ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL REVEALS 37TH EDITION OFFERING A FEAST OF FRENCH CINEMA THIS AUTUMN

Over 9 weeks of screenings, featuring more than 38 films, across 18 cities and 40 cinemas

Director, Gracie Otto, announced as Festival Patron

Tickets on sale Thursday 5 February, visit affrenchfilmfestival.org

The 37th Alliance Française French Film Festival has revealed its full program, launching a stellar

lineup of 38 films, over nine weeks, across 18 cities and 40 venues.

Arriving in Australia from 3 March – 26 April 2026, the nation’s largest film festival and celebration of

French film outside France will see festivalgoers embark on a unique cultural journey featuring French

box-office smash-hits, star-studded adaptations, Hollywood stars and Cannes masterpieces.

Opening this year’s festival will be Cédric Klapisch’s acclaimed La Venue De L’avenir (Colours Of

Time), a playful homage to France’s rich artistic heritage and changing social mores. Starring

Suzanne Lindon, Vincent Macaigne, Cécile de France and Paul Kircher, 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.

Closing the festival is Johann Dionnet’s Avignon (Rodrigue In Love). The must-see romantic comedy

is set in the heart of the country's most famous theatre festival, Avignon, and stars Baptiste

Lecaplain, Alison Wheeler and Lyès Salem.

This year’s 38-film lineup features 10 films directed by female filmmakers and has no shortage of

French star power, with icons such as Isabelle Huppert in La Femme La Plus Riche Du Monde (The

Richest Woman In The World) and Laure Calamy in Classe Moyenne (The Party’s Over!) and C’est

quoi L’amour ? (What is Love?), as well as exciting newcomers like Amélie Bonnin with Partir Un

Jour (Leave One Day) and Enya Baroux in On Ira (Bon Voyage, Marie). Adding to the program’s line-

up of powerhouse female filmmakers will be Julia Ducournau’s striking Alpha, Cannes darling La

Petite Dernière (The Little Sister) a coming-of-age drama by Hafsia Herzi featuring break-out star

Nadia Melliti; Rebecca Zlotowski’s Vie Privée (A Private Life) showcasing the extraordinary Jodie

Foster in her first French language leading role; La Tour de Glace (The Ice Tower) directed by Lucile

Hadžihalilović and starring Marion Cotillard; and Barbara Schulz’s Le Secret de Khéops (Treasure

Hunters: On The Tracks Of Khufu).

Direct from the Croisette will also be Cannes Film Festival stand-outs L’Inconnu de la Grande Arche

(The Great Arch), the story of Otto von Spreckelsen, a real-life architecture teacher from Copenhagen

who surprised the world when he won an open-call competition to design the Great Arch of La

Défense; French coming-of-age drama Enzo; Dossier 137 (Case 137) a crime drama co-written and

directed by Dominik Moll, starring Léa Drucker; and Amélie et la Métaphysique Des Tubes (Little

Amélie or the Character Of Rain) an animation from filmmakers Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han.

Audiences will travel to Paris and beyond with the return of the Festival’s much-loved showcase

screening events including the ‘Centrepiece’ premiere of La Femme La Plus Riche Du Monde (The

Richest Woman In The World); ‘Taste of France’ selection La Réparation (Redress) from Oscar

winner Régis Wargnier; ‘Classic Movie’, Un Homme et une Femme (A Man and a Woman) a

timeless masterpiece directed by Claude Lelouch and starring Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis

Trintignant; and ‘Ladies Night’ French time-travel comedy showcase C'était Mieux Demain (Cycle Of

Time).

Joining the already announced headliner titles Jean Valjean, L’Étranger (The Stranger), C’est Quoi

L’amour? (What Is Love?), Coutures (Couture), Chien 51 (DOG 51) and Classe Moyenne (The

Party’s Over!), will be drama 6 Jours, Ce Printemps-Là (6 Days In Spring), the 11th feature film from

Joachim Lafosse; the latest film from Carlos Abascal Peiro, Fils De (The Son Of), starring Jean

Chevalier, Karin Viard, François Cluzet, Emilie – Kahn and Alex Lutz; Dominique Baumard’s Les

Règles de L’art (The French Job), a French crime comedy inspired by the 2010 theft of five

masterpieces from Paris' Museum of Modern Art; Maigret et le Mort Amoureux (Maigret and the Dead

Lover) based on the 1960 novel Maigret et les Vieillards by Georges Simenon; Grégory Magne’s

Les Musiciens (The Musicians); dramedy Une Pointe D’amour (A Dash Of Love); L’affaire Bojarski

(The Money Maker), a counterfeit thriller starring Reda Kateb; À Bicyclette (Ride Away), directed by

and starring Mathias Mlekuz with Philippe Rebbot; 13 Jours, 13 Nuits (13 Days, 13 Nights), a tense

thriller based on the true story of France’s successful attempt to get its own nationals, plus hundreds

of Afghan citizens, out of Kabul in August 2021; Frédéric Quiring's daring comedy Doux Jésus (A

Nun In The City); Il etait une fois Michel Legrand (Once Upon A Time Michel Legrand), a beautifully

crafted documentary on one of France's greatest composers, Oscar-winner Michel Legrand; comedy

T’as Pas Changé (Class Reunion), a bittersweet and hilarious tribute to the 1990s; Yann Gozlan’s

psychological thriller, Gourou (Guru) starring Pierre Niney and Holt McCallany; writer-director

Nathan Ambrosioni’s gripping Les Enfants Vont Bien (Out Of Love); and comedy Le Routard (The

Rookie Guide) from director Philippe Mechelen.

Alliance Française French Film Festival CEO Frédéric Alliod said: “I am proud to unveil a

selection of titles that invite Australian audiences to travel through French cinema, across time,

continents and emotions. From powerful true stories and bold contemporary voices to comedies,

period dramas and unforgettable romances, this year’s programme reflects the extraordinary vitality

and diversity of French cinema. We remain deeply committed to championing women on screen and

behind the camera, celebrating new talents alongside cinema legends, and offering films that move,

surprise and inspire. More than ever, the festival is a celebration of French storytelling in all its

richness, openness and emotion, and a platform for intercultural exchange and dialogue with our loyal

Australian audiences.”

Joining the Festival as Patron in 2026, is director and long-time Francophile, Gracie Otto (Seriously

Red, Heartbreak High, The Artful Dodger).

Otto said: “I am truly honoured to join the Alliance Française French Film Festival this year, a

celebration that brings the richness, audacity and emotional resonance of French cinema to

audiences across Australia. France has played a meaningful role in my life. I lived there for a time, I

speak a little French, and I have long been inspired by the artistry, elegance and fearlessness of its

filmmaking. Being part of this festival feels like reconnecting with a place and a cinema that have

shaped my creative journey.

“I invite you to immerse your-selves in this year’s programme and discover the artistry, passion and

imagination that continue to define French cinema.”

Alliance Française French Film Festival runs 3 March – 26 April 2026 across the country. To view

the full program or to secure tickets, visit affrenchfilmfestival.org