Here's When You'll Be Saying "Oui" to Movies at the 2025 Alliance Française French Film Festival — and the First Flicks to See
A new version of 'The Count of Monte Cristo', Charlotte Gainsbourg's latest film and a tale of sibling rivalry featuring 'Emily in Paris' star Camille Razat are all on the lineup.
Here's one way to add eight movies to your must-see list in 2025: Australia's Alliance Française French Film Festival has not only unveiled its dates for the event's next tour of the country, but has also started dropping a sneak peak of its lineup. As proves the case every year, autumn Down Under will mean venturing to Paris and beyond from your cinema seat. Head along to AFFFF and you'll also be helping the fest to celebrate its 36th year.
If you're in Sydney, mark Tuesday, March 4 in your diary. Melbourne's season opens the following day, then Brisbane and Canberra the day after that. Perth's turn arrives the next week, while Adelaide gets into the action the week afterwards. In all locations, the festival runs through until at least early April.
Already the largest celebration of French cinema outside of France itself, AFFFF will be even bigger in 2026, hitting up 18 cities — and adding five new locations, in Darwin, Ballina, Ballarat, Warriewood and Warrawong, to its slate. Across its full run, the festival is set to host 5500-plus screenings. If you like Gallic films, that's a whole lot of sessions to say "oui" to.
While the complete lineup will arrive in early February 2025, the fest has kicked off its program announcements with the Tahar Rahim (Madame Web)-starring Monsieur Aznavour, about singer-songwriter Charles Aznavour, as its opening-night pick. The movie has been doing big business in France, selling 1.8-million-plus tickets. Now, it's Australia's turn to head along.
Also on the bill: the latest version of the The Count of Monte Cristo, which features Pierre Niney (The Book of Solutions) in the lead and takes AFFFF's centrepiece slot; Meet the Leroys, a road-trip dramedy that marks Charlotte Gainsbourg's (Alphonse) latest film; and Prodigies, a tale of sibling rivalry with Emily in Paris' Camille Razat. Beating Hearts, which is helmed by Gilles Lellouche (Sink or Swim) and stars Adèle Exarchopoulos (Inside Out 2) and François Civil (The Three Musketeers), played at Cannes International Film Festival 2024 — as did the music-loving My Brother's Band from The Big Hit writer/director Emmanuel Courcol.
Viewers can also look forward to The Divine Sarah Bernhardt, with Sandrine Kiberlain (Meet the Barbarians) as the eponymous actor. And last — for now — but not least is All Stirred Up, a comedy focusing on a customs officer on the border between Quebec and the United States, plus her daughter's attempts to win a cooking contest.
Alliance Française French Film Festival 2025 Dates
Tuesday, March 4–Wednesday, April 9 — Palace Central, Palace Norton Street, Chauvel Cinema, Palace Moore Park, Hayden Orpheum Cremorne, Roseville Cinemas, Warriewood, Sydney
Wednesday, March 5–Wednesday, April 9 — Palace Cinema Como, The Kino, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Westgarth, Pentridge Cinema,The Astor Theatre, Palace Penny Lane, Palace Regent Ballarat, Melbourne
Thursday, March 6–Tuesday, April 8 — Palace Cinema James Street, Palace Cinema Barracks, Brisbane, QLD:
Thursday, March 6–Wednesday, April 9 — Palace Electric Cinemas, Canberra
Thursday, March 13–Wednesday, April 16 — Palace Raine Square, Luna on SX, Luna Leedeerville, Windsor Cinema, Perth
Wednesday, March 19–Wednesday, April 23 — Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Adelaide
The Alliance Française French Film Festival will tour Australia in March and April 2025. For more information, visit the AFFFF website. Check back here on Wednesday, February 5, 2025 for the full program.
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