This years 37th edition will deliver over 9 weeks of screenings, more than 38 films, in 18 cities and 40 cinemas.
It is the nation’s largest film festival and celebration of French film outside France, and will see festivalgoers embark on a unique cultural journey featuring French box-office smash-hits, star-studded adaptations, Hollywood stars and Cannes masterpieces.
Naturellement we have made an Irresistible selection to help transport vous to your belle vie in la belle France. Et voilà!
La Venue de l’avenir/ Colours of Time
A playful homage to France’s rich artistic heritage and changing social mores, the comedic drama follows the lives of cousins who inherit an old house in rural Normandy and retrace the steps of their ancestors in 19th century Paris. The film moves between 2025 and 1895, letting the past mirror the present. This dialogue across time gently challenges the relatives’ certainties, inviting them to rethink identity, legacy and the future they carry without realising it.
Director Cédric Klapisch Starring Suzanne Lindon, Abraham Wapler, Julia Piaton, Vincent Macaigne, Zinedine Soualem
La Petite Dernière/ The Little sister
Fatima is the youngest daughter of a Franco- Algerian family living in the suburbs of Paris. A gifted student, she graduates high school and enrols in a philosophy program in Paris, where she is suddenly exposed to a world far removed from everything she knows. Torn between her attachment to family and faith and the stirrings of a new identity, Fatima begins to question who she can be. The awakening of her attraction to women profoundly disrupts her balance, placing her between two worlds: one of belief and belonging, and another of desire, freedom, and self-discovery.
Director Hafsia Herzi Starring Nadia Melliti, Ji-min Park, Amina Ben Mohamed, Rita Benmannana, Melissa Guers
Il était une fois Michel Legrand/ Once Upon A Time Michel Legrand
Through never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with admirers and friends, including Barbra Streisand, the film celebrates a man who brought French music to the world stage and devoted himself tirelessly to his art until the very end. From the chanson tradition to film soundtracks, Legrand constantly reinvented his craft. He composed unforgettable scores for The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Yentl and The Thomas Crown Affair, and collaborated with icons such as Jean-Luc Godard, Miles Davis, Dusty Springfield, Jacques Demy, Charles Aznavour, and Natalie Dessay.
Director David Hertzog Dessites Starring Michel Legrand, Marc Michel Le Bévillon, Pierre Boussaguet, David Dessites, Oscar Peterson
La Tour de Glace/ The Ice Tower
In the 1970s, Jeanne, a 16-year-old orphan, flees her isolated life in the snowbound mountains, drawn to the city she has always dreamed of discovering. Seeking shelter, she slips into what she believes is an abandoned building, only to find herself inside a film studio where a new adaptation of The Snow Queen is being shot. At the heart of the set reigns Cristina, a magnetic and distant star embodying the icy heroine of Jeanne’s favourite tale. Mesmerised by this artificial kingdom of snow and light, Jeanne manages to blend in among the extras, assuming the identity of a young skater she has observed. As filming progresses, Cristina becomes aware of the girl’s quiet intensity. A troubling bond begins to form, fuelled by admiration, desire, and control. Jeanne drifts deeper into Cristina’s orbit, surrendering herself to a world where fiction and reality blur.
Director Lucile Hadžihalilović Starring Marion Cotillard, Clara Pacini, August Diehl, Lilas-Rose Gilberti, Marine Gesbert
On Ira/ Bon voyage, Marie
At 80 years old and suffering from an incurable cancer, Marie is exhausted by pain and determined to leave life on her own terms. When the time comes to tell her family, however, Marie panics and to spare them worry, she announces a family trip to Switzerland, supposedly to collect a mysterious inheritance from a Swiss bank.
Accompanied by Rudy, a caregiver she has only just met and who reluctantly becomes their driver, Marie and her family set off in an old camper van on an unexpected road trip.
13 jours, 13 nuits/ 13 Days, 13 Nights
As American troops prepare to withdraw from Afghanistan, the Taliban seize control of the capital. Panic spreads through the city as thousands of Afghan civilians and foreign nationals rush toward the last remaining place of refuge still operating: the French Embassy. Inside the compound, Commander Mohamed Bida and his men struggle to maintain order while the situation outside collapses. He enters negotiations with the Taliban to organise a final convoy to the airport, the only possible escape route.At his side is Eva, a young Franco-Afghan translator and humanitarian whose courage and resolve prove essential to the mission. For 13 days and 13 nights, the embassy becomes both sanctuary and trap.
Director Martin Bourboulon Starring Roschdy Zem, Lyna Khoudri, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Christophe Montenez, Yan Tual
Chien 51/ Dog 51
In the near future, Paris has been fractured into three social zones. At the top of this new order reigns Alma, an all-powerful artificial intelligence that governs society through data, prediction, and surveillance. Assisted by police forces and swarms of drones, Alma identifies potential criminals before crimes are even committed. When Alma’s creator is brutally murdered, a jaded cop from Zone 3, Zem is forced to team up with Salia, a brilliant investigator from Zone 2. Together, they dive into an investigation that takes them into the most secret corners of Paris, where the murder could reveal the dark secrets of the system they serve and shake the foundations of this new world.
Director Cédric Jimenez Starring Gilles Lellouche, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Louis Garrel, Romain Duris, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
Partir un jour/ Leave one day
This joyously entertaining musical romance stars breakout singer/songwriter Juliette Armanet as a talented Parisian chef forced to reconnect with her small-town upbringing during an unexpected trip home. When she runs into her teenage first love, old memories and sensations resurface. Evocatively depicting regional France and the complications of family life, music interweaves naturally into the story, blending several classics with more recent hits by artists such as Stromae and Céline Dion.
Director Amélie Bonnin Starring Juliette Armanet, Bastien Bouillon, François Rollin, Tewfik Jallab, Dominique Blanc
La Femme la plus riche du Monde/ The Richest Woman in the World
Few modern scandals have captivated France as the astonishing events surrounding Liliane Bettencourt, the billionaire heiress to the L’Oréal fortune and doyenne of Parisian society. Now the story has been adapted to feature Marianne Farrère as the head of the Windler Group while Pierre-Alain Fantin is a vivacious dandy, writer and photographer. After meeting on a photo shoot, the two quickly become inseparable. Surreptitious queries soon transition into a private investigation, resulting in extraordinary ramifications for all involved. This wildly entertaining film became an enormous box-office hit in France.
Director Thierry Klifa Starring Isabelle Huppert, Marina Foïs, Laurent Lafitte, Raphaël Personnaz, André Marcon
Une Pointe d’Amour/ A Dash of Love
When Mélanie, a brilliant lawyer, decides it’s time to live on her own terms, she persuades her old university friend Benjamin to join her on a road trip to Spain. Their unlikely driver is Lucas, a recently released ex-con and one of Mélanie’s clients. While Mélanie pushes forward with urgency, Benjamin seems in no hurry to arrive, quietly stretching detours and moments along the way, as if trying to make the road last a little longer. What begins as an impulsive escape slowly transforms into a tender exploration of freedom, intimacy, and the many shades of love.
Director Maël Piriou Starring Julia Piaton, Grégory Gadebois, Quentin Dolmaire, Florence Viala, Claude Guyonnet
La Réparation/ Redress
Paskal Jankovski is hours away from the announcement of his third Michelin star when he vanishes during a dawn hunting trip. Just 20 years old, Clara, Paskal’s daughter, unexpectedly inherits the family restaurant, a bastion of French culinary artistry suddenly beseiged by uncertainty. Two years later, a cryptic invitation draws her to Taiwan, where the puzzle begins to shift shape once again.
Director Régis Wargnier Starring Julia de Nunez, Clovis Cornillac, Julien de Saint Jean, Antoine Pelletier, J.C. Lin
Avignon/ Rodrigue In Love
AF FFF City Dates:
● Sydney, NSW: 3 March – 8 April
Venues: State Theatre, Palace Central, Palace Norton Street, Palace Moore Park, Hayden Orpheum
Picture Palace, Roseville Cinemas, United Cinemas Warriewood
● Melbourne, VIC: 4 March – 8 April
Venues: Palace Cinema Como, The Kino, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Westgarth,
Pentridge Cinema, The Astor Theatre, Palace Penny Lane, Palace Church St
● Brisbane, QLD: 5 March – 8 April
Venues: Palace Cinema James Street, Palace Cinema Barracks
● Canberra, ACT: 5 March – 8 April
Venue: Palace Electric Cinemas
● Perth, WA: 12 March – 15 April
Venues: Palace Raine Square, Luna on SX, Luna Leederville, Windsor Cinema
● Adelaide, SA: 18 March – 22 April
Venues: Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas
● Byron Bay, NSW: 6 March – 2 April
Venues: Palace Cinema Byron Bay
● Ballina, NSW: 7 March – 2 April
Venues: Ballina Fair Cinemas
● Ballarat, NSW: 5 March – 8 April
Venues: Palace Regent Cinemas Ballarat
● Gold Coast, QLD: 19 March – 8 April
Venues: Dendy Southport
● Hobart, TAS: 9 April – 19 April
Venues: State Cinema
● Victor Harbor, SA: 25 March – 1 April
Venues: Victa Cinema
● Bunbury, WA: 25 March – 29 March
Venues: Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre
● Dubbo, NSW: 16 April – 19 Aprill
Venues: Reading Cinemas Dubbo
● Bendigo, VIC: 17 April – 19 April
Venues: Star Cinema
● Warrawong, NSW: 3 April – 14 April
Venues: Gala Twin Cinema
● Rouse Hill, NSW: 3 April – 12 April
Venue: Reading Cinemas Rouse Hill
● Rhodes, NSW: 9 April – 19 April
Venues: Reading Cinemas Rhodes
● Katoomba, NSW: 19 March – 29 March
Venues: The Edge United Katoomba
● Geelong, VIC: 16 April – 28 April
Venues: The Pivotonian Cinema
● Darwin, NT: 23 April – 26 April
Venues: Deckchair Cinema
