The New Orleans French Film Festival is one of the longest-running international language festivals in the U.S., celebrating contemporary and classic Francophone cinema.

For its 28th edition, the festival broadens its definition of French cinema with a lineup of emerging talents and acclaimed auteurs from the Francophone world. All films will be presented in French with English subtitles.

Schedule:

March 13, 2025

5:00 PM: Patron Party at The Column Hotel

Celebrate the opening of the 2025 French Film Festival at our exclusive Patron Party hosted at The Columns Hotel.

This intimate gathering offers the perfect setting to enjoy drinks, hors d'oeuvres, and engaging conversation with fellow patrons while enjoying live music from musician Bart Ramsey. Join us as we kick off the festival in style and show our appreciation for your continued support!

7:00 PM: The Marching Band (En fanfare) at Prytania Theatre

Thibaut, an internationally renowned orchestra conductor, is diagnosed with leukemia and desperately in need of a bone marrow transplant. His search for a donor leads him to discover, at 37, that he was, in fact, adopted… and actually has a biological brother somewhere in France.

Their lives may be worlds apart — Thibaut was raised in a posh Parisian suburb and has a seemingly charmed life, while Jimmy lives in a small working-class town, slings hash in a cafeteria and plays trombone in the local marching band. But blood runs thicker than water and it turns out that, each in his own way, they share a profound connection to music.

Actors Benjamin Lavernhe and Pierre Lottin bring them to life with all of their longings, resentments and complexes intact, in Emmanuel Courcol‘s heartfelt ode to the power of music and brotherly love.

9:15 PM: DAAAAAALI! (Daaaaaalí!) at Prytania Theatre

For journalist Judith Rochant (Anaïs Demoustier) the assignment to interview renowned artist Salvador Dalí is a great career opportunity — if only he would agree to sit still and answer a single question.

What begins as a 15-minute conversation blows up into a bonafide cinematographic documentary portrait, provided the world’s most enormous cameras are available to film it. As Judith’s interview is delayed, detoured, disrupted, and deranged by Dalí’s inexhaustible self-regard, the journalist finds herself becoming the subject.

The legendary painter’s artistry and ego know no bounds, and Daaaaaalí! dutifully casts no less than five actors (Edouard Baer, Jonathan Cohen, Giles Lellouche, Pio Marmaï, and Didier Flamand) as Salvador Dalí in this prismatic portrait.

The prolific Quentin Dupieux’s latest comedy is an exercise in dream logic and surrealist homage, with the rug pulled out from under you again and again before you even manage to get up off the floor.

March 14, 2025

6:00 PM: DAAAAAALI! (Daaaaaalí!) at Prytania Theatre

For journalist Judith Rochant (Anaïs Demoustier) the assignment to interview renowned artist Salvador Dalí is a great career opportunity — if only he would agree to sit still and answer a single question.

What begins as a 15-minute conversation blows up into a bonafide cinematographic documentary portrait, provided the world’s most enormous cameras are available to film it. As Judith’s interview is delayed, detoured, disrupted, and deranged by Dalí’s inexhaustible self-regard, the journalist finds herself becoming the subject.

The legendary painter’s artistry and ego know no bounds, and Daaaaaalí! dutifully casts no less than five actors (Edouard Baer, Jonathan Cohen, Giles Lellouche, Pio Marmaï, and Didier Flamand) as Salvador Dalí in this prismatic portrait.

The prolific Quentin Dupieux’s latest comedy is an exercise in dream logic and surrealist homage, with the rug pulled out from under you again and again before you even manage to get up off the floor.

7:45 PM: When Fall is Coming (Quand vient l'automne) at Prytania Theatre

Michèle, now in her later years, enjoys a peaceful retirement in a quiet village in Burgundy, living close to her lifelong friend, Marie-Claude. But when her daughter Valérie sends her son to spend his school holidays with his grandmother, things take a sudden, disturbing turn.

Mixing a character-driven psychological drama with elements of modern melodrama and thriller, the ever-creative and always unpredictable François Ozon once again tackles the theme of what is real versus what seems to be. In this subtle, melancholic, but full of surprises film about the “autumn” of life, Ozon tones down the pace, darkens the atmosphere, and bravely navigates the murky moral waters that surround the human soul, seeking, among other things, an answer to the question: At what age does a person stop being capable of doing harm?

March 15, 2025

9:30 AM: Cafe & Croissants at L'Union Française

Join us for Café & Croissants hosted by L'Union Française.

This event, offering delicious French pastries and coffee, is a wonderful prelude to our member matinee screening of The Jolly Forgers at 11:45am, taking place at the historic Prytania Theatre Uptown. Don’t miss this opportunity to enjoy a taste of France before settling in for a delightful cinematic experience.

11:45 AM: The Jolly Forgers (La fiancée du poète) at Prytania Theatre

Mireille manages her job as a waitress at the cafeteria of the Fine Arts in Charleville while making ends meet through small thefts and cigarette smuggling. When she inherits her sprawling family home, its upkeep proves overwhelming, prompting her to welcome three tenants.

As these strangers settle in, Mireille—long resigned to a quiet life without surprises—finds her world turned upside down by unexpected connections and complications. Infused with warmth, wit, and humanity, The Jolly Forgers is a touching exploration of love and friendship. Directed by the iconic Yolande Moreau in her triumphant return after a decade, the film captures the magic of rediscovering joy in life’s later chapters.

2:00 PM: Pointe Noire at Prytania Theatre

In the heart of Louisiana’s Cajun prairie, the small community of Pointe Noire confronts the lingering shadows of a 30-year-old double murder. Is the conviction of Joel Richard—a man on Death Row—a case of folk justice or a devastating miscarriage of justice?

Filmmaker and crawfisherman Louis Leger (Roy Dupuis) and criminal defense attorney Dolores Arceneaux (Myriam Cyr) join forces to unravel the truth behind the fateful night of the traditional courir de Mardi Gras. As they delve deeper, they uncover a hauntingly beautiful yet insular world shaped by genetic bottlenecking, secrecy, and resilience. With its rich cultural backdrop and gripping moral stakes, Pointe Noire is a profound exploration of justice, memory, and the unyielding quest for redemption.

4:45 PM: The Kingdom (Le Royaume) at Prytania Theatre

Set against the rugged beauty of Corsica in 1995, The Kingdom (Le Royaume) unfolds as a gripping blend of crime thriller and family drama. For Lesia, it’s her first summer as a teenager—a time of discovery abruptly shattered when she’s thrust into her father’s hidden world. Kidnapped by a stranger and brought to a secluded villa, she finds her father in hiding, entangled in a violent underworld feud.

As tensions mount and death looms, father and daughter are forced into a harrowing journey—on the run from danger and toward an understanding of one another. With breathtaking landscapes and pulse-pounding stakes, director Julien Colonna delivers a poignant exploration of family, resilience, and the bonds that endure in the face of betrayal and chaos.

7:00 PM: Dog on Trial (Le procès du chien) at Prytania Theatre

In this sharp and unconventional courtroom comedy-drama, Avril, a fiercely independent animal rights lawyer, takes on her most absurd case yet—defending Cosmos, a so-called "repeat offender" dog who's facing the death penalty. As she fights for justice in a legal system not designed for canine clients, Avril is forced to confront not just society’s disregard for animals, but also her own contradictions and complexities.

Blending humor, slapstick, and philosophical musings on justice and empathy, this Un Certain Regard selection from Cannes offers a bold feminist perspective—where Buñuel-esque surrealism meets legal drama, and a woman finally lets herself off the leash. Featuring a standout performance from the Palm Dog-winning Cosmos, this film is, as Premiere describes, “a meditation on the animal condition, both endearing and disconcerting.”

9:00 PM: The Balconettes (Les femmes au balcon) at Prytania Theatre

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

Written in collaboration with Céline Sciamma, Noémie Merlant’s follow-up to her 2021 debut is a brazen, in-your-face-foray into genre, a whimsical investigation of the hidden mechanisms of the male gaze, and a prime example of feminist horror comedy – without an agenda.

Sometimes gory, sometimes playful, but always vengeful, this surprising gem allows its characters to reclaim, revise, and revolutionize their (forced) hypersexuality, slowly building a universe likened by the international critique to the early punkish but profoundly colorful films by Pedro Almodóvar.

March 16, 2025

10:00 AM: Contempt at Prytania Theatre

Jean-Luc Godard’s subversive foray into commercial filmmaking is a star-studded Cinemascope epic. Contempt (Le Mépris) stars Michel Piccoli as a screenwriter torn between the demands of a proud European director (played by legendary director Fritz Lang), a crude and arrogant American producer (Jack Palance), and his disillusioned wife, Camille (Brigitte Bardot), as he attempts to doctor the script for a new film version of "The Odyssey."

12:00 PM: Holy Cow (Vingt Dieux) at Prytania Theatre

After the tragic death of his father, 18 year old Totone is thrust into the unexpected and very adult role of looking after his younger sister and their failing family farm in the Jura section of France. He assumes even more responsibility when he enters a cash competition for the best Comte cheese made in this western part of the French Alps. A “verité” look at the hardscrabble life of French agriculture, this is simultaneously a moving love story and above all an ode to the love of cheese.

2:00 PM: Meeting with Pol Pot (Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot) at Prytania Theatre

1978, Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia). Three French journalists are granted a rare audience with Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, invited to witness what appears to be an ideal socialist state. But beneath the carefully curated façade, the regime is unraveling—war with Vietnam looms, paranoia spreads, and a vast, hidden genocide is underway. As the cracks begin to show, their reporting mission turns into a harrowing descent into the heart of darkness.

Freely inspired by journalist Elizabeth Becker’s 'When the War Was Over,' this gripping political thriller exposes the chilling reality behind one of history’s most brutal regimes.'

4:15 PM: The Shepherd and the Bear at Prytania Theatre

Set against the breathtaking French Pyrenees, The Shepherd and the Bear explores the growing tensions between tradition and change as brown bears return to a long-standing shepherding community. An aging shepherd struggles to find a successor while protecting his flock, while a teenage boy becomes captivated by the bears’ power, drawn into their world.

With stunning cinematography and a moving score, Max Keegan’s debut feature is a visually rich and deeply felt folktale about the fragile balance between heritage and nature in a rapidly changing landscape.

6:45 PM: French Music Shorts at Prytania Theatre

Descended from slaves in the former French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti), Creoles faced discrimination in South Louisianan society—too black for some, too French for others. They developed their own style of music: Zydeco. Delton Broussard and Calvin Carrière give us a taste of it, and singer Inez Catalon talks and sings about her life in Kaplan.

8:45 PM: Sunday Reception at BK Historic House and Gardens

oin us for a special Sunday Reception at the historic BK House (1113 Chartres St.), cohosted with #CreateLouisiana and The Nous Foundation, as we celebrate this year’s #CreateLouisiana grant recipient, Musique(s)! by Cory St. Ewart.

Enjoy an evening of music, light bites, drinks and the opportunity to connect with fellow film enthusiasts.

8:45 PM: Wild Diamond (Diamant brut) at Prytania Theatre

Liane, 19, lives with her mother and sister in Fréjus in the south of France. Consumed by aspirations of beauty and stardom, she auditions for a reality show called “Miracle Island.”

Date: March 13, 2025 - March 16, 2025

Location: Various Venue in New Orleans, LA

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