Ever since Cannes, and with three weeks to go until the official selection is revealed on 23 July by Alberto Barbera (whose term as artistic director has been extended until 2028), rumours have been flying on the identity of the French candidates set to world premiere in competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival (running 2 to 12 September).

In pole position is A Place to Heal by Cédric Kahn, who’d be battling it out for the Golden Lion for the very first time and returning to Venice - where he made his debut in International Critics’ Week in 1991 with Bar des rails and where he presented Making of out of competition in 2023 - for the third time. For the record, the filmmaker has previously been selected in Cannes (in competition in 2001 and in the Directors’ Fortnight in 1994 and 2023), in Berlin (in competition in 2004 and then in 2018 with The Prayer, which won a Silver Bear for Best Actor) and in San Sebastián (winning the Special Jury Prize in 2014 for Wild Life). The story for his 14th feature film (which he wrote with Kahina Le Querrec) sees 17-year-old Lucia taken by the police to an adolescent psychiatric ward in a public hospital, where the patients are all between 15 and 18 years old. Lucia is all too familiar with this space; she’s been here a number of times. She’s reunited with her friend, long-term patient Eloïse, as well as with Yasmine, Camilia, Ulysse and André, who all have different pathologies and back-stories. The doctors treat them, listen to them and meet with their parents, all while managing an overloaded service. But the arrival of the mysterious Enzo threatens to upend everything…

The cast notably stars youngsters Zoé Monpart, Malou Khebizi (Wild Diamond), Kenji Peyran, Raphaël Besson, Patience Munchenbach and Ahleme Sahraoui. The film was produced by Alexandra Henochsberg on behalf of Ad Vitam Productions and by the director’s own company Tropdebonheur Productions, in co-production with France 2 Cinéma. A Place to Heal has been pre-purchased by Canal+, Ciné+ OCS, France Télévisions and TV5 Monde, and is backed by the Occitanie region and the SOFICA companies Cofinova, Indéfilms, Cinéaxe, Cinéventure, Cinécap and Palatine Étoile. World sales are steered by Charades, and Ad Vitam are handling the film’s release in French cinemas on 18 November.

The second big favourite for a place in Venice’s competition is A Good Little Soldier by Stéphane Brizé. This film (his 11th feature) starring Alba Rohrwacher, Vincent Lindon and Sharif Andoura would see the filmmaker - who’s been selected twice in competition in Cannes - battling it out on the Lido for the fourth time, after A Woman’s Life in 2016, Another World in 2021 and Out of Season in 2023. His new opus was produced by Gaumont who are also selling the movie worldwide and distributing it in France on 25 November.

France usually boasts three Golden Lion pretenders, but the identity of this year’s third sneak thief is the source of far more speculation and uncertainty, with Mikhaël Hers’ Between Now and Then (article – starring Alba Rohrwacher and Bastien Bouillon in lead roles) and Nicole Garcia’s Milo (starring Marion Cotillard and Théodore Pellerin) topping the predictions, unless these films opt for a Toronto (running 10 to 20 September) – San Sebastián (running 18 to 26 September) double-whammy, without mentioning the majority French production Off To Ouaga by Brazil’s Fellipe Barbosa (starring Roschdy Zem, Marina Foïs, Françoise Lebrun and Sayyid El Alami). Yann Gonzalez’s I’ll Forget Your Name (article), for its part, seems to have already opted for the 2027 Berlinale.

As for the other Venetian sections, potential candidates include Ce qui nous mène à toi by Khalil Cherti (article), Sans cesse mon chéri by Anaïs Volpé (article) and the majority French production Before the War by Italy’s Tommaso Usberti.