Now in its 36th year, the Alliance Française French Film Festival has unveiled its 2025 program, and as always, there’s a veritable feast of cinema magic on offer. The largest celebration of French film outside France will take place in Australia from 4 March to 27 April, with screenings in Canberra from 6 March to 9 April.
Sponsored by Intrepid Travel, the diverse line-up of 42 stellar films is brimming with captivating stories of passion, compelling biopics that delve into the lives of France’s most iconic artists (including The Divine Sarah Bernhardt), family-friendly tales, and some of France’s biggest box office hits.
Direct from the Cannes Film Festival, the festival includes some thought-provoking debuts from a bold new generation of French filmmakers. Don’t miss Adèle Exarchopoulos and François Civil in Beating Hearts, Abou Sangaré’s outstanding debut in The Story of Souleymane, and Louise Courvoisier as a bold new voice in cinema with Holy Cow.
For the romantics out there, there’ll be a preview screening of the epic Beating Hearts at selected Palace Cinemas (including Canberra) this Valentine’s Day, 14 February.
Opening the festival in March is Monsieur Aznavour, hot off the heels of its French box office success with nearly 2 million tickets sold. Golden Globe-nominated actor Tahar Rahim stars in the biography of the Armenian immigrant who beat all odds to become one of France’s best-loved entertainers, while personifying French culture to the world.
Closing the festival is In the Sub for Love, a buoyant love letter to the screwball romantic comedies of the 1940s. Watch Pio Marmaï and Eye Haïdara star as a stern submarine officer and a carefree steward who dive deep into love and chaos.
We can’t wait to see The Count of Monte Cristo, which has sold almost 10 million tickets at the French box office. Pierre Niney leads a stellar cast in this new adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ epic adventure, the first French cinematic treatment of the iconic tale in more than 50 years.
We had a sneak preview of the very clever black comedy, How to Make a Killing, in which the characters are drawn into a web of murder and money with hilarious results. We can highly recommend this one when it hits the screen.
The festival will once again take place at Palace Cinemas around Australia, with this year’s program having the largest national footprint yet.
For the full program and to purchase tickets, visit www.affrenchfilmfestival.org
