04/11/2025 - The 26th edition of the event set to unspool between 7 and 16 November will play host to 122 feature films, guests of honour Léa Drucker and Lucas Belvaux, and a focus on Polish production

This Friday, You Found Me by Alice Vial will open the 26th Arras Film Festival, a hugely popular film gathering (boasting 50,000 viewers last year) unspooling between 7 and 16 November and set to showcase an eye-catching array of 122 feature films accompanied by an impressive raft of film talent, notably two guests of honour in the form of French actress Léa Ducker (Case 137 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dominik Moll
film profile]) and Belgian filmmaker Lucas Belvaux (The Haunted Minds [+see also:
film review
interview: Lucas Belvaux
film profile]).

In addition to the nine European contenders for the Golden Atlas (read our article) set to be assessed by a jury led by Stéphane Demoustier, the line-up includes nine recent feature films in the Visions of the East section: Franz [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Agnieszka Holland
film profile] by Poland’s Agnieszka Holland, Orphan [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: László Nemes
film profile] by Hungary’s László Nemes, Little Trouble Girls [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Urška Djukić
film profile] by Slovenia’s Urška Djukić, DJ Ahmet [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Georgi M Unkovski
film profile] by Macedonia’s Georgi M. Unkovski, Broken Voices [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ondřej Provazník
film profile] by Czech director Ondrej Provaznik and four titles from Poland (a country placed centre stage by this year’s festival): Chopin, A Sonata in Paris by Michal Kwiecinski, Mama by Or Sinai, Under The Grey Sky [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mara Tamkovich
film profile] by Mara Tamkovich and Simona Kossak by Adrian Panek.

Stealing focus in the European Discoveries section are movies hailing from Spain (Sundays [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alauda Ruiz de Azúa
film profile] by Alauda Ruíz de Azúa and Deaf [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eva Libertad
film profile] by Eva Libertad), Italy (A Year of School [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Samani
film profile] by Laura Samani and Primavera [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Damiano Michieletto), Ireland (Christy [+see also:
film review
interview: Brendan Canty
film profile] by Brendan Canty), Belgium (We Believe You [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arnaud Dufeys and Charlotte…
film profile] by Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys, Skiff [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Cecilia Verheyden, and Sauvons les meubles by Catherine Cosme), Iceland (The Love That Remains [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Hlynur Pálmason
film profile] by Hlynur Palmason), Finland (A Light That Never Goes Out by Lauri-Matti Parppei) and Germany (Zweitland by Michael Kofler and Swiss director Damien Dorsaz’s German-French production Lady Nazca).

The Masterpieces line-up will notably host screenings of Los tigres [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Spain’s Alberto Rodriguez, La Grazia [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Italy’s Paolo Sorrentino and Cannes champion The Secret Agent [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Brazil’s Kleber Mendonça Filho, among other works.

This celebration of European cinema in all its diversity will also shine a light on French film production, with an avalanche of premieres gracing the agenda, including for Valérie Donzelli’s Venice prize-winner At Work [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valérie Donzelli
film profile], Alice Winocour’s Couture [+see also:
film review
interview: Alice Winocour, Louis Garrel
film profile], Vincent Munier’s documentary Whispers in the Wood [+see also:
film review
film profile], Nathan Ambrosioni’s Out of Love [+see also:
film review
interview: Nathan Ambrosioni
film profile] (rewarded in Karlovy Vary) and Rebecca Zlotowski’s A Private Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which is set to close the festival.

Standing tall in the selection of films shot in the Hauts-de-France region are Grand Ciel [+see also:
film review
interview: Akihiro Hata
film profile] by Akihiro Hata, The Girls From Above [+see also:
film review
interview: Bérangère McNeese
film profile] by Belgium’s Bérangère McNeese and Animal Totem [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Benoît Delépine. Another mention-worthy line-up is Perspectives of French Cinema - foregrounding L’île de la demoiselle by Micha Wald (article), La petite cuisine de Mehdi by Amine Adjina (read our article), Pieces of a Foreign Life by Gaya Jiji and N121 - Bus de nuit by Morade Aïssaoui - and the World Cinema section (showcasing seven films, notably the European co-productions Calle Malaga [+see also:
film review
interview: Maryam Touzani
film profile] by Maryam Touzani and A Sad and Beautiful World [+see also:
film review
interview: Cyril Aris
film profile] by Cyril Aris).

Rounding off the rich festival agenda are two retrospectives (one dedicated to Hungarian filmmaker Márta Mészáros and the other to the theme "Empire, Love and Tragedies – A History of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy), alongside special screenings (The Great Arch [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stéphane Demoustier
film profile] by Stéphane Demoustier and Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s documentary France, une histoire d’amour), the Children’s Festival and two Cine-Concerts.

Last but not least, there’s the festival’s professional sidebar, the 19th Professional Northern Film Meetings (running 12 – 14 November), and the Arras Days Development Grant pitching sessions (on 15 November), not to mention the focus on various Polish projects taking place the following day.

(Translated from French)