The Cannes Film Festival 2025 opens tomorrow night French-time (early Wednesday morning Australian time), and we’re looking at the French language films at Cannes this year. Some of these may make it to the Alliance Française French Film Festival 2026 line-up but we will need to wait until next year to find that out. In the meantime, the 26 French language films showing at Cannes are…
🎬 Opening Night Film – Not in competition
- Leave One Day (Partir un jour) (Amélie Bonnin)
As Cécile prepares to fulfill her dream of opening a gourmet restaurant, she is compelled to return to her childhood village due to her father’s heart attack, where rekindled memories and an encounter with her first love challenge her life’s trajectory. It stars Juliette Armanet (most recently in a few episodes of the excellent Apple TV+ series Carême) and Bastien Bouillon (also in Cannemara at Cannes Film Festival 2025, The Count of Monte Cristo, Monsieur Aznavour and Umami)
🎬 2025 Official Selection – In Competition
- Alpha (Julia Ducournau)
In late 1980s France, a teenage girl faces ostracisation after rumours spread that she’s infected with a mysterious new disease. It stars Tahar Rahim (Monsieur Aznavour), Mélissa Boros, and Golshifteh Farahani (Arab Blues). - Dossier 137 (Dominik Moll)
An internal affairs investigator delves into a case involving a protester injured by police, unravelling complexities within law enforcement accountability. Léa Drucker (Last Summer, The Colours of Fire, Incredible but true) and Yoann Blanc (who stars in the fantastic Belgian series Pandore) - Jeunes Mères (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)
Five teenage mothers find hope and solidarity in a maternal shelter as they strive for better futures for themselves and their children. It stars Babette Verbeek, Elsa Houben, Janaina Halloy Fokani, Lucie Laruelle and Samia Hilmi as the 5 teens. - La Petite Dernière (Hafsia Herzi)
A young woman, the daughter of Algerian immigrants in Paris, grapples with her burgeoning identity amidst familial and cultural expectations. Nadia Melliti plays the daughter in her debut role, and she stars alongside Ji-Min Park. - Les Aigles de la République (Tarik Saleh)
An actor is coerced into starring in a propaganda film, confronting the intertwining of art and political manipulation. Fares Fares, Lyna Khoudri (also in Carême on Apple TV+ – stay tuned for our interview with her soon, and as Constance in both The Three Musketeers films) and Zineb Triki (who you may know best for her role of Nadia in the series The Bureau). - Nouvelle Vague (Richard Linklater)
A dramatisation of the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960 film “Breathless,” exploring the birth of the French New Wave cinema movement. Among the cast are Guillaume Marbeck, in his first feature film, as Jean-Luc Godard, Zoey Deutch, who has appeared in music videos for Ed Sheeran and Justin Beiber, as Jean Seberg, and Aubry Dullin, also in his first feature film, as Jean-Paul Belmondo. - Two Prosecutors (Deux Procureurs) (Sergei Loznitsa)
In 1937 Soviet Union, a young prosecutor uncovers a prisoner’s plea, leading him to challenge the corrupt NKVD in pursuit of justice. It stars Alexander Filippenko, Anatoly Beliy, and Alexander Kuznetsov.
🎥 2025 Official Selection – Un Certain Regard
- L’Inconnu de la Grande Arche (Stéphane Demoustier)
In 1983, Danish architect Otto von Spreckelsen unexpectedly wins a French competition to design the Grande Arche, thrusting him into the spotlight of Parisian society. Among the French-speaking cast are Xavier Dolan (known for I Killed My Mother, Tom at the Farm and Heartbeats) and Michel Fau playing Francois Mitterand (known for Cyrano de Bergerac, Marguerite, and Swimming Pool). - Love Me Tender (Anna Cazenave Cambet)
Clémence, a lawyer, leaves her marriage to embrace her true self, battling her ex-husband for custody of their son amidst emotional turmoil. It stars Vicky Krieps (Corsage, Bergman Island), and Monia Chokri (Heal the Living, The Nature of Love) - Meteors (Météors) (Hubert Charuel)
In a desolate part of France, three lifelong friends—Tony, now a construction boss, and unlucky Mika and Dan, find themselves working at a nuclear waste site after yet another failed scheme. Among the cast are Paul Kircher (who also stars in Colours of Time (see below) The Animal Kingdom, Winter Boy), Idir Azougli (Marguerite’s Theroem), and Salif Cissé (who you may recognise from the series Lupin) - Promised Sky (Promis le ciel) (Erige Sehiri)
In Tunis, Marie, an Ivorian pastor and former journalist, opens her home to Naney, a young mother seeking a better future, and Jolie, a determined student. Their makeshift family faces new challenges when they take in Kenza, a four-year-old shipwreck survivor, testing their solidarity amid a tense social climate. Aïssa Maïga (Russian Dolls, Paris je t’aime), Mohamed Grayaâ (Mess, Day of the Falcon), and Laetitia Ky (Disco Boy) are among the cast.
