Throughout October, the international French-language network TV5 Monde offers a rich lineup of entertaining films, series, and variety shows.

Discover our round-up of the must-see programs this month below.

TV5 Monde

Films

Octobre—October 1 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration of the 19th Francophonie Summit

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus beginning October 2

October 1970. Four members of the Quebec Liberation Front, an organization advocating independence for the province, kidnap a minister and hold him prisoner in a flat for several days. A drama inspired by real events.

Director: Pierre Falardeau (Canada, 1994)
Cast: Hugo Dubé, Luc Picard, Pierre Rivard, Denis Trudel, Serge Houde
Genre: Drama

L‘enchanteur — October 4 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration of the 19th Francophonie Summit

Just after the publication of the novel ”The Life Before Us” in 1975, Romain Gary uses his second cousin to play the part of Émile Ajar, his pseudonym. Media, editors and readers all fall for the ruse. But a young student, Adèle, has doubts. She heads to Paris to confront him.

Director: Philippe Lefebvre (France, 2023)
Cast: Charles Berling, Claire de La Rüe du Can, Pierre Perrier, Miranda Raison, Anne Charrier
Genre: Biopic

Pauline grandeur nature—October 13 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration of the 19th Francophonie Summit

As Pauline, separated, tries to balance motherhood and work as a landscape designer, her life becomes even more complicated when her mother announces she’s moving abroad and won’t be able to help anymore. So when she’s finally given a major project to manage, a total burnout is on the horizon…

Director: Nadège de Benoit-Luthy (Switzerland, Belgium, 2023)
Cast: Déborah François, Thibaut Evrard, Jo Deseure
Genre: Comedy, romance

Freda—October 15 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration of the 19th Francophonie Summit

In a working-class district of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Freda and her family survive thanks to their little grocery store. Confronting the precarity and increasing levels of violence in Haiti, each begins to wonder whether to stay or leave. But Freda still wants to believe her country has a future.

Director: Gessica Généus (France, 2020)
Cast: Néhémie Bastien, Djanaïna François, Fabiola Rémy
Genre: Drama
Awards: ”Un Certain Regard” Nominee, François Chalais Award- Special Mention Winner (Cannes 2021)

L’établi—October 27at 9:30pm ET/6:30pm PT (English ST)

A few months after May 68, an academic and far-left activist decides to get a job at a car factory as a line worker.

Director: Mathias Gokalp (France, 2023)
Cast: Swann Arlaud, Mélanie Thierry, Denis Podalydès
Genre: Drama
Awards: 2023 Francophone Film Festival of Greece Official Selection

Series

Trentenaires—Tuesdays, starting October 15 at 11:30pm ET/8:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration of the 19th Francophonie Summit

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus

In Charleroi, we follow the adventures of a group of friends, bound by a shared trauma. Each faces the challenges of their generation, trying to keep their personal lives on an even keel.

Director: Sylvain Archambault (Belgium, 2022)
Cast: Marie Diaby, Amandine Hinnekens, Carole Matagne
Genre: Dramedy

Documentaries

Ouvrir la voix—October 3 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration of the 19th Francophonie Summit

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus

A documentary on black women whose origins lie in European colonial history in Africa and the Caribbean. Often reduced to clichés, as victims of discrimination they discuss their different backgrounds and the need to reclaim the narrative on this sensitive subject for themselves.

Director: Amandine Gay (France, 2017)
Genre: Documentary

Poulet Frites—October 6 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration of the 19th Francophonie Summit

A femicide in an underprivileged area of Brussels. The prime suspect remembers nothing. The only clues: a chip, a Tupperware box and Saint Rita. Superintendent Jean-Michel Le Moine and his team head the investigation… A detective documentary on similar lines to the television series, “Strip Tease.”

Director: Jean Libon, Yves Hinant (France, Belgium 2021)
Genre: Documentary

Vino Veritas—October 17 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration of la Semaine du Goût

A journey through the vineyards of Europe to meet the winemakers creating “organic,” “biodynamic,” and “natural” wines. Professionals eager to demonstrate that there is another way, chemical-free or almost, and that it is urgent to rediscover a taste for it and an accompanying respect for the environment.

Director: Pascal Obadia (France, 2015)
Genre: Documentary

La Révole nature, de la vigne au verre—October 20 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration of la Semaine du Goût

Previously anecdotal because it was confined to a handful of winegrowers and reserved for a caste of initiated consumers, the natural wine market is becoming more democratic. Perceived as a mode of production and consumption that respects nature and people, it arouses new vocations and re-enchants an often discredited agricultural world. From stars to pioneers, including new winegrowers, this documentary sets out to discover those who make today’s natural wine.

Director: Aline Geller (France, 2022)
Genre: Documentary

TV5 Monde Plus

Documentaries

Bernard Dadié – Un homme de liberté —Streaming beginning October 2 (English ST)

In celebration of the 19th Francophonie Summit

This seventy-eight-minute documentary is a mix of interviews, archives, historical reconstructions, and interpretations of texts by the late Bernard Dadié, Ivorian novelist and playwright, who died on March 9, 2023 in Abidjan at the age of 103.

Director: Agnès Ribouton (Côte d’Ivoire, 2023)
Genre: Documentary, literature

La cuisine des mousquetaires —Streaming beginning October 2 (English ST)

In celebration of la Semaine du Goût

Chef Fabrice Mignot and humorist Caroline Estremo reinvent a cult programme from the 1990s. On the menu: recipes anyone can make, handy hints and new products from the French terroirs, all spiced up with a host of surprises and plenty of laughter.

