Four French films, directed by Stéphane Brizé, Cédric Kahn, Nicolas Pariser, and Florian Zeller, will represent France in Competition at the 83rd Venice Film Festival, which will take place from September 2 to 12.
Discover the full French lineup—nearly 40 films in total—as well as Unifrance’s activities during this edition of the world’s oldest film festival.
The French films in Official Selection
Competition
Stéphane Brizé returns to the Venice Competition for the fourth time with A Good Little Soldier (after A Woman's Life in 2016, Another World in 2021, and Out of Season in 2023). His latest feature is again set in the world of work and stars Alba Rohrwacher, who plays an employee in the Human Resources department of a large insurance company, striving to balance the well-being of employees with the company's performance goals...
With A Place to Heal, Cédric Kahn delivers his fourteenth feature film, set in the child psychiatry ward of a public hospital, where teenagers with different conditions and backgrounds are temporarily housed—but the arrival of a mysterious figure threatens to disrupt the fragile balance. This marks the filmmaker’s first time in Competition; he previously presented L'Ennui in the Perspectives strand (1998) and Making of Out of Competition (2023).
Un peu avant minuit by Nicolas Pariser brings together Melvil Poupaud, Chiara Mastroianni, and Golshifteh Farahani and traces the journey of a man in his fifties, haunted by the ghosts of his past, who is led to take stock of his emotional life... This is the first time the filmmaker has presented a film on the Lido.
Bunker by Florian Zeller brings together Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem in a closed-door setting. A couple in real life, they also play a married couple on screen—an architect and his wife—whose relationship begins to crumble over the construction of a survival bunker. This is also Florian Zeller’s debut at the Venice Film Festival.
Three other minority-French co-productions feature in Competition, including It Will Happen Tonight, Nanni Moretti latest film starring Louis Garrel. Also featured, the highly anticipated Dau by the Russian filmmaker and visual artist Ilya Khrzhanovsky, a long-term project that will run over three hours.
Out of Competition
Six French films will be screened Out of Competition, including the legal comedy The Good Lawyer, directed by Tristan Séguéla and starring Laurent Lafitte as a cocaine-addicted lawyer, Father Joe, a Europacorp production bringing together Kiefer Sutherland and Al Pacino, as well as Jupiter, a political alternative-history film starring Denis Ménochet in the role of the President of France, along with the documentaries Citizen Osama, set in the Gaza Strip, and Twist and Shoot Mister Suzuki, centered on the cult figure of Japanese cinema, Seijun Suzuki.
Orizzonti
Finally, to round out the Official Selection of feature films, six films produced or co-produced in France will be presented in the Orizzonti strand, including La Moula, the debut feature by Jérôme Pierrat—a thriller set against the backdrop of drug trafficking—and House of the Wind, a story centered on the friendship in Cameroon between an elderly woman and a young woman from her neighborhood.
Also worth noting is the presence of director Xavier Giannoli in the Competition jury. Valérie Donzelli will serve as president of the Orizzonti jury, and on September 3, the actress and filmmaker will receive the Directing Award at the inaugural ELLE Women in Venice Awards.
--> The full Venice Film Festival line-up can be found here
Sidebar selections
Semaine de la Critique
The French-Italian co-production Before the War, directed by Tommaso Usberti and starring Luàna Bajrami, will be France's entry in Semaine de la Critique. And the French-Italian short film Les Métamorphoses, au féminin, featuring Noémie Merlant, will open Eventi Speciali.
Giornate degli autori
Robert Guédiguian's latest feature Une femme aujourd'hui, will be included in the official selection of the Giornate degli Autori, while A Mans's Skin, directed by Léa Domenach, and starring Claire Pommet, Stefan Crepon, and Catherine Deneuve—and based on the comic book by Hubert and Zanzim—will be screened there Out of Competition
The artist delegation representing French cinema
The following guests are already expected to attend this year's event (subject to change):
Vincent Lindon, Alba Rohrwacher, Stéphane Brizé, Cédric Kahn, Malou Khebizi, Sophie Guillemin, Florian Zeller, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Barthélémy Grossmann, Luc Besson, Kiefer Sutherland, Ever Anderson, Nicolas Pariser, Melvil Poupaud, Chiara Mastroianni, Léonie Simaga, Alexandre Smia, Thomas Finkielkraut, Denis Menochet, Frédéric Pierrot, Dominique Blanc, Ella Rumpf, Céline Sallette, Léa Doménach, Stefan Crepon, Eddy de Pretto, Melha Bedia, Louis Garrel, Robert Guédiguian, Marilou Aussilloux, Grégoire Leprince, Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Rubaiyat Hossain, Amos Gitai, Auguste Bernard, Kouemo Yanghu, among many other talents representing the French cinema delegation.
Unifrance at the Venice Film Festival
Club Unifrance
For the second consecutive year, Unifrance will host Club Unifrance, a space dedicated to welcoming French production teams in the selection for their meetings with the international press and the recording of interviews. This initiative, designed to boost media coverage of French films, is made possible thanks to the increased support of the CNC. Unifrance also thanks the patrons of the Unifrance Endowment Fund: Accor—Great Patron, BNP Paribas—Patron, and Maison Pommery & Associés—Patron.
Unifrance will also host a Business Mixer cocktail reception at Club Unifrance on Friday, September 4, to celebrate French films and talent, and to provide a casual setting for French and international industry professionals to network.
Venice Immersive
Unifrance will be present on Immersive Island with its annual panel discussion.
On Friday, September 4, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Spazio Incontri Immersivo, located on Immersive Island, Unifrance is organizing a panel discussion titled "A Close Look at the French XR Industry."
After an introduction by the CNC, the audiovisual attaché in Italy, Rémi Guittet, will announce the fifth winner of the XR Farnese-Medici Residency, the director Gohar Martirosyan for her project The River That Knows Too Much, which will be produced shortly as part of her residency in Italy.
Unifrance will then exclusively reveal the results of its annual study on the international export of French immersive works. The figures and trends for 2025 will be announced and discussed with two representatives from export companies specializing in immersive media: Agata Di Tommaso, Business Development & Festivals at Diversion , and Claudia Montes, Head of Acquisitions at Unframed Collection.
All the French films (and co-productions) presented at the 2026 Venice Film Festival, across all sections
Official selection
Competition
- A Place to Heal by Cédric Kahn
- Bunker by Florian Zeller
- A Good Little Soldier by Stéphane Brizé
- Un peu avant minuit by Nicolas Pariser
- It Will Happen Tonight by Nanni Moretti (minority-French co-production)
- L'Estranea by Paolo Strippoli (minority-French co-production)
- Dau by Ilya Khrzhanovsky (minority-French co-production)
Out of Competition
- The Good Lawyer by Tristan Séguéla
- Citizen Osama by Ahmad Hassouna
- Father Joe by Barthélémy Grossmann
- Jupiter by Alexandre Smia
- The Road to Jericho by Amos Gitaï
- Twist and Shoot Mister Suzuki by Yves Montmayeur
- Imperium by Sergei Loznitsa (French co-production shares not communicated)
Orizzonti
- House of the Wind by Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu
- La Moula by Jérôme Pierrat
- The Difficult Bride by Rubaiyat Hossain (French co-production shares not communicated)
- A Day in the Life of Jo: Chapter Phaedra by Jacqueline Lentzou French co-production shares not communicated)
- Un détour par Diane by Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni (French co-production shares not communicated)
- The Burning Giants by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng (French co-production shares not communicated)
Venezia Classici
- Journey to Italy by Roberto Rossellini (minority-French co-production)
- Dead Stop / Deadly Sweet by Tinto Brass (minority-French co-production)
Immersive Works - Official Competition
- Sunset Motel by Gilles Jobin
- Eyes of Shame (Gédos Akys) by Tomas Tamosaitis
- Yesterday Maybe by Matthieu Van Eeckhout
- Outrenoir by Gordon
- Amsterdam 1652 : The Hands of the City by Vincent Slangen and Nienke Huitenga-Broeren
- Artou by Abderrahmane Sissako
- Everest : the First Ascent by Jean Dellac and Benjamin Auriche
Immersive Works - Out of Competition
- Little Nightmares VR: Altered Echoes by Lucas Roussel
- Spymaster by Jeremy Moirano
- The Amusement by Marc Barnes and Eike Langbehn
- Crafting Crimes: the Mona Lisa Heist by Chloé Rochereuil
Immersive Works - Venice Immersive – Biennale College
Short Films - Official Selection Out of Competition
Short Films - Orizzonti
- Distant Blue by Amir Houshang Moein
- Tropic of the Mourning Gecko by Stavros Markoulakis
- Quelques instants de bonheur by Shaden Safieddine Tazi
- Sasso, carta, forbici by Virginia Mori
- Los poderes by Salim Jaller
Semaine de la Critique
Official Selection
Short Italian Cinema
Eventi Speciali
- Les Métamorphoses, au féminin by Maria Giménez Cavallo (opening film)
Giornate degli Autori - Venice Days
Official Selection
- Une femme aujourd'hui by Robert Guédiguian
- Salón de belleza by Nathalia Acevedo (French co-production shares not communicated)
Notti Veneziane
- Auber 89 by Giuseppe Schillaci
- Il Mestiere by Beppe Tufarulo (minority-French co-production)
Out of Competition
Media Gallery
© IPA Agency / Unifrance
© IPA Agency / Unifrance
