Discoveries from France World Cinema

Showcasing three short films by American writer James Baldwin, wherein he muses about race, sexuality and civil rights, among other topics, in Istanbul, Paris and Great Britain.

In a festive and fairytale atmosphere, animals from around the world are brought together through five poetic and humorous adventures to celebrate Christmas and wintertime. They will learn about the importance of helping each other, being generous and rediscovering the beauty of nature.

Jean-Pierre is a brilliant surgeon. The problems of his nearest and dearest don't interest him. But when he discovers that he too has a serious heart disease which needs operating on, Jean-Pierre finds out what it is to be a patient.

Filmed over three years in various locations, from the Fiji Islands to the Bahamas, Wonders of the Sea 3D is an underwater tour of the most obscure parts of our planet's oceans, revealing images so spectacular that they border on the fantastic.

In 1930s Poland Christian boy Ivan goes to live with a Jewish family to learn a trade. He becomes friends with Abraham, the son of the family. However, anti-Semitism is rife in their environment, and they flee to escape an upcoming conflict. Journeying together, they demonstrate their inseparability.

A young Soweto actor joins a gang to study up and be more convincing in a gangster role he wants.

The story of three generations of a family in Shanghai against the backdrop of tumultuous times.

Philippe is a well-known writer, whose life was going smoothly: a surgeon wife, a circle of high-ranking friends, a Parisian mansion... And above all, an imminent entry into the Académie Française. Except that Philippe suffers from terrible back pain that plagues his life. When he meets the incredible Martha, who picks him up after a car accident on the roads of Normandy, his vision of the world changes. With her gentle madness and her healing hands, this woman who seems so free is especially concerned with treating others, even if it means forgetting herself. Between these two characters that everything opposes, a surprising friendship is woven, with the opportunity for them to finally seize the best that life can offer them.

The Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari is accused of spying for Germany during the First World War.

A silent, lyrical short in which a boy’s newly won goldfish is threatened by the family cat, and saved through a quiet act of animal solidarity.

A Jekyll-and-Hyde colonel toughens up a 17-year-old aristocrat for the Spanish Civil War.

Becoming a mountaineer and climbing Everest in exactly one year? That’s the dream of Inoxtag, a 21-year-old very rich YouTuber who doesn’t do any sports. By following him for a year, we will discover in this documentary all the changes in his life to achieve this dream.

Nicole, a spirited lawyer, must defend, for her debut in the courtroom, the accused Panoyau. It is a failure, the death sentence. Furious, Nicole proclaims to Claude, her fiance, that the marriage is canceled as long as Panoyau is threatened. Claude manages to steal the guillotine and the couple go on a trip and discover the real assassin.

Marco Lopez, a former Neo-Nazi and skinhead, tries to leave his violent, racist and hateful past behind him.

Souleyman, 27, a boxing champion in full preparation for the Olympic Games with the French team, sees his future crumble when he cracks the bones of his hand, following a fight in a bar. Souleyman is excluded from the team and is sent to the Château de Chambord, where he must perform his 400 hours of community service (TIG) collecting waste in the gardens.

Brussels, Belgium, 1959. Michel and Charly Kichka, two Jewish brothers, enjoy a happy childhood with their parents and their two sisters. Henri, their discreet and usually silent father, does not speak at all about his past, so they imagine that as a young man he was an adventurer, a pirate or a treasure hunter.

An insight into the everyday lives of 50 inmates of a mental institution in the Chinese province of Yunnan, who are there for killing someone, committing a crime against a public official, or have a developmental disability.

The adventures of Elvira, a 12-year-old girl obsessed with the sea who develops the ability to breathe underwater. Elvira and her dolphin friend Elvar meet a friendly whale, among other creatures, while back on land all is not as it should be.

Delphine passes herself off as her boss's lover.

The story, told by the survivors, of a group of young men, members of a Uruguayan rugby team, who managed to survive for 72 days, at an altitude of almost 4,000 meters, in the heart of the Andes Mountains, after their plane, en route to Chile, crashed there on October 13, 1972.

Women's work, gender equality, prison conditions, AIDS patients, humanization of hospitals, parental authority, equal pay... Simone Veil fought many battles that are little known today. As we prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the law on abortion, enacted on January 17, 1975, the time has come to tell her story in a new way through this portrait of a woman ahead of her time: in the light of her other struggles.

A film crew goes on an adventure to report on extreme tourism by choosing a haunted forest as their destination.

A group of fun-loving French soldiers manage to circumvent a band of cutthroat pirates and win the undying loyalty of a tribal potentate.

Yann and Rose are young, they love and want to have a child. Nine months later ... still no baby in sight. They then show great imagination and try everything ... no matter what it is. But they wish so hardly to be three that, is not likely they finish all alone?

