By Nina Winiger

I went to the LUFF two weeks ago, here are some words about this festival.

The Lausanne Underground Film and Music Festival (LUFF) just had its seventeenth edition and yet it is still quite unknown in Switzerland, even though it has been recognized in the mediatic scene (is has been the subject of a broadcast by Arte Tracks in 2016).

This article aims to present it to a larger audience.

I was mostly interested by the film program and the impression i had by going to the screenings was this one: “Isn’t it a funny coincidence, that the LUFF is located in an old Casino ?” Because somehow, choosing a film from the program is like playing roulette.

Due to its large selection, you can end up with the newest fantastical, horror, documentary and animated productions, or even with some forgotten crappy movies.

This is, for me, the true value of this festival. The LUFF is indeed taking risks, not knowing if a film will be a commercial success, but still deciding to show it. And as a viewer, being open to this kind of risk is also enjoyable. Sometimes you’re sitting in front of a movie you might not like or even find horrible…but is it really a nourishing experience to see only films which we are used to ?

If I enter a cinema without clear expectations and then I find myself to be delighted about what I am seeing, that is where the magic is operating.

And even if I’m left confused by a film I just saw, it feels more triggering for me precisely because this means that my brain hasn’t found a place yet to categorize those images. Therefore it has to open a new little box somewhere where it can put them. This is exactly what I am looking for in artistic work.

As a viewer, I wish to see films that will challenge me in some way or another. And as a prospective filmmaker, I want to see films exploring new ranges of possibilities in this medium I dearly love. This is what I search and luckily find at LUFF.