Cycles

Through the eyes of French filmmakers, this series shines a light on the people who bring to life the trades, skills, and passions that shape our heritage. Artisans, chefs, teachers, farmers, artists, manual workers, healthcare professionals, and entrepreneurs—these are the women and men whose life paths, actions, and callings form the heart of deeply human stories.

As temperatures rise, cinema heads out into the open. This film series invites you on a journey where summer sets the stage for breakneck chases, gripping investigations, and sun-drenched adventures. It is a scorching lineup—a blend of adrenaline, wide-open horizons, and the thrill of escape.

To mark the 40th anniversary of La Fémis in 2026, discover a series of short films made by graduates of this prestigious French film school, whose current careers are followed and supported by the IF.

A crossroads of cultures, languages, and stories, the Mediterranean has always been a source of inspiration for cinema. Through this series of French films, we invite you to explore this multifaceted space, shaped by exchanges, migrations, and shared memories. From the shores of Southern Europe to those of North Africa and the Middle East, amidst heritage, tensions, and contemporary creations, cinema becomes a space for dialogue, echoing the Mediterranean cultural season and the artistic vitality of this shared space.

Painting, sculpture, photography or performance… art has always fascinated cinema, which explores its mysteries, passions and contradictions. Through this cycle, French cinema mirrors artistic creation, revealing both the works and the artists, their impulses, their doubts and their struggles. A sensitive and cinematic journey to the heart of the act of creating.

From the very beginning of cinema, women have been writing, directing and producing films. From documentary to fiction, from short to full-length, they have invented forms and narratives; their artistic legitimacy is undeniable, their contribution to cinema is immense. They are, however, the great forgotten ones in the history of the 7th art; The French Institute has brought together in this programme the most outstanding works of six French pioneers, offering them international recognition.

Rediscover the award-winning animated films from the Annecy festival on IFcinéma for your June programming!

Discover a fresh look at contemporary cinema through a selection of feature and short films revealed by La Semaine de la Critique. This cycle highlights emerging filmmakers from around the world, whose daring works explore the boundaries of narrative and emotion. An invitation to dive into the diversity, sensitivity and vitality of young cinematographic creation.

This series explores how French cinema addresses the question of identity. Through personal and social narratives, these films tackle universal themes such as origin, belonging, gender, and integration. Between tradition and transformation, they offer a sensitive perspective on the diversity of experiences in France today.

Immerse yourself in the venomous and hushed universe of Claude Chabrol, master of the French psychological thriller, by programming four of his most famous films! Behind the calm facades of the province or the established bourgeoisie, he reveals the impulses, frustrations and violence that smolder under the social veneer. Murders, secrets, moral hypocrisy: in Chabrol, crime is never gratuitous, it is the symptom of a deeper malaise.