Discoveries from France World Cinema

While an admiral's son is hunted by secret agents, his sister plays his part on a warship.

A young man travels to an isolated farm for his lover's funeral where he's quickly drawn into a twisted, sexually charged game by his lover's aggressive brother.

Hopkins’ career has spanned several decades, which is why we will also use many interviews that he gave throughout his life, allowing us to put him back into the context of each period and will be helpful in understanding his role in the history of cinema, because he was far from following the trends. He never belonged to any film movement; he is a chameleon that has always preferred natural acting, ‘non-acting’ when method acting was the fashion.

An adventurous mouse sets off to battle dangerous creatures in Ancient Greece, including Poseidon.

Thomas Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie Dumas was born a Caribbean slave in 1762 and beat the odds by rising through the ranks to become a revolutionary French general. The son of a nobleman, Marquis Alexandre Antoine Davy de la Pailleterie, and an African slave, Marie-Cessette Dumas, he became the first and highest-ranking Black leader in the French military and served under Napoleon Bonaparte. But despite his many exploits, which earned him the nickname of “Black Devil,” his role in the French Revolution was underplayed and he was even denied a full pension and legion of honor by Bonaparte.

A lonely young widow lives with her son following an immutable order: while the boy is in school, she cares for their apartment, does chores, and receives clients in the afternoon.

After winning the lottery, a convict must chase down the warden who has his winning ticket.

After a disfiguring leg injury, a young woman develops an unsettling secret relationship with her own body in which pain is pleasure, mutilation is love and hungers of the flesh have a mind of their own.

A con artist in dire need of cash and a woman with a crypto fortune hit it off. Is she the target of his dreams, or is the scammer about to get scammed?

Put in charge of his young son, Ali leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Ali's bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.

Glimpses of Chaucer penning his famous work are sprinkled through this re-enactment of several of his stories.

The Saint-Tropez police launch a major offensive against dangerous drivers. Marechal Cruchot (Louis de Funès) relishes the assignment, which he pursues with a manic zeal. Cruchot is after an offending driver, who turns out to be Josépha (Claude Gensac), the widow of a highly regarded police colonel. When they meet, Cruchot falls instantly in love....

An American low-budget action film celebrated an unexpected worldwide success in 1988: "Bloodsport". With its, the world of film fans and martial arts cinema discovered a new idol: Jean-Claude Van Damme. In the 1970s there was Bruce Lee, but at the end of the 1980s a Belgian won the day. Van Damme was a karate master and had unparalleled strength and flexibility. For ten years he was one of Hollywood's hottest action stars. But excessive overconfidence and drugs bring him down again. At home in Europe he becomes a laughing stock on talk shows. Only with "JCVD" does he manage to get back on his feet, playing his character with perspective and self-irony, but without ever giving up the reputation that his action films brought him and which has been a cult for several generations. The highs and lows of his eventful life are told through archive footage and contributions from people close to the popular Belgian actor.

A group of friends on a climbing vacation ignore warnings that the mountains are closed and start their ascent anyway. Collapsing bridges, bear traps and other dangers threaten to splinter the group… when the real hell begins and an unseen villain begins picking them off one by one.

Djibi lives alone with Sofia, his 8-year-old daughter. Every night, he invents a story to put him to sleep. When Sofia falls asleep, these extraordinary stories come to life somewhere in an imaginary world inhabited by knights, pirates and other dragons. In this world that belongs only to them, Sofia is always the princess to save, and the brave Prince is none other than Djibi himself. But 3 years later, the entry of Sofia to the college will mark the end of her childhood. To the despair of her father, she no longer needs her stories at night. On the one hand, Djibi will have to accept that his daughter will grow up and move away from him. On the other hand, in the World of Stories, the Prince will have to face the most epic of all his adventures. Find your destiny in a world where it no longer has a place.

In 1971, a young woman moves from the French countryside to Paris and begins a passionate love affair with a feminist leader.

A crowd of spectators listen to President William McKinley's speech during his inauguration ceremony outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Anna, a friendly but reclusive fortysomething, harbors an unusual phobia: she’s terrified of children. When she reconnects with Alexandre, her ex-boyfriend she never stopped loving, she thinks she’s finally found happiness… until she discovers he has two kids. When circumstances force her to care for them alone, a panicked Anna reluctantly agrees. Between ridiculous rules and absurd situations, this forced living arrangement might just change everything… for worse, but also for better.

A robber escapes from prison with a single objective in mind: to track down his former cellmate, a serial killer who intends to pin his crimes on him. A cop is sent after the robber who, despite his best efforts, soon becomes Public Enemy Number One. As the protagonists are driven to their limits, it becomes increasingly unclear who is the hunter and who is the prey.

A sexual reverie unfolds over the course of one ethereal night. Characters wander through an erotic maze of love and lust, blurring the lines between wet dream and lucid nightmare as a macabre, erotic stage performance sends a ripple of lustful desires through its audience and performers.

Varda focuses her eye on gleaners: those who scour already-reaped fields for the odd potato or turnip. Her investigation leads from forgotten corners of the French countryside to off-hours at the green markets of Paris, following those who insist on finding a use for that which society has cast off, whether out of necessity or activism.

There is a global gender war between men and women. A teenage girl tries to escape this reality and arrives at a hidden place where a strange unicorn lives with a family: sister, brother, many children and an old, bedridden woman who stays in contact with the world through her radio.

This is the story of a little robot known as Pinocchio 3000 whose greatest wish is to become a real boy. The year is 3000. Geppetto, with the help of his faithful assistant, Spencer the cyber penguin, and by the holographic fairy Cyberina, creates Pinocchio, a prototype superrobot equipped for emotions. But before he can be given a heart and become a real boy, Cyberina insists that Pinocchio learn the difference between right and wrong.

Tullio Hermil is a chauvinist aristocrat who flaunts his mistress to his wife, but when he believes she has been unfaithful he becomes enamored of her again.

A crime soap opera about a Russian mobster retiring from "the business" on New Year's Eve, only to discover he has been targeted for death by a rival mobster.

After a violent dispute with her mother, sixteen-years old Chloé ends up in the streets with nowhere to go. Then she finds Jean-Michel, a charming young man who will lead her to prostitution.

A world-famous orchestra conductor discovers the brother he never knew he had — a school cafeteria worker who plays trombone in a local marching band. Detecting his brother's exceptional musical talent, he takes it upon himself to rectify the injustice of fate. An equally hilarious and affecting crowdpleaser that premiered at Cannes and became a French box office sensation starring Benjamin Lavernhe (My Donkey, My Lover & I) and Pierre Lottin (The Stranger).

France, 1789 - just before the Revolution. When talented chef Manceron is dismissed from his prestigious position by the Duke of Chamfort, he loses the taste for cooking. But when he meets the mysterious Louise, together they decide to create the very first restaurant in France.

Roland-Garros, 1981: For the very first time, a documentary team is allowed to shoot sequences in the backstage of the French Open of tennis of Roland-Garros. William Klein's camera takes us on the heels of the greatest players of the time: Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Chris Evert-Lloyd, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Yannick Noah, Guillermo Vilas... Miles of film. Historical pictures, a thousand and one details, a thousand and one unusual scenes. A declaration of love from a tennis lover.

A biopic of Napoleon Bonaparte, tracing the Corsican's career from his schooldays (where a snowball fight is staged like a military campaign) to his flight from Corsica, through the French Revolution (where a real storm is intercut with a political storm) and the Terror, culminating in his triumphant invasion of Italy in 1797.

A businessman leaves his country home, and wife and young son for a business trip to Paris. While there he develops a sexual and spiritual bond with a call girl.

The sequel to Little White Lies ("Les petits mouchoirs"), set 7 years later. The group of friends, which had separated, reunites for the surprise birthday party organized for Max.

She is a tactical submarine officer. He is a steward. Before diving for 90 days she chooses to make it her "four-hour". But here he is clinging. Who follows her. Who sticks it. Where do we go if the flight crew of a 747 prides itself on romance? As if we had time to be in love on board a military ship. Still, the Pacific Ocean is not big enough. Neither does the Arctic Ocean. The world is so small when you love each other so much.

A director struggles with a difficult sex scene between a young actor and actress who can't stand one another. Aided by her loyal assistant, she is hell-bent on getting the scene right without compromise.

Jocelyn is a selfish and misogynist businessman. He tries to seduce a young pretty woman by pretending to be handicapped, till the day he meets her sister, who is also in a wheelchair.

A young filmmaker in 1960s Paris juggles directing a cheesy sci-fi debacle, directing his own personal art film, coping with his crumbling relationship with his girlfriend, and a new-found infatuation with the sci-fi film's starlet.

As a heat wave brings a Marseille neighborhood to a boil, three roommates gleefully meddle in the lives of their neighbors from their balcony. Until a late night drink turns into a bloody affair.

France, 1974. The erotic film Emmanuelle, directed by Just Jaeckin, breaks all records for cinema attendance: the story of the creation of a sensual epic that marked a turning point in the struggle for sexual emancipation.

Two rich aristocrats lure a virgin to a remote Spanish island for a night of sex, death and cannibalism.

A girl arrives from London to visit her estranged relatives in a remote castle for the reading of her father's will. After a while she discovers that they are all in fact dead and her decision to live with them turns into a nightmare. Unable to leave she's drawn into a macabre underworld through visions of nude satanic rituals and her own impending sacrifice.

July 26, 2024 — the day of the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. Elisabeth, a hearing impaired young woman, is torn between depression and the pressure of managing short-term rentals in a hectic Paris. The arrival of Elijah, a radiant and carefree Californian, disrupts her fragile balance.

A story of Naoufel, a young man who is in love with Gabrielle. In another part of town, a severed hand escapes from a dissection lab, determined to find its body again.

Young lovers Orfeu and Eurydice run through the favelas of Rio during Carnaval, on the lam from a hitman dressed like Death and Orfeu's vengeful fiancée Mira and passing between moments of fantasy and stark reality. This impressionistic retelling of the Greek legend of Orpheus and Eurydice introduced bossa nova to the world with its soundtrack by young Brazilian composers Luiz Bonfá and Antonio Carlos Jobim.

Max is a battle-weary veteran of the wedding-planning racket. His latest — and last — gig is a hell of a fête, involving stuffy period costumes for the caterers, a vain, hyper- sensitive singer who thinks he's a Gallic James Brown, and a morose, micromanaging groom determined to make Max's night as miserable as possible. But what makes the affair too bitter to endure is that Max's colleague and ostensible girlfriend, Joisette, seems to have written him off, coolly going about her professional duties while openly flirting with a much younger server. It's going to be a very long night… especially once the groom's aerial serenade gets underway.

When a Russian doctor (Patrizia Gori) falls foul of the Nazis, she finds herself imprisoned at Fort Stilberg, a luxury brothel for German top brass where the women are overseen by sadistic SS officer Helga Hortz (Jacqueline Laurent). The doctor's medical skills bring her to the attention of Nazi Lieutenant Erik Mueller (Jack Taylor), who saves the lovely lady from becoming one of the establishment's 'hostesses' by assigning her to the infirmary.

Susana leaves her life in Paris, where she works as a model, and returns to Madrid to take care of her grandmother Pilar.

A New York drug dealer is kidnapped, and his wife must try to come up with the money and drugs to free him from his abductors before Christmas.

From his childhood in a modest family in the Pyrénées to his unexpected career as a porn actor in the 1970s, the film traces the life of Claude Loir, who set out to fully embrace life. His homosexuality and curiosity guide him through encounters that lead into the shadowy, liberated circles of a pre-AIDS era, caught between conservatism and sexual freedom. Loves and lovers, flamboyance and fragility… the film offers a striking portrait of a fearless, hedonistic man navigating desire, identity, and society’s constraints.

An ambitious teaching student's finals studies are interrupted by a passionate affair with a jazz musician.

Two childhood friends are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.

A beautiful woman hires an intrepid adventurer to help find her father, who has disappeared in the jungle while searching for a rare and priceless butterfly. Along the way they run into cannibals, a race of Amazon warriors and all the usual attractions one would expect to find in a lost jungle.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor at Auschwitz, escapes to South America to rebuild his life in hiding. Through the eyes of his son who finds him again, Mengele is confronted with a past he can no longer ignore. From Buenos Aires to Paraguay via Brazil, the man who became known as “The Angel of Death” will organize his methodical disappearance to avoid any form of trial.

In Bolivia, Butch Cassidy (now calling himself James Blackthorn) pines for one last sight of home, an adventure that aligns him with a young robber and makes the duo a target for gangs and lawmen alike.

Elodie and Laetitia live in close love and dream of having a child. As Elodie discovers that she cannot get pregnant because of a health problem and encounters financial troubles, they decide to take a roommate.

Franck and his girlfriend Sonya, plus some of their friends go on holiday in Brazil. Franck, his friends, two girls and Sonya's grandmother leave to visit a cave, but everything goes wrong and their crazy adventures begin.

Near the end of World War II, Gen. Dietrich von Choltitz receives orders to burn down Paris if it becomes clear the Allies are going to invade, or if he cannot maintain control of the city. After much contemplation Choltitz decides to ignore his orders, enraging the Germans and giving hope to various resistance factions that the city will be liberated. Choltitz, along with Swedish diplomat Raoul Nordling, helps a resistance leader organize his forces.

A philosophy teacher restless with the need to do something with his life meets a young woman suspected of driving an artist to his death. He finds the very simple Cecilia irritating but develops a sexual rapport with her. Obsessed with the need to own and tormented by her inability to respond to him, he becomes increasingly violent in a quest he can't name - a quest that slowly begins to undermine his certainties.

Transferred home after a traumatizing combat mission, a highly trained French soldier uses her lethal skills to hunt down the man who hurt her sister.

Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria clashes with his father, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, over implementing progressive policies for their country. Rudolf soon feels he is a man born at the wrong time in a country that doesn't realize the need for social reform. The Prince of Wales, later to become Britain's King Edward VII, provides comic relief. Rudolf finds refuge from a loveless marriage with Princess Stéphanie by taking a mistress, Baroness Maria Vetsera. Their untimely demise at Mayerling, the imperial family's hunting lodge, is cloaked in mystery.

A writer of pulpy book series in which he's the hero and his beautiful English roommate is the love interest attempts to finish his new book in time at the publisher's demand.