Hot off a record-breaking 2025 with almost 199,000 punters through the doors, Alliance Française French Film Festival is back for another round
Get excited, Melbourne, the Alliance Française French Film Festival unveils its 2026 lineup featuring Coutures and Jean Valjean.
Hot off a record-breaking 2025 with almost 199,000 punters through the doors, Alliance Française French Film Festival is back for another round. Australia’s biggest national film fest and the largest festival of French cinema outside of France runs 3 March – 26 April nationwide, hitting Melbourne 4 March – 8 April.
Melbourne – Alliance Française French Film Festival
- Where: Palace Cinemas Melbourne (additional venues TBA)
- When: 4 March – 8 April (nationwide 3 March – 26 April)
- Full lineup announced: Wednesday, 28 January
- Tickets on sale: Thursday, 5 February
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
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Expect a solid mix of contemporary French cinema hitting screens across the country. Jean Valjean reimagines Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables with Grégory Gadebois, Bernard Campan, Alexandra Lamy and Isabelle Carré leading the charge. François Ozon takes on Albert Camus’ existential classic in L’Étranger (The Stranger), with Benjamin Voisin stepping into one of literature’s most iconic antiheroes. Meanwhile, Fabien Gorgeart serves up laughs and heart in C’est Quoi L’amour? (What Is Love?), starring the brilliant duo Laure Calamy and Vincent Macaigne.
Alice Winocour’s Coutures brings Oscar winner Angelina Jolie to Paris Fashion Week for a gripping new drama that’s already generating buzz. Partir Un Jour (Leave One Day) kicked things off at Cannes and lands here alongside sci-fi thriller Chien 51 (DOG 51), featuring Gilles Lellouche and Adèle Exarchopoulos in an adrenaline-fuelled ride. Rounding out the previewed lineup is Classe Moyenne (The Party’s Over!), a darkly comic social satire packed with heavy hitters including Laure Calamy, Laurent Lafitte, Élodie Bouchez and Ramzy Bedia.
Clocking in at over 6,000 screenings across 17 cities, the 37th edition keeps its partnership with Palace Cinemas rolling, with more venues dropping soon to meet Australia’s growing appetite for French culture and cinema.
Alliance Française French Film Festival CEO Frédéric Alliod reckons the 2026 edition takes audiences on a proper journey through French cinema, spanning time, continents and emotions. The program’s packed with everything from powerful true stories and fresh contemporary voices to comedies, period dramas and romances that’ll stick with you long after the credits roll.
There’s a strong focus on championing women both on screen and behind the camera, celebrating emerging talent alongside established cinema legends. It’s French storytelling at its finest, providing a solid platform for cultural exchange between French and Australian audiences.
For more information, head here.
