by FilmInk Staff
The Alliance Française French Film Festival (AF FFF), Australia’s largest national film festival and the biggest celebration of French cinema outside of France, has today announced its 2025 return. Set to showcase more than 5,500 screenings of the crème de la crème of contemporary French film across 18 cities, the festival returns to Australia from 4 March – 27 April 2025. The anticipated 36th edition continues its prestigious partnership with Palace Cinemas, with 2025 marking the largest national footprint in the festival’s history as five new locations (Darwin, Ballina, Ballarat, Warriewood and Warrawong) are introduced to meet the growing Aussie appetite and curiosity in French culture. Ahead of the AF FFF 25 arrival, newly appointed CEO Frédéric Alliod shares a “petit aperçu” (“little glimpse”) at what’s in store:
“As I step into my first year as CEO for the AF FFF, I couldn’t be more excited to share a few highlights from our truly exceptional 2025 programme, which will shine a spotlight on the established icons and rising stars of French cinema, while celebrating the visionary directors, vibrant storytelling, and boundless creativity that defines French film today.”
“We will continue to proudly champion the incredible contributions of women in contemporary French cinema, with a strong focus on female characters, directors and empowering narratives.
“From outstanding biopics honouring and bringing new life to the journeys of legendary figures in French culture, exhilarating stories, music-driven dramas and, of course, l’Amour in all its forms, there’s truly something for all to enjoy. Comme toujours, nous célébrons le cinéma dans toute sa diversité !”
With the full festival line-up set to be announced and tickets available from Wednesday, 5 February, stay tuned to the latest Alliance Française French Film Festival updates at: affrenchfilmfestival.org
Must-see highlights from the AF FFF 2025 season of contemporary French cinematic escapes include:
OPENING NIGHT
Monsieur Aznavour
Australian premiere
Hot off the heels of its French box office success, with over 1.8 million tickets sold, the AF FFF 25 opens with Monsieur Aznavour. Just as Marion Cotillard was to La Vie en Rose, Golden Globe-nominated actor Tahar Rahim is to Monsieur Aznavour, transforming into the iconic singer-songwriter for this lavishly entertaining rise-to-stardom biography of the man who beat all odds to not only become one of France’s best-loved entertainers but personified French culture to the English-speaking world.
Born in Paris in 1924 as the son of Armenian refugees, Aznavour’s formative years are spent in poverty, but distinguished by his parents’ passion for music and theatre. Ridiculed for his short stature and raspy tenor voice – traits he would in time fully embrace – Aznavour’s early attempts at a showbiz career during the Occupation falter. Whilst gifted, his material finds more success in the hands of others, including his friend Pierre (Bastien Bouillon), and later the imperious Edith Piaf (a scene-stealing Marie-Julie Baup), who becomes a highly influential mentor and supporter. But by the 1950s, Aznavour finally realises his own ambitions…
Monsieur Aznavour is a true tour de force as intimate as it is spectacular, serving as a triumphant reminder of the power and impact of music. It’s a grand and unmissable cinema experience.
Dates: Opening night: Sydney: 4th March, Melbourne: 5th March, Brisbane and Canberra: 6th March, Perth: 13th March, Adelaide: 19th March
CENTREPIECE
The Count of Monte Cristo (Le comte de Monte Cristo)
Australian Premiere
Cannes International Film Festival 2024 – Out of Competition
Storming the French box office with close to 10 million admissions, Pierre Niney (Masquerade) leads a stellar cast in Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière’s thrilling new adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ epic adventure The Count of Monte Cristo, the first French cinematic treatment of the iconic tale of romance and redemption in over fifty years.
Marseille, 1815. The dreams of principled young sailor Edmond Dantès (Niney) are about to come true; promoted to ship’s captain, he can finally marry the love of his life, Mercédès (Anaïs Demoustier). But his success inspires jealousy… betrayed by his rivals, Dantès is incarcerated without trial in an isolated prison.
After years of solitude, Dantès befriends the inmate, who reveals the location of a hidden treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. An extraordinary plan is hatched to exact revenge on the three men who wronged him…
Beating Hearts (L’amour ouf)
Australian Premiere
Cannes International Film Festival 2024 – Official Competition
The phenomenal Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue Is The Warmest Colour) and François Civil (The Three Musketeers) – arguably French cinema’s brightest young talents – devour the screen in Gilles Lellouche’s vibrant, genre-spanning romantic epic that follows a written-in-the-stars infatuation tested by social boundaries, betrayal and circumstances beyond all control.
Love makes one crazy. Just ask Clotaire (Civil) and Jackie (Exarchopoulos), who meet in their teens in their Northern France working-class neighbourhood in the 1980s. Despite their differences – she is a diligent student from the middle class, he a charming troublemaker with a complex family life – an intense and unmistakable connection is sparked. But tragedy soon pulls them apart.
