83rd Venice Film Festival: French Works in Selection

The 83rd Venice International Film Festival will be held from 2 to 12 September under the presidency of American director and actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. French productions and co-productions feature prominently across the various selections, with no fewer than 19 works supported by the CNC (French National Centre for Cinema and Moving Image).

French cinematic creation is once again in the spotlight at the Venice Film Festival. Eight feature films produced or co-produced by French companies are vying for the prestigious Golden Lion: Un peu avant minuit by Nicolas Parisert (Bizibi), recipient of the Advance on Receipts and the Original Music Creation Aid; *15/18* by Cédric Kahn (Ad Vitam), supported notably by the Images de la diversité Fund; Un bon petit soldat by Stéphane Brizé (Gaumont); Bunker by Florian Zeller (Blue Morning Pictures), co-produced with Spain; Ink by Danny Boyle (Studiocanal), a co-production with the UK and the US; Dau by Ilya Khrzhanovsky (Société parisienne de production), co-produced with Germany and Sweden; Succederà questa notte by Nanni Moretti (Pan Cinéma), co-produced with Italy and Spain, beneficiary of the Selective Distribution Aid; and L’Estranea by Paolo Strippoli (Kazak Productions), a co-production with Belgium and Italy.

The films Jupiter by Alexandre Smia (Chi-Fou-Mi productions), supported by the Advance on Receipts before production, Un bon avocat by Tristan Seguela (Iconoclast Films), and Father Joe by Barthélémy Grossmann (Luc Besson Productions) are presented out of competition.

Across all selections, four films received the Advance on Receipts and three received the World Cinema Support: The Difficult Bride by Rubaiyat Hossain (Les Films de l’Après-Midi), co-produced with Bangladesh, Portugal, Norway and Germany; Yak mai (The Burning Giants / Les Ogres de feu) by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng (Nord-Ouest Films), co-production with Thailand, Singapore and the Netherlands, both in Orizzonti competition; and Prima della guerra by Tommaso Usberti (L’Heure d’été), a Franco-Italian film presented in the International Critics’ Week section, which also benefited from the Franco-Italian aid.

Regarding virtual reality works, seven titles produced or co-produced by France are competing in the Venice Immersive category, four of which are supported by the CNC via its Immersive Creation Support Fund (formerly the Digital Experiences Support Fund) and its Video Game Support Fund (FAJV). These include Outrenoir by Gordon (Lucid Realities), Sunset Motel by Gilles Jobin (co-production in development: Floreal Films), Eyes of Shame (Gédos Akys) by Tomas Tamošaitis (Insomniak), and Artou by Abderrahmane Sissako (Korokoro Productions).

Works produced or co-produced with France

• Official CompetitionInk by Danny Boyle – UK, France, USA
• *15/18* by Cédric Kahn (Ad Vitam) – France
  Images de la diversité Fund (production), Selective Online Distribution Aid, Selective Video Editing Aid (programme 2026)
• Un bon petit soldat by Stéphane Brizé (Gaumont) – France
• Bunker by Florian Zeller (Blue Morning Pictures) – France, Spain
• Dau by Ilya Khrzhanovsky (Société parisienne de production) – Germany, France, Sweden
• Succederà questa notte by Nanni Moretti (Pan Cinema and Pan Distribution) – Italy, France, Spain – Selective Distribution Aid
• Un peu avant minuit by Nicolas Parisert (Bizibi) – France – Advance on Receipts after production, Original Music Creation Aid, Selective Video Editing Aid (programme 2026)
• L’Estranea by Paolo Strippoli (Kazak Productions) – Italy, France, Belgium

Out of Competition

• Father Joe by Barthélémy Grossmann (Luc Besson Productions) – France
• Un bon avocat by Tristan Seguela (Iconoclast Films) – France
• Jupiter by Alexandre Smia (Chi-Fou-Mi productions) – France – Advance on Receipts before production
• Orizzonti Competition
• Yak mai (The Burning Giants / Les Ogres de feu) by Phuttiphong Aroonpheng (Nord-Ouest Films) – Thailand, France, Singapore, Netherlands – World Cinema Support before production
• The Difficult Bride by Rubaiyat Hossain (Les Films de l’Après-Midi) – France, Bangladesh, Portugal, Norway, Germany – World Cinema Support before production
• La Maison du vent (House of the Wind) by Auguste Bernard Kouemo Yanghu (La Mansarde Cinéma) – Cameroon, France, Belgium, Benin, Saudi Arabia, Qatar – Francophone Young Creation Fund, Advance on Receipts before production, Original Music Creation Aid
• Mia mera sti zoi tis tzo : kefalaio Faidra (A Day in the Life of Joe : Chapter Phaedra) by Jacqueline Lentzou – Greece, Germany, France
• La Moula by Jérôme Pierrat (Iconoclast Films) – France
• Un détour par Diane by Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni (Marianne Productions) – Belgium, France – Advance on Receipts before production, Original Music Creation Aid
• Orizzonti Short Films International Competition
• Los Poderes by Salim Jaller (Alta Rocca Films) – Colombia, France – Programme Aid
• Tropic of the Mourning Gecko by Stavros Markoulakis (Atalante Films) – Greece, France, Netherlands – Selective Audiovisual Aid (AVR3)
• Sasso, carta, forbici (Rock, Paper, Scissors) by Virginia Mori – Italy, France
• Bleu au loin by Amir Houshang Moein (Sacrebleu Productions) – France – Programme Aid
• Quelques instants de bonheur by Shaden Safieddine Tazi – France, UK
• Sounds from Home by Nathan Silver – France, USA

International Critics’ Week

• Prima della guerra by Tommaso Usberti (L’Heure d’été) – France, Italy – World Cinema Support before production, Franco-Italian Aid

Venice Immersive

• Everest: The First Ascent by Jean Dellac, Benjamin Aurich (Small Creative) – France
• Outrenoir by Gordon (Lucid Realities) – France – Immersive Creation Support Fund – pre-production, Immersive Creation Support Fund – production
• Amsterdam 1652: The Hands of the City by Nienke Huitenga-Broeren (executive producer: Digital Rise) – Netherlands, France
• Sunset Motel by Gilles Jobin (co-production in development: Floreal Films) – Immersive Creation Support Fund – pre-production
• Artou by Abderrahmane Sissako (Korokoro Productions) – France – Immersive Creation Support Fund – pre-production, Immersive Creation Support Fund – production
• Eyes of Shame (Gédos Akys) by Tomas Tamošaitis (Insomniak) – Lithuania, France, Croatia – Digital Experiences Support Fund – production
• Yesterday Maybe by Matthieu Van Eeckhout – (no country details given)

Venice Immersive – Out of Competition

• The Amusement by Eike Langbehn, Marc Barnes – (no country details given)
• Spymaster by Jeremy Moirano (Innerspace VR) – Video Game Support Fund – production
• Crafting Crimes by Chloé Rochereuil (Targo) – Immersive Creation Support Fund – production

Little Nightmares VR: Altered Echoes by Lucas Roussel (Iconik) – (no country details given)Venice Immersive – Out of Competition – Biennale College CinemaThe White Saboteur by Barthelemy Antoine-Loeff and Hugo Arcier (Risette) – Immersive Creation Support Fund – pre-production

Source：CNC