2026 Alliance Française French Film Festival Program Unveiled
This year’s festival features Jodie Foster starring in her first French lanugage lead in Vie Privée (A Private Life).
Image supplied
The 37th Alliance Française French Film Festival has revealed its 2026 program, featuring 38 films, including box-office smash hits, star-studded adaptations, Hollywood stars and Cannes masterpieces.
Running from 18 March to 22 April at Adelaide’s Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas and Victor Harbor’s Victa Cinema from 25 March to 1 April, the festival is a celebration of French Film.
This year’s festival features ten films directed by female filmmakers and a host of French female cinema icons, such as Isabelle Huppert and Laure Calamy
Opening this year’s festival is the comedy drama La Venue De L’avenir (Colours Of Time), which is directed by Cédric Klapisch and stars Suzanne Lindon, Vincent Macaigne, Cécile de France and Paul Kircher, while closing out the festival is Johann Dionnet’s Avignon (Rodrigue In Love), a romantic comedy starring Baptiste Lecaplain, Alison Wheeler and Lyès Salem.
Highlights from the 2026 program include coming-of-age drama La Petite Dernière (The Little Sister), Jodie Foster starring in her frist French lanugage lead in Vie Privée (A Private Life), the Lucile Hadžihalilović-directed and Marion Cotillard-starring La Tour de Glace (The Ice Tower) and the animated flick Amélie et la Métaphysique Des Tubes (Little Amélie or the Character Of Rain).
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Speaking about the program, Alliance Française French Film Festival CEO Frédéric Alliod said, “I am proud to unveil aselection 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 added, “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 yourselves in this year’s programme and discover the artistry, passion and imagination that continue to define French cinema.”
The 2026 Alliance Française French Film Festival runs from Wednesday 18 March to Wednesday 22 April at Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas and Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas and from Wednesday 25 March to Wednesday 1 April at Victor Harbor’s Victa Cinema. Find out more information and grab tickets at affrenchfilmfestival.org.
