise de vue réelle documentaire.

Martin Jauvat

Jury member (FR).

Director and actor in the Martin & Anaïde Cinematic Universe (VIFFF short films).

Speaker at the EC’RIRE residency (feature films).

Martin Jauvat, a writer-director of colourful comedies set in the Parisian suburbs, grew up in Chelles (Seine-et-Marne), a town he has filmed in his short films and subsequently in Grand Paris, his first feature film, which was selected for ACID Cannes 2022. In 2025, he returned to Cannes to present his second feature film, Baise-en-ville, at the Critics’ Week. An actor in his own films, he also starred in Garance Kim’s Ville éternelle (Best Newcomer Award, Jean Carmet Festival 2022) and, more recently, in Lila Pinell’s Shana, alongside Eva Huault. He is currently co-writing Problemos Dos by Eric Judor.

International Feature Film Competition

Niccolò Gentili

Director of Dov’è la Fiesta? (IT)

Lisa Nur Sultan

Screenwriter of Dov’è la Fiesta? (IT)

Kade Atwood

Co-director of Edie Arnold Is a Loser (US)

Mélanie Charbonneau

Director of Les Furies (CA)

Gabrielle Côté

Screenwriter and actress in Les Furies (CA)

Claude Schmitz

Director of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines (FR/BE)

Francis Soetens

Actor in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines (FR/BE)

VIFFF Explore

Lila Pinell

Director of Shana (FR)

Midnighters

Leonor Oberson

Actress in I Love Paris (FR/US)

Louiza Aura

Actress in I Love Paris (FR/US)

Ian Faria

Director of Big Break (US)

CHCHCH: Swiss Comedies

Rokhaya Marieme Balde

Director of Rose, tulipe et pétunia

Davide Brancato / Royale Cattin

Actor in Rose, tulipe et petunia / Drag queen and MC at the film screening

Tareq Daoud

Director of Serife Tavsan

Salomé Käsemodel

Director of Kloster

Natalia Ducrey

Co-director of L’Instinct paternel

Raphaël Rivière

Co-director of L’Instinct paternel and supervisor of the EC’RIRE residency (short films)

Tristan Aymon

Producer of L’Instinct paternel and mentor for the EC’RIRE residency (short films)

Estelle Vionnet

Actress of L’Instinct paternel

Balazs Gyenes

Director of Rum Punch

Gaëtan Brügger

Director of Un Petit Doigt pour l’Homme

Vincent Bossel

Producer of Mammo

Salomé Crouzet

Co-director of Mammo

Marion Reymond

Co-director of Mammo

Charlyne Genoud

Director of Respirer une fois sur trois

Stéphane Goël

Producer of Respirer une fois sur trois

Collectif Lausanne Impro

On Stage for Casting presents: The Experts: Laetitia Mischler (director), Adrien Knecht, Adrien Mani, Yacine Nemra & Anita Rodriguez

Mini vifff

Le Club des Chats

On stage for Youki Party Woo: Maïa Roger & Chevalier De Rinchy

Nathalie Jendly

On stage for the Kamishibaï session

As well as Vincent Adatte (Lanterne Magique) for the film talk, and Fabien Béquart (Association Silence Saturne), Eric Lecoultre (Alliance Créative) and Gabriel Murisier (LaFabrik Cucheturelle) for the children’s workshops.