Love Me Tender – Anna Cazenave Cambet
From Fri 14 to Sun 23 Nov
Anna Cazenave Cambet adapts Constance Debré’s acclaimed novel Love Me Tender (Éditions Flammarion), a text that is as raw as it is luminous. The story follows a mother who, after leaving her husband and embracing her desire for women, is forced to fight for custody of her son. In prose that is pared-down, direct, and unsparing, Debré writes of love, identity, and the cost of freedom. The English translation (Holly James, Profile Books, 2023) introduced her uncompromising voice to international readers; the film now brings this narrative of rupture and reinvention to the screen with an equally urgent energy.
The Stranger – François Ozon
From Wed 19 to Sun 23 Nov
One of the most influential works of French literature, Albert Camus’ L’Étranger (Gallimard, 1942), finds a new cinematic life in the hands of François Ozon. This timeless novel, translated by Sandra Smith as The Stranger (Often translated as The Outsider, though an alternate meaning of l’étranger is “foreigner”) – continues to provoke reflections on alienation, justice, and the absurd. Ozon’s vision promises a contemporary resonance for a new generation of viewers.
Dog 51 – Cédric Jimenez
From Fri 14 to Thu 20 Nov
Based on Laurent Gaudé’s Chien 51 (Actes Sud, 2024), Cédric Jimenez (BAC Nord, November) delivers a gripping dystopian thriller set in a future Paris ruled by predictive AI. When the system’s creator is murdered, two detectives (Adèle Exarchopoulos and Gilles Lellouche) uncover the dark side of control and surveillance. A tense, futuristic reflection on justice and freedom.
The Little Sister – Hafsia Herzi
From Sun 16 to Thu 20 Nov
Adapted from Fatima Daas’s acclaimed debut La Petite dernière (Éditions Noir Sur Blanc, 2020), translated by Lara Vergnaud and published by HopeRoad as the The Last One in 2022, Hafsia Herzi’s film follows a young French-Algerian woman torn between her faith and her desire. Sensitive and intimate, it captures Daas’s lyrical exploration of identity and belonging. Winner of the Queer Palm and Best Actress Award at Cannes.
Tell Her That I Love Her – Romane Bohringer
From Fri 14 to Sat 22 Nov
Romane Bohringer adapts Clémentine Autain’s Dites-lui que je l’aime (Grasset, 2019), weaving an affecting portrait of the mother-daughter bond, shaped by the shared feeling of abandonment both women have grown up with.
Discover the full festival programme