Emilie Bujès leaves Visions du Réel for the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF)

The artistic director of the Nyon documentary film festival Visions du Réel, Emilie Bujès, will leave her position at the end of July. In place since 2018, she has decided to take on a new challenge by becoming the artistic director of the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF).

Emilie Bujès has been in the role of co-director and head of programming and industry at Visions du Réel since 2018. She has participated in nine editions of the festival, including the 2026 edition scheduled to take place from April 17 to 26. The announcement of her departure was made this Wednesday by the Visions du Réel Foundation in a press release.

The Franco-Swiss will take over as artistic director of the Geneva International Film Festival (GIFF) on August 1, 2026, succeeding Anaës Emery. “This logical step will allow Emilie Bujès to further broaden the cinematic scope of her work and focus on fiction, series, and digital formats,” explains the foundation.

“Emilie Bujès has left her mark on an important page of the history of Visions du Réel, notably with the extraordinary quality of her programming. With all her experience and international network, she has managed to strengthen, rejuvenate, and revitalize the festival, both in terms of the audience and the industry,” the foundation writes.

“These years within the Visions du Réel team, first as a member of the selection committee and then as artistic director, have been filled with challenges, encounters, cinematic discoveries, and artistic, professional, and human joys,” declares Emilie Bujès.

“I am infinitely grateful for the freedom and trust in which I was able to work, with a kind board of trustees and highly motivated and committed teams. This will remain an essential stage in my professional career and I am very happy to be able to pass on the festival in excellent condition to the person who succeeds me,” she adds.

The artistic director position will soon be the subject of a call for applications, the press release emphasizes. At GIFF, the announcement of the departure of the general and artistic director, Anaës Emery, was made last January. She had been in the position for five years.

Emilie Bujès also expresses her joy in joining the GIFF. “A major festival with a unique and eclectic identity – which has experienced various significant stages in its history – to write a new chapter,” in her own words.

“After a very enriching experience at Visions du Réel, I now wish to dedicate myself more resolutely to fiction, as well as to series and digital formats. I am eager to embark on a new challenge with a fantastic team,” she explains. The next edition of GIFF will take place from October 30 to November 8, 2026.