Presented by: Caroline Estremo, Fabrice Mignot (France, 2024)
Genre: Cooking series

Cacao et chocolat! Le goût du partage —Streaming beginning October 2 (English ST)

In celebration of la Semaine du Goût

Cacao & Chocolat! is a modern history of sustainability. A strong and exciting story of a collective and exemplary human adventure born in Berry, France, between French-speaking artisan chocolatiers and cocoa farmers in the heart of Cameroon, confronted with the exodus of their youth and the disappearance of a vital resource for their villages.

Director: Laurent Sorcelle (France, Cameroon, 2024)
Genre: Documentary, cuisine

Happy Halloween

5e RANG—Now streaming seasons 1 & 2 (English ST)

The eldest of five sisters and dedicated heir to the family farm, Marie-Luce’s world turns upside down after the death of her husband Guy, his body found half-eaten in the pig pen. A dramatic discovery that perturbs the tranquility of those closest to him and everyone living in Valmont.

Director: Myriam Verreault (Canada, 2020)
Cast: Maude Guérin, Martine Francke, Julie Beauchemin, Catherine Renaud, Ève Duranceau
Genre: Drama, thriller series

Faits divers—Now streaming complete series (English ST)

A Quebec series, a police thriller combining black humor and comical situations that immerses us in the Montreal region of North Shore. The investigations are led by Constance Forest, Frédérik Bérubé and their team.

Director: Stéphane Lapointe (Canada, 2017)
Cast: Isabelle Blais, Fred-Éric Salvail, Émile Proulx-Cloutier, Maxime Mailloux
Genre: Crime, Drama series

Terreur 404—Now streaming seasons 1 & 2 (English ST)

404 is the internet code for pages that don’t exist, the threshold beyond which everyday life slips into a strange unknown world. In Terreur 404 our worst nightmares are brought to life by some our most commonplace technology.

Director: Sébastien Diaz (Canada, 2017)
Cast: Antoine Pilon, Karl Walcott, Guillaume Cyr
Genre: Thriller series

Je ne suis pas un robot—Now streaming season 1 (English ST)

Marie-Chantal works for Soulshine, an online content moderation centre. Unable to continue passively scrolling through all the horrors on her screen, she develops an obsession for a mysterious kitten killer.

Director: Mélanie Charbonneau (Canada, 2021)
Cast: Geneviève Schmidt, Leïla Donabelle Kaze, Nicolas Michon, Jade-Mariuka Robitaille
Genre: Comedy, thriller series

Anomalia—Now streaming season 1 (English ST)

A young brain surgeon returns to live in the region she grew up in. But strange things start happening, and she gradually becomes aware of her healing powers.

Director: Pierre Monnard (Switzerland, 2016)
Cast: Natacha Régnier, Didier Bezace, Isabelle Caillat
Genre: Drama, fantasy series

Un alibi—Now streaming (English ST)

Maude, Pierre and Tom, friends of longstanding, meet up for a birthday party at Max and Lucie’s. When they arrive they find Max kneeling beside Lucie’s body. His guilt seems obvious. His friends, convinced he’s innocent, decide to give him an alibi. But will the group withstand the police investigation? 

Director: Orso Miret (France, 2022)
Cast: Pascal Demolon, Sara Martins, Annelise Hesme, Grégori Derangère, Yannick Choirat
Genre: Crime, drama

TV5 Monde Cinema

Theme: Farming and Ecology

Les Algues vertes— available beginning October 4 (English ST)

Following the recent deaths of locals on beaches in Brittany, a reporter investigates the mystery surrounding algae that may have caused these tragic deaths.

Director: Pierre Jolivet (2023)
Cast: Céline Sallette, Nina Meurisse, Julie Ferrier
Genre: Thriller

Sur les chemins noirs— available beginning October 4 (English ST)

A celebrated writer with a penchant for extreme experiences climbs the facade of a building and falls several stories while drunk.

Director: Denis Imbert (2023)
Cast: Jean Dujardin, Joséphine Japy, Izia Higelin
Genre: Drama

Le cheval d’Orgueil— available beginning October 4 (English ST)

In early twentieth-century Brittany, two peasants marry, have a son, and live in traditional Breton ways.

Director: Claude Chabrol (1980)
Cast: Jacques Dufilho, François Cluzet, Dominique Lavanant
Genre: Drame

Goliath— available beginning October 11 (English ST)

A teacher, lawyer, and lobbist cross paths afteran investigation into pesticides.

Director: Frédéric Tellier (2022)
Cast: Gilles Lellouche, Pierre Niney, Emmanuelle Bercot
Genre: Thriller

La ferme des Bertrand— available beginning October 11 (English ST)

After 50 years of life on the farm, the Bertrand dairy farm and its one hundred animals are filmed for the first time.

Director: Gilles Perret (2024)
Genre: Documentary

Pour l’Honneur— available beginning October 18 (English ST)

Two villages in the south of France have always been bitter rivals, but when a group of asylum seekers arrives in the community, the life of both villages is shaken up and age-old disagreements escalate.

Director: Philippe Guillard (2023)
Cast: Olivier Marchal, Olivia Bonamy, Mathieu Madenian
Genre: Comedy

Une Hirondelle a fait le Printemps— available beginning October 18 (English ST)

A young woman gives up her Parisian life to fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a farmer.

Director: Philippe Guillard (2001)
Cast: Michel Serrault, Mathilde Seigner, Jean-Paul Roussillon
Genre: Dramedy

Camping à la ferme— available beginning October 18 (English ST)

Six young people from the high-rise suburbs on the outskirts of Paris arrive in the French countryside, escorted by their youth worker.

Director: Jean-Pierre Sinapi (2005)
Cast: Roschdy Zem, Julie Delarme, Bruno Lochet
Genre: Comedy

Soudain seuls— available beginning October 25 (English ST)

A couple decides to embark on a round-the-world sailing adventