As autumn fades into winter, cinema lovers in Edinburgh and across the UK are preparing for a celebration of French and francophone filmmaking. The 33rd French Film Festival UK will light up more than 40 cinemas from 6 November to 14 December 2025, bringing an array of films \u2014 from hotly anticipated new releases to rediscovered classics that shaped the golden age of French cinema.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s f\u00eate boasts 62 films, including 32 UK premieres. The line-up reflects the full spectrum of French-language cinema, from intimate debut features to sweeping historical dramas.<\/p>\n
Among the directors featured are household names like C\u00e9dric Klapisch, Fran\u00e7ois Ozon, Diane Kurys, Hafsia Herzi, Julia Ducournau, and Lionel Baier.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On screen, audiences will see many familiar faces including Jodie Foster \u2014 delivering flawless French \u2014 alongside Daniel Auteuil, Virginie Efira, Benjamin Voisin, Roschdy Zem, M\u00e9lanie Thierry, C\u00e9cile de France, Sandrine Kiberlain, Louis Garrel, Franck Dubosc, and Camille Cottin, among others.<\/p>\n
In one of the festival\u2019s standout titles, Richard Linklater\u2014the American indie icon\u2014pays homage to French New Wave legend Jean-Luc Godard with a nostalgic, monochrome take on the making of Breathless. Meanwhile, Fran\u00e7ois Ozon brings his own black-and-white interpretation of Albert Camus\u2019s classic novel The Stranger, adding philosophical edge to this year\u2019s selection.<\/p>\n
The festival\u2019s scope is as ambitious as ever, spanning highlights from Cannes, Venice, and beyond. Audiences will be treated to documentaries, animations, and tributes to cinematic greats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Retrospective<\/strong><\/p>\n This year\u2019s spotlights include a salute to Gaumont Studios, celebrating its 130th anniversary, and a heartfelt homage to Marcel Pagnol, born 130 years ago, with screenings of timeless works like Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources.<\/p>\n The Gaumont tribute will open in Edinburgh with a live musical performance accompanying the silent-era thriller Fant\u00f4mas, performed by Jane Gardner and Caroline Salmon \u2014 a gothic masterpiece brought vividly back to life through sound and shadow.<\/p>\n Festival screenings will take place in Edinburgh at Filmhouse, the Dominion Cinema, and the Institut Fran\u00e7ais d\u2019\u00c9cosse. The Glasgow Film Theatre is also taking part.<\/p>\n Film from “la belle province”<\/strong><\/p>\n Across the Atlantic, Qu\u00e9bec takes centre stage with five films, from Denys Arcand\u2019s final work Testament, \u00a0through best Canadian feature Shepherds, to Val\u00e9rie Lemercier\u2019s musical biopic Aline, inspired by the life of C\u00e9line Dion.<\/p>\n Of course, the festival\u2019s tradition of balancing box office favourites with arthouse gems continues. This year\u2019s lineup includes actor-comedian Franck Dubosc\u2019s directorial turn in How to Make a Killing \u2014 a darkly comic, Fargo-esque thriller with a French twist.<\/p>\n Beyond the silver screen, the festival\u2019s Schools Programme will reach more than 25,000 pupils nationwide, giving young audiences a taste of French language and culture through film. Community cinemas in rural and coastal areas will also be part of the celebration, ensuring that the magic of French cinema extends well beyond the big cities.<\/p>\n Festival Director Richard Mowe captures the spirit of the event best:<\/p>\n \u201cWith this 33rd edition, the true diversity of French-language cinema has never been as strong and vibrant as in this year\u2019s selection. There is an embarras de richesses \u2014 an overwhelming choice. We\u2019re delighted to partner with so many incredible cinemas and cultural institutions across the UK to showcase the brilliance of French and francophone cinema.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As autumn fades into winter, cinema lovers in Edinburgh and across the UK are preparing for a celebration…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511830,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8816],"tags":[748,1102,4884,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-511829","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edinburgh","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-edinburgh","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-scotland","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115400693765652590","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}