22/08/2025 - At the core of the supersize programme for the 18th edition of the gathering, which will unspool from 25-30 August, are a ten-title competition and preview screenings of 16 films

The Richest Woman in the World [+see also:
film review
interview: Thierry Klifa
film profile] by Thierry Klifa (premiered out of competition at Cannes, and due for a French theatrical release on 29 October) will open the 18th Angoulême Francophone Film Festival (FFA) on Monday.

The programme is dominated by a competition pitting ten titles against each other, which will be weighed up by a jury chaired by Diane Kruger (flanked by Baya Kasmi and Fabrice du Welz, among others). Standing out among the movies duking it out for the 2025 Valois d’Or are Out of Love [+see also:
film review
interview: Nathan Ambrosioni
film profile] by Nathan Ambrosioni (rewarded at Karlovy Vary), Promised Sky [+see also:
film review
interview: Erige Sehiri
film profile] by Erige Sehiri (which opened Un Certain Regard at Cannes), Furcy by Abd Al Malik (see the article), Mrs. by David Roux (see the article), The Doll by Sophie Beaulieu (see the article) and Muganga by Marie-Hélène Roux (see the article).

Also vying for the top prize are Le gang des amazones by Mélissa Drigeard, the French-Belgian flick Sans pitié by Julien Hosmalin, Les invertueuses by Chloé Aïcha Boro (a co-production between Burkina Faso and France) and the Canadian feature Fanny by Yan England.

There are 16 films set to enjoy preview screenings, including the Cannes-selected Meteors [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hubert Charuel and Claude L…
film profile] by Hubert Charuel and Claude Le Pape, The Wonderers by Joséphine Japy and Wild Foxes [+see also:
film review
interview: Valéry Carnoy
film profile] by Valéry Carnoy, as well as La condition by Jérôme Bonnell, Fils de by Carlos Abascal Peiró, Chroniques d'un indic by Laurent Herbiet, Regarde by Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud, and the animated feature La vie de château, mon enfance à Versailles by Clémence Madeleine-Perdrillat and Nathaniel H’limi. Also on the menu are C’était mieux demain by Vinciane Millereau (which will also bring the festival to a close), Goodbye My Friend by Cecilia Rouaud, La Bonne étoile by Pascal Elbé, La pire mère au monde by Pierre Mazingarbe, Le jour J by Claude Zidi Jr, Une place pour Pierrot by Hélène Médigue and Per il mio bene by Italy’s Mimmo Verdesca (the winner of the Italian Golden Globe for Best Actress in early July).

The "Les Flamboyants" ("The Flamboyants") section will show Animal Totem by Benoît Delépine, The Great Arch [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stéphane Demoustier
film profile] by Stéphane Demoustier (popular in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard) and The Haunted Minds [+see also:
film review
interview: Lucas Belvaux
film profile] by Belgium’s Lucas Belvaux.

The "Premiers rendez-vous" (“First Meetings”) menu includes Kika [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alexe Poukine
film profile] by Belgium’s Alexe Poukine (a star attraction in the Cannes Critics’ Week) and La petite graine by Mathias and Colas Rifkiss (see the article).

This year’s "Les bijoux de famille" (“Family Jewels”) programme will be dedicated to distributor Apollo Films, the "Les coups de cœur" (“Heart-stoppers”) section will offer audiences the Cannes-selected Tell Her That I Love Her [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Romane Bohringer, among others, and the Nouveaux regards (“New Perspectives”) category will boast the documentary Une cabine à soi by Anne Brochet and Pierre-Alain Giraud.

The rest of the line-up includes a tribute to Québécois cinema, the Docs & Ciné programme, a Special Screening for Les rêveurs by Isabelle Carré, a Focus devoted to filmmaker Denys Arcand and a short-film competition.

(Translated from French)