Moroccan actress Sarah Perles presents an acting award to young Quebec actress Juliette Bharucha / © Renaud Gavroy
An experience accessible to all
The FIFCL is a joyful and glamorous celebration, open to all cinephiles: young or experienced, able-bodied or disabled, schoolchildren, students, teachers, company directors, partners, actors, scriptwriters, directors, casting directors, or simply adventurers of laughter.
A festival rich in encounters and discoveries
In addition to the competition, where the prestigious Taureau d’Or and Taureau de Cristal are awarded, the FIFCL offers:
- Exclusive meetings with film icons and professionals.
- Professional meetings to exchange ideas between designers and industry players.
- A unique writing residency, the CineComedies Lab, in partnership with CineComedies de Lens-Liévin.
- Exhibitions, concerts and new discoveries.
A microcosm in the heart of Liège
The FIFCL transforms the fiery city into a veritable “city within a city”: a cultural, economic and gastronomic crossroads that continues to grow. By fusing tradition and innovation, Liège becomes, in the space of a few days, the European capital of comedy.
They passed through
the festival
Renaud Gavroy, Aurore Nivelle, Victoria Smith, Vincent Lourtie, Fanny Demaret, Baudouin Litt, Christophe Toffolo, David Loicq, Thibault Trillet, Gilles Lemoine, Martin Domingues-Gonçalves
Festival patron
Present at the 9th edition in 2024, Lambert Wilson was seduced by the Liège International Comedy Film Festival and by the Principality in general. He therefore enthusiastically accepted to become the patron of this anniversary edition of the FIFCL.
Born in Paris, Lambert Wilson studied theater at the Drama Centre in London for three years (1975-1978). He has worked with major directors such as Claude Chabrol, Bertrand Tavernier, the Wachowski sisters, Alain Resnais, Valéria Bruni-Tedeschi, Sophie Fillières, Valérie Lemercier, Alain Chabat, Andrzej Żuławski and others. He won the Prix Jean-Gabin for his portrayal of Abbé Pierre in the film Hiver 54. He has distinguished himself in numerous period films, such as Jefferson in Paris, as well as in historical works such as L’Odyssée (where he played the iconic Jacques-Yves Cousteau) and De Gaulle.
Bold in his choice of roles, he doesn’t hesitate to take on singular projects such as Le Ventre de l’architecte and Les Possédés. His popularity grew with films such as Palais Royal, Matrix, Des Hommes et des Dieux, Sur la piste du Marsupilami, La Vache and Alceste à bicyclette. More recently, he shone in Benedetta, Des Mains en or, and 5 Hectares.
Any message for festival-goers?
“Let’s keep the party going! But I don’t think I need to tell the people of Liège that (laughs). That’s the charm of Belgium: it’s innate. The French always have this cliché of Belgian surrealism, but in reality, in countries where the climate is harsher, the sense of celebration is often stronger. We look for warmth wherever we can find it. I simply want to say to festival-goers: keep up this spirit of celebration and conviviality!”
© Bertrand Noël/FIFCL 2024
The FIFCL
is committed
Each year, FIFCL reinforces its environmental responsibility: a challenge that everyone takes up in their own way, and which takes on a particular dimension given the scale of the event. Sustaining FIFCL has always been an artistic and economic challenge. Today, it is also an ecological challenge, which the organization is committed to meeting over the long term by implementing concrete and significant measures to preserve the environment.
Aurore Nivelle
The choice of a fleet of official cars (Schyns Group), 80% of which are electric or hybrid vehicles;
Encouraging the use of soft mobility and environmentally-friendly means of transport, such as TEC electric buses, car-sharing, SNCB trains, bicycles and streetcars, as well as the use of Triobike scooters from our partner Échappées Hesbignonnes for the duration of the festival;
Reducing the use of materials and resources: for example, the volume of our red carpet has been reduced by 65%, and part of it has been recycled and reused, notably by shopkeepers in Liège city center thanks to our partnership with the Liège Gestion Centre-Ville association;
Fairer coffee: at the FIFCL, Charles Liégeois Roastery, our coffee partner, serves exclusively its organic and Fairtrade Mano Mano. Good for taste, for producers and for the planet;
The festival planted 1,002 Rhizophora mucronataa species of flowering plants in the Rhizophoraceae family (i.e. 50.05 tonnes of CO2 captured), in Madagascar, via the Tree-Nation platform ;
The Festival reduced the weight of its printed material by 75% by eliminating flyers and using only leaflets, and by replacing the printed catalog with a digital format accessible via a QR Code.
FIFCL also means
a team at your service
During the festival, a dedicated team of enthusiasts is at your service to guide you through the various FIFCL zones (cinemas, Forum, Espace Pro Uhoda, Pôle Média, Chapiteau, Walk of Fame, etc.) and inform you about the areas and services reserved for you.
The FIFCL, in the heart of the Cité ardente, welcomes festival-goers from all horizons and cultures for a week, paying particular attention to the quality of its welcome. The Festival is committed to being a space open to the world, faithful to the values of freedom and humanism that have always guided it. It strives to offer an inclusive, caring, safe and welcoming environment for all.
A moment of complicity between the audience and Josiane Balasko / @ Aurore Nivelle
350 volunteers to inform and guide festival-goers;
30 security guards to ensure the safety of the festival;
Two Info Points are at your disposal: the first at the Chapiteau, place de la Cathédrale, and the second at the Espace Pro Uhoda, rue Saint-Paul. Here you’ll find answers to all your questions about the FIFCL program and venues;
Journalists will be able to work and relax in a Media Centre on rue Cathédrale, opposite the Chapiteau, and in a newsroom and press room in the Espace Pro Uhoda;
FIFCL shuttles are available to transport accredited guests free of charge between the various FIFCL zones;
Targeted services (luggage lockers, checkrooms, lost and found, etc.).