A decade later, Clotaire tries desperately to win back his lost love. But has his chance passed?
Driven by a kinetic soundtrack, indelible production design and all-star supporting cast, Beating Hearts pays homage to the US independent film wave of the 80s and early 90s but creates an impact truly of its own. Delivering another massive crowd-pleasing hit at the French box office which has seen close to 5 million admissions, Lellouche reaches for the stars and rewards all who strap in for the ride.
The film will have an exclusive Festival preview at select capital city locations on Valentine’s Day, 14 February 2025.
My Brother’s Band (En fanfare)
Australian Premiere
San Sebastian International Film Festival 2024 – Audience Award Winner
Cannes International Film Festival 2024 – Cannes Premiere
Following the international success of The Big Hit (an Official Selection at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, and winner of Best Comedy at the European Film Awards), writer/director Emmanuel Courcol’s wildly entertaining new film My Brother’s Band follows two siblings separated by fate and reunited by music.
Thibaut (the exceptional Benjamin Lavernhe, Delicious, C’est la vie!) is an internationally renowned orchestra conductor who travels the world. When a health crisis and subsequent DNA test inadvertently reveals that he was adopted as an infant, Thibaut discovers the existence of a younger brother, Jimmy (rising star Pierre Lottin), who lives in more modest circumstances; he works in a school cafeteria, cares for his mother and plays the trombone in a community brass band. The pair seem to have little else in common other than a love of performance, but sensing his sibling’s exceptional talent, Thibaut decides to remedy the injustice of fate and help nurture his brother’s gifts.
The Divine Sarah Bernhardt (Sarah Bernhardt, la divine)
Australian Premiere
Sumptuous, rapturous, and full of drama, the life and trials of the world’s first celebrity actress, Sarah Bernhardt, are showcased in all its theatrical glory—just as La Divine intended.
Sarah Bernhardt, played by Sandrine Kiberlain (November) is larger than life and a cyclone of contradictions. The original theatre diva, her world is blinding stage lights, opulent wealth, and delicious scandals.
Guillaume Nicloux’s decadent biopic is an experience like no other: from exotic menageries to consuming affairs, La Divine is as showstopping as she is capricious.
Meet the Leroys (Nous, les Leroys)
Australian Premiere
Grand Prix winner at the Alpe d’Huez Film Festival
In the tradition of on-the-road dramatic comedies Meet the Leroys is the moving story of the veneer we paint over lost connections and a reminder that even the brightest bonds, like stars, can fade, despite our best intentions.
Sandrine Leroy (Charlotte Gainsbourg, My Dog Stupid) is bitterly unhappy. When she announces her intention to divorce her husband, Christophe (José Garcia), he is left reeling. With Sandrine set on separation and their children feigning ambivalence, Christophe has only one thing left up his sleeve: a surprise, nostalgic road trip weekend with the entire family. The deal? If Sandrine doesn’t change her mind by the end of the trip, he’ll let her go.
All Stirred Up (Tous toqués !)
Australian Premiere
Somewhere on the border between Quebec and the United States, the intractable customs officer, Sonia (Julie Le Breton), rules her boom gate with an iron first. No one gets past her eagle eye, not even Victor (Édouard Baer, How to Be a Good Wife), a charming but down-on-his-luck French chef from New York, who finds his knives and gourmet food unfairly confiscated. Meanwhile, Sonia’s daughter Lili-Beth is sick of being bullied at school. When she enters a Mini Chefs competition to stick it to her bullies, it seems she’s the underdog with no hope of winning. Unless Julie can convince Victor to help her…
This feast of a comedy from director Manon Briand is full of laughs and touching connections. Set in the beautiful Canadian countryside and replete with mouthwatering dishes, All Stirred Up is a deliciously heartwarming story that will leave you hungry for more.
Prodigies (Prodigieuses)
Australian premiere
Starring Camille Razat, of Emily in Paris fame, this unmissable film exploring passion, obsession, and sibling rivalry, is France’s answer to Whiplash.
Based on an impossibly true story, twin pianists Claire (Razat) and Jeanne (Mélanie Robert) have been militantly trained by their father for one single goal: greatness. So, when they find themselves under the tutelage of the tyrannical Professor Klaus Lenhardt (August Wittgenstein), they’re ready to be pushed to their physical and emotional limits. However, the twins quickly realise that their biggest challenge isn’t the music or the gruelling regime – it’s each other.
When Claire and Jeanne are diagnosed with a sudden aggressive and incurable illness, their sibling rivalry pales by comparison. The twins must decide: will they defy the odds and do whatever it takes to truly become prodigies?
Recognising their unwavering support and love of French cinema, the AF FFF continues longstanding relationship with Palace Cinemas as Exhibition Partner.
For the latest Alliance Française French Film Festival updates, visit: affrenchfilmfestival.org
