French

A master tailor’s wife watches on as her closeted husband falls in love with his apprentice in this sensuous second feature from Maryam Touzani, as elegant and finely crafted as the beautiful garments in her film.

Juliette Binoche, Vincent Lindon and Gregoire Colin form a turbulent love triangle as old flames endure in Claire Denis’ sexy and volatile relationship drama.

Belgian director Lukas Dhont follows up his award-winning debut Girl (NZIFF 2018) with this deft exploration of the fragile world of childhood bonds, which has already picked up major prizes at Cannes and Sydney.

Marie Kreutzer’s bold and subversive costume drama features an imperious Vicky Krieps as the restless Empress Elisabeth of Austria, struggling to break free from the restrictive confines of courtly life.

This stunning documentary portrait of French volcanologists Maurice and Katia Krafft is skilfully constructed from their amazing archival footage collected from numerous volcanic expeditions in the 1970s and 80s.

Single mum Julie (Laure Calamy, Call My Agent!) races against time in this forceful, authentic drama underpinned by a thriller momentum.

Middle-aged house hunters get more than they bargained for in Quentin Dupieux’s delightfully screwball French comedy brimming with his usual penchant for deadpan wackiness and offbeat situations.

Reaping top awards at the 2022 Césars, this majestic, lavish fresco adapted from Balzac’s masterpiece paints a cruel portrait of 19th century Parisian society and the burgeoning world of the press, which has startling contemporary overtones.

Delving into Patricia Highsmith’s personal writings and accounts of friends and family, this doco sheds new light on the writer behind such classics as Strangers on a Train, The Talented Mr Ripley and Carol.

Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman’s one-of-a-kind feature is an Afro-futurist science-fiction musical centred on a grieving coltan miner and an intersex hacker who find liberation through technology.

Léa Seydoux stars as a busy single mom, juggling caring for her daughter and her ailing father, who finds love in unexpected circumstances in Mia Hansen-Løve’s nimble romantic drama.

A heart-warming 80s-set family drama starring Charlotte Gainsbourg as a recently single mother who finds a new lease of life working for a late night talkback show where she crosses paths with a young drifter.

A 7-year-old child becomes caught in a conflict of loyalty after her beloved brother falls victim to brutal schoolyard bullying.

A French-Korean adoptee returns to Seoul, a home she has never known, and over the course of several visits begins to process her complicated relationship with her biological family and country of birth.

An extra dose of Gallic weirdness courtesy of Quentin Dupieux; a superhero flick-turned-shaggy dog story as the brave avengers Tobacco Force go on a camping retreat to strengthen their team cohesion.

Leyla Bouzid’s tender coming-of-age romance throws young student Ahmed’s world off-balance as he falls for the confidently self-assured Farah who challenges his cultural values and his poetic ideas of love.