🎞️ 2025 Official Selection – Out of Competition
- 13 Days 13 Nights (13 jours 13 nuits) (Martin Bourboulon) READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH MARTIN BOURBOULON ABOUT THE SERIES CARÊME
As Kabul falls to the Taliban on August 15, 2021, Commander Mohamed Bida and his men protect the French embassy and, with the help of a young Franco-Afghan aid worker, launch a desperate race against time to evacuate civilians before it’s too late. Roschdy Zem (Elyas, The Edge of the Blade, The Innocent), and Lyna Khoudri (Carême, The Three Musketeers). - A Private Life (Une vie privée) (Rebecca Zlotowski)
Renowned psychiatrist Lilian Steiner initiates a personal investigation into a patient’s death, convinced it was a murder. Jodie Foster stars in her first French-speaking role alongside an all-star French cast including Virginie Efira (Other People’s Children, Bye Bye Morons) and Mathieu Amalric (The Bureau, Sink or Swim)
THIS FILM IS SHOWING AT SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL IN JUNE (We will tell you about the other French films at Sydney Film Festival soon) - The Richest Woman in the World (La Femme la plus riche du monde) (Thierry Klifa)
Inspired by the Bettencourt affair, this film portrays the complexities of wealth, power, and familial discord in a dramatized narrative. The film stars Isbaelle Huppert (The Sitting Duck), Laurent Lafitte (also in A Magnificent Life below, and The Divine Sarah Bernhardt), and Marina Foïs (Freestyle, Sink or Swim) - Colours of Time (La venue de l’avenir) (Cédric Klapisch)
Four cousins, strangers until united by an inherited house in Normandy, uncover their ancestor’s life through time-traveling threads between 1895 and 2025, finding in the past the keys to their future. Among the cast are Suzanne Lindon (from the series In Therapy), Julia Piaton (The Things We Say, The Things We Do and the series Family Business), and Vincent Macaigne (Three Friends, and Bonnard: Pierre & Marthe).
🌙 Midnight Screenings
- Dalloway (Yann Gozlan)
A writer at a high-tech artist residency becomes increasingly unsettled by her AI assistant’s intrusions, prompting her to investigate whether she’s truly in danger or spiralling into paranoia. Singer Mylène Farmer stars as Dalloway, alongside Cécile de France among others. - Le Roi Soleil (Vincent Maël Cardona)
Following a man’s death in a Versailles bar, a winning lottery ticket he leaves behind ignites a suspenseful chain of events. It stars Jospeh Olivennes (who is also in The Richest Woman in the World above), Pio Marmaï (The ties that bind us, Porthos in The Three Musketeers films), Lucie Zhang (Paris, 13th district), Sofiane Zermani (Hunting with Tigers, No Limit).
🎞️ Cannes Premiere
- Connemara (Alex Lutz)
After a burnout, Hélène returns to her rural hometown in the Vosges, where a chance encounter with her high school crush, Christophe, rekindles past emotions and forces her to confront the divergent paths their lives have taken. Melanie Thierry (Ariane in the series In Therapy, Party of Fools) stars as Hélène, alongside Bastien Bouillon (The Night of the 12th, The Count of Monte Cristo) and Jacques Gamblin (The Children of the Marshland, Safe Conduct) - Ma Frère (Lise Akoka & Romane Gueret)
Shai and Djeneba, two lifelong friends from Paris’s 19th arrondissement, confront family pressures, solitude, and the growing pains of adulthood while working as summer camp hosts far from home. Shirel Nataf (Fifi, Filles du ciel), Fanta Kebe (Nona and Her Daughters, Tropic)
🎥 Special Screenings
- Little Amélie (Amélie et la métaphysique des tubes) (Maïlys Vallade & Liane-Cho Han)
Amélie, a Belgian girl born in Japan, embarks on a world of adventure and discovery with her friend Nishio-san, but on her third birthday, a life-changing event forces her to confront both the joys and tragedies of growing up, as told in this adaptation of Amélie Nothomb’s novel Amélie et la métaphysique des tubes. - Arco (Ugo Bienvenu)
In 2075, ten-year-old Iris witnesses a mysterious boy in a rainbow suit fall from the sky, Arco, a time traveller from an idyllic future, and she is determined to help him return to his own time. Natalie Portman and Louis Garrel (The Innocent) have lent their voices to the film. - Tell Her I Love Her (Dites-lui que je l’aime) (Romane Bohringer)
While directing a film adaptation of Clémentine Autain’s book dedicated to her late mother, Romane confronts her own abandonment and unresolved past with the mother who left her as a baby. Romane Bohringer directs and stars in the film, alongside Clémentine Autain (L’amour flou), and Eva Yelmani (Sur un fil). - A Magnificent Life (Marcel et Monsieur Pagnol) (Sylvain Chomet)
In 1955, acclaimed filmmaker Marcel Pagnol is commissioned by a prominent women’s magazine to write a literary serial about his childhood, Provence, and first loves, leading him to revisit his early years and the art of storytelling. Laurent Lafitte (also in The Richest Woman in the World above) plays Marcel Pagnol, and Géraldine Pailhas (the series OVNIs) plays Augustine Pagnol. - The Wonderers (Qui brille au combat) (Joséphine Japy)
The Roussier family struggles to maintain balance as they care for their younger daughter, Bertille, who suffers from a severe, undiagnosed disability, forcing each family member to confront their own doubts, responsibilities, and hopes for the future until a new diagnosis offers a glimmer of hope. Mélanie Laurent (Ride Above, Return of the Hero), Pierre Yves-Cardinal (The Nature of Love)
🎭 Tribute to Pierre Richard
- L’Homme qui a vu l’ours qui a vu l’homme (Pierre Richard)
Grégoire and Michel, from different generations, share a bond of friendship, a love for nature, and a deep connection to a circus bear who has escaped, bringing them together in an unexpected journey. The films stars Pierre Richard (Umami, The Return of the Tall Blond Man) and Timi-Joy Marbot (Under Paris, By the Grace of God).
Which of these films from Cannes Film Festival 2025 are you hoping to see released in Australian cinemas?
If you like Cannes, you may interested in its history – read our What to watch on Canal+ Australie in May 2025 for programs related to the history of the festival.
