All the French films at the 79th Locarno Film Festival Cannes Film Festival

23 7月 2026

Nearly forty films produced or co-produced by France will be screened this year—most of them as world premieres—at the Locarno Film Festival (August 5 to15).
This small town in southern Suisse,home to this major festival for auteur and experimental cinema—still directed by Giona A. Nazzaro—will be the perfect setting for new films by Sarah Leonor, Fanny Liatard & Jérémy Trouilh, Martin Provost, and Marc Fitoussi.

Director Sarah Leonor will represent France in Competition (for the Pardi d’oro, the Golden Leopard) with her fourth feature film, D'ici là, a story of three intertwined lives set in the heart of a valley in the Vosges. The filmmaker first came to prominence at this same festival in 2009 with her film Au Voleur.

French cinema will also be represented by three minority-French co-productions: Hearing by Lê Bảo, Rehmat by Gurvinder Singh, and Princess Donkey by Cristóbal León Dooner and Joaquín Cociña Varas.

D'ici là

On the vast Piazza Grande, which hosts open-air screenings much loved by the 8,000 spectators who can gather there, the latest films by Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh (Les Yeux verts, six years after their debut feature Gagarine), by Martin Provost (Love Lessons, starring Fabrice Luchini, Emmanuelle Devos, and Chiara Mastroianni), and All About Corrine by Marc Fitoussi, which will be presented as the festival’s closing film in the director’s presence, accompanied by Isabelle Huppert.

All About Corrine

Out of Competition, Catalan filmmaker Albert Serra will present his musical documentary (about Ingrid Caven) Sixteen Moments of My Life, and Bertrand Mandico will attend with Roma Elastica a few weeks after its world premiere at Cannes.

Sixteen Moments of My Life

As for short films, 13 French short films will be screened, including five in the Pardi di Domani international competition. (Full list below.)

We also highlight the presence, among the International Competition jury members, of actress Lolita Chammah, and producer Olivier Père.

Virigine Efira honored

Belgian actress Virginie Efira, a leading figure in French cinema for the past decade, will receive the prestigious Leopard Club Award. Giona A. Nazzaro, the festival's artistic director, describes her as “bold yet thoughtful, instinctive yet ironic,” saying that she “embodies the full beauty of what it means to be an actress in today’s cinema.” While in Locarno, Efira will present All of a Sudden by Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and interact with audiences.

Virginie Efira

©Thomas Brunot/Unifrance

Unifrance's presence at Locarno

On Saturday, August 8, Unifrance will host a cocktail reception in honor of French cinema, attended by the French Ambassador to Switzerland and delegations representing French films at the festival (by invitation only).

Furthermore, as part of its commitment to supporting the international reach of emerging French producers, Unifrance is renewing its partnership with the festival, enabling three member companies to participate in the Match Me! program.

This year's participants will be: