More than four hundred films at the start, only twenty at the finish line. That's the choice PIFFF made fourteen years ago: to prioritize quality over quantity. A shorter festival, with few reruns, so that the experience is more collective, so that everyone sees the same film at the same time, in a true atmosphere of sharing.

Because, yes, the best thing about a festival is that feeling of having spent a week together, at the same pace and in the same place; that uniqueness that is often lost when people watch films at different times, each on their own. The festival is a valuable remedy for this: we remember more vividly the moment we discovered a particular film, we have long, heated discussions before and after the screenings, and, for a week, we find ourselves among lovers of fantasy cinema, a genre that, more than any other, has been rare, if not absent, from the big screen throughout history.

And what better place than the Max Linder Panorama, perhaps one of the most beautiful cinemas in the world, to host this gathering?
We hope you enjoy watching the 2025 PIFFF selection as much as we enjoyed putting it together, even though it was quite a challenge. Most of the organizing team will be there with you throughout the week, because for us too, this sense of community is essential: it's what binds us together after spending most of our free time passionately preparing for the festival.

A festival made by and for enthusiasts.
And as Tod Browning said in Freaks: “We accept you, one of us.”

The festival team