06/11/2025 - The festival has unveiled the tantalisingly lavish programme for its 17th edition, unspooling 13-20 December in the snowy setting of the Alpine resort

Still going strong and a veritable magnet for artists and professionals from the European film world who flock to the Alpine resort each and every year, the Les Arcs Film Festival has revealed the delightfully high calibre line-up of its 17th edition, which will unspool between 13 and 20 December with Isabelle Adjani, Swedish-Egyptian director Tarik Saleh (who’ll be delivering a masterclass) and German actor Daniel Brühl attending as guests of honour.

The eight feature films battling it out for the Crystal Arrow will be assessed by a jury led by Dominik Moll and further composed of Damien Bonnard, Monia Chokri and Nadia Tereszkiewicz. The competition concocted by artistic director Frédéric Boyer includes eight feature films previously well-received in Venice (Silent Friend [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ildikó Enyedi
film profile] by Hungary’s Ildikó Enyedi, which was selected in competition and which earned Luna Wedler a Best Young Film Talent award, and Father [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tereza Nvotová
film profile] by Slovakia’s Terea Nvotová gracing in the Orizzonti section), Berlin (Little Trouble Girls [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Urška Djukić
film profile] by Slovenia’s Urška Djukić, discovered in the Perspectives section), Toronto (I Swear by English director Kirk Jones and Three Goodbyes [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Spain’s Isabel Coixet), Locarno (Solomamma [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Janicke Askevold
film profile] by Norway’s Janicke Askevold), San Sebastian (Maspalomas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aitor Arregi and José Mari …
film profile] by Spanish duo Aitor Arregi and José Maria Goenaga, which scooped Best Actor for José Ramon Soroiz in the Basque city’s event) and Sundance (the documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by the American director based in Denmark David Borenstein, which walked away with a Special Jury Prize from Park City).

Stealing focus in the Playtime section’s enticing line-up are Hen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: György Pálfi
film profile] by Hungary’s György Pálfy, My Tennis Maestro [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrea Di Stefano
film profile] by Italy’s Andrea Di Stefano, Primavera [+see also:
film review
film profile] by fellow Italian Damiano Michieletto, Deaf [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eva Libertad
film profile] by Spain’s Eva Libertad, Los Tigres [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by another Spaniard, Alberto Rodríguez, Hysteria [+see also:
film review
interview: Devrim Lingnau
interview: Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay
film profile] by German-Turkish director Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay, Receptions by Greece’s Filippos Tsitos, Paradise [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by the Netherlands’ Bobbie Koek, What Marielle Knows [+see also:
film review
interview: Frédéric Hambalek
film profile] by Germany’s Frédéric Hambalek, The Last Viking [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Anders Thomas Jensen
film profile] by Denmark’s Anders Thomas Jensen, My Uncle Jens [+see also:
film review
interview: Brwa Vahabpour, Peiman Aziz…
film profile] by Norwegian-Kurdish filmmaker Brwa Vahabpour and Calle Málaga [+see also:
film review
interview: Maryam Touzani
film profile] by Morocco’s Maryam Touzani.

The Hauteurs section, meanwhile, will showcase Christy [+see also:
film review
interview: Brendan Canty
film profile] by Ireland’s Brendan Canty (awarded the Generation 14Plus Grand Prize in Berlin), Strange River [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jaume Claret Muxart
film profile] by Spain’s Jaume Claret Muxart (screened in Venice’s Orizzonti line-up), The Good Sister [+see also:
film review
interview: Sarah Miro Fischer & Marie …
film profile] by Germany’s Sarah Miro Fischer (screened in the Berlinale’s Panorama section), The Visitor [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vytautas Katkus
interview: Vytautas Katkus
film profile] by Lithuania’s Vytautas Katkus (who won Best Director in Karlovy Vary) and White Snail [+see also:
film review
interview: Elsa Kremser and Levin Peter
film profile] by Austrians Elsa Kremser and Peter Levin (scooping the Special Jury Prize and Best Performance in Locarno).

The Oscar on Skis section will offer up five European contenders for the famous Best International Film trophy, including Sound of Falling [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mascha Schilinski
film profile] by Germany’s Mascha Schilinski and Orphan [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: László Nemes
film profile] by Hungary’s László Nemes. Stand-out French premieres on the agenda revolve around At Work [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Valérie Donzelli
film profile] by Valérie Donzelli, Couture [+see also:
film review
interview: Alice Winocour, Louis Garrel
film profile] by Alice Winocour and The Wizard of the Kremlin [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Olivier Assayas, alongside the documentaries Whispers in the Wood [+see also:
film review
film profile]  and D’un monde à l’autre by Vincent Munier and Jérémie Renier respectively, and La maison des femmes by Mélisa Godet (who’ll be receiving the Moving Mountains Prize).

The festival line-up also includes a Focus dedicated to Greece (in partnership with the Hellenic Film & Audiovisual Center) consisting of eight feature films and seven shorts, special screenings and a Youth programme notably showcasing DJ Ahmet [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Georgi M Unkovski
film profile] by Macedonia’s Georgi M Unkovski and the animated movies Dandelion’s Odyssey [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Momoko Seto
film profile] by Japan’s Momoko Seto and Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake [+see also:
interview: Irene Iborra
film profile] by Spain’s Irene Iborra.

Last but not least, the Short Films Competition jury will be presided over by Jessica Palud, while the Industry Village is set to welcome industry professionals between 13 and 16 December (by way of the Co-Production Village – read our article -, the Work in Progress sidebar and the Talent Village) before making room for the Summit between 16 and 20 December which is geared towards distributors and exhibitors (with 11 films for professional eyes only on the agenda). That’s without forgetting the Music Village, the Women in Film Lab, conferences, workshops, and the awareness-raising Moving Mountains line-up which will revolve around the theme of "Film and democracy: to Les Arcs, citizens!".

(Translated from French)