Auguste Lumière directs four workers in the demolition of an old wall at the Lumière factory. One worker is pressing the wall inwards with a jackscrew, while another is pushing it with a pick. When the wall hits the ground, a cloud of white dust whirls up. Three workers continue the demolition of the wall with picks.

Jacques d'Athys, a French adventurer, returns to his home in Nice after an expedition to Indochina where he has picked up a Eurasian fiancée and a book that, unbeknownst to him, contains a coded message revealing the whereabouts of both secret treasures and sensitive government intelligence. This makes him the target of foreign spies, including a Marquise of mysterious Latin origin, a Hindu hypnotist and an evil German doctor, who will stop at nothing to obtain the book.

An eccentric man endangers himself when he makes advances toward the girlfriend of a saloon keeper.

France, 1425. During the Hundred Years’ War, Jeannette, age of 8, looks after her sheep in the small village of Domremy. One day she tells her friend Hauviette how she cannot bear the suffering caused by the English. Madame Gervaise, a nun, tries to reason with the young girl, but she is ready to take up arms for the salvation of souls and the liberation of the Kingdom of France. Carried by her faith, she will become Joan of Arc.

Frédéric, a young man with a troubled past, has the good fortune to be given a job in a luxurious mountain hotel. When one of the hotel guests disappears one evening and is later found dead, Frédéric suspects he may have been killed by the family who employ him. But rather than betray his boss, Jacques Couvreur, he makes up his mind to protect him. Unwittingly, Frédéric puts himself in grave danger...

Ex-boxer Paul Choquino decides to finance his upcoming wedding by robbing reputed drug lord Benito Mussolini Bonacci. But everything that can go wrong in the burn does and Paul is left running from the law, the mob and one of the members of his own posse.

At 35, Étienne still hasn't forgiven his 'friend' Jean-Pat, who made his life miserable throughout his childhood. When he learns of Jean-Pat's death, Étienne isn't exactly devastated... Yet, despite himself, he finds himself organising the funeral of his worst enemy. One thing is certain: Jean-Pat isn't done ruining his life yet.

A handful of recruits prepares for a war that nobody knows about the purpose or the motive. The field commander is a general who plays with a Marx puppet and lives in a luxurious palace that looks like a cabin from the outside. His orderlies are a captain who lives in Arabic dress in a curtain and a sergeant in training who does not shine for intelligence. Continuing training between various and grotesque accidents until the order arrives for the front. And then?

On the Côte d'Azur, a beautiful adventuress and a strange German tourist set themselves the courteous challenge of discovering a war treasure lying at the bottom of a bay. But Basta, an old original who alone knew the location of the wreck, is murdered. And Pitou, the jovial nightclub owner, is determined to get his hands on all the loot.

Lucie is in remission and her illness is almost a distant memory. Her family pushes her to live life to the fullest, and in doing so Lucie meets the charming and arrogant Clovis, who is immediately beguiled by her wit and humor. It is Dalila, however, an eccentric and delightful dance teacher, who inspires Lucie to rebuild her life and to grow into the woman she always wanted to be. For her mother, for her daughter, for Clovis.

Thirteen European directors explore the theme of Sarajevo; what this city has represented in European history over the past hundred years, and what Sarajevo stands for today in Europe. These eminent filmmakers of different generations and origins offer exceptional singular styles and visions.

A smooth criminal, who turns to be Manuel Ismora, and his gang successfully and peacefully pull off con after heist. Elsewhere a timid office worker, Gabriel Dupon, is pressured by his boss...

Leon falls in love with a nurse and obsessively tries to get close to her.

Julien is 10 years old. He pretends to go to school but then hides out under a bridge, his backpack filled with clothes. A few kilometers away, 15-year-old Joséphine does the same and waits for the bus.

This is a combination coming out and first love story. The swimmer and diver Lucard is interested in attractive Martin. The film follows the characters' coming out with all its difficulties, the bitter-sweet pleasures of first love and the dreadful moment when one comes down to reality and realizes that one's beloved friend has a hard way to go yet. The positive message the film tries to transmit is the somewhat common motto "Live each day of your life as if it were your last."

40-year-old housewife Cai has lost track of who she is and who she wants to be. During one of her daughter’s basketball matches, she inadvertently injures an elderly woman. This seemingly trivial event is a catalyst for a life spinning out of control, as past events resurface while she moves into an unknown future. Director Qiu Yang follows a series of multi-awarded shorts with his debut feature, a mesmerizing and intimate drama about a woman forced to confront the wreckage of her life and her longing for change?

Seven old pals live inseparable lives, dividing their time between hilarious pranks and memorable drinking bouts. Bénin is the mastermind, Broudier the enforcer and Lesueur the prankster. One evening, a grandiose plan was hatched: to wreak havoc in two peaceful sub-prefectures: Ambert and Issoire. Broudier begins: in the middle of the night, disguised as a minister, he wakes up a barracks in Ambert and sets in motion a thunderous maneuver. The next day, disguised as a Dominican, Bénin climbed to the pulpit of the cathedral and delivered a sermon insulting Christian doctrine. The same day, in Issoire, the local authorities were preparing to unveil a statue of Vercingetorix. But the statue came to life, pelting the crowd with tomatoes: it was Lesueur. With their minds at rest, the friends headed off to the Côte-d'Or for a vacation. But already, one of them begins to perform a new prank.

Dr. Françoise Gailland has a hectic schedule, which causes her to have little time to spend with her family, which consists of her husband Gérard, her pregnant teenager daughter Élisabeth, and her sullen son Julien. However, she does manage to find the time to spend with her lover, Daniel Letessier. While her life in such disarray, she learns that she has cancer. Françoise tries to put a brave face on it, and is determined to face the life-threatening disease with courage.

Revealed in independant movies such as My Own Private Idaho, blockbuster movie star in Point Break and Speed, hero of the digital era in The Matrix, virtuoso killer in John Wick, Keanu Reeves is one of the most intriguous stars of his generation. However, after 25 years in the spotlight, he stays an enigma whose chaotic career seems to go on without a guilding principle. Today, nobody could question his unique status as he reluctantly became a social network icon, and a role model for the « woke » generation.

Max, Mégane, and Louise turn up at a mysterious gas station. Inside the deserted building many photocopiers are going full bore. And there is also a man, very determined to make use of the magical power of the machines, which are able to bring the craziest fantasies to life.

Louis is a super nice guy. But in his lawyer's office, this is not a compliment. When his doctor wrongly diagnoses a serious disease, his colleagues behaviour changes : they care about him, they ask him questions and they listen his answers. Finally, Louis exists ! So, obviously, he hesitates over telling the truth.

A crazy father old before his time, a tyrannical, sick mother, a sister who disappeared four years ago and me, Erell, who films everything, all the time... A fine family portrait. I live in the same town I've always lived in. You're born here, you die here. And between the two, there's nothing to do except hang out with my buddies, Gabin, Javier and The Major. One night, my sister Sarah reappears. The pieces of me are put together again.

On the outskirts of Weimar, Edouard and Charlotte, an aristocratic couple united after both becoming widows, invite two guests to their home: a childhood friend of Edouard's called the Captain, and despite Charlotte's ominous premonition, Ottilie, Charlotte's beautiful and orphaned niece...

Struggling actor Simon witnesses a murder; he didn't see the killer, but that doesn't stop him from claiming that he did in order to get his name into the papers. Sure enough, the murderer targets him as his next victim. Our hero is temporarily rescued by Jeanne, a fellow aspiring actress who has always had a crush on him.

Mathieu, a piano virtuoso, goes home to help his brother Paul to take care of their sick mother. Paul is into reenacting old battles, dressing up and getting into character, even dueling if necessary. Mathieu gets involved in this world and play becomes real.

A documentary feature by Pierre Schoendoerffer about the Vietnam War. Winner of the 1968 Academy Award for best Documentary Feature.

A making-of of the chaotic production of Mathieu Kassovitz's Babylon A.D. (2008).

Five brothers similar yet different, raised by a mother widowed too early. One of them had left the family when he returns, pursued by a gang of smugglers, he find shelter in his family while reveling them a dark secret. The five brothers, together, will find the energy to defend themself and the means to avenge the memory of their murdered father...

Alex Grégoire is a timid insurance company clerk who shares his uneventful life between his wife Angèle, his colleagues and his passion for crosswords. But all of a sudden his existence changes dramatically. First because he wins a crossword competition. Second because a jewel thief, Charles Tuffal, thinks he recognizes in him a former accomplice. From that moment "uneventful" is not the best adjective to qualify Alex's life anymore...

When the long awaited departure day arrives, le Petit Bougnat, a child coal merchant eager to go to summer camp, realizes that his mother forgot to register his name with the rest of the group. Desperate to join them, the young coal merchant tries to find a way to integrate himself with the other campers. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Rose (Isabelle Adjani), who refuses to join the kids and goes so far as to run away from the bus. While the coal merchant is busy avoiding authorities who want to remove him from the rest of the group, Rose continues to sulk and search for a way back home. Despite her initial doubtfulness, Rose eventually comes to see the charms of the camp, and walks away from an offer to leave.

A film based on an original concept by John Galliano and directed by Sasha Kasiuha. Founded in the proposition that opened the 2024 Artisanal Show in January 2024 – “Would you like to take a walk with me, offline?” – the cinematic experience elucidates and elaborates the haute couture collection for posterity. In a fast-paced culture, it serves as an articulated desire to be present in the moment, and in the memory; values key to Maison Margiela.

Between her roles as mayor and teacher in the small village of Kerguen, Alice's days are very full. When an unexpected new student, 60-year-old Emile, finally decides to learn to read and write, her daily life threatens to become unmanageable. Especially since Alice will also have to save her village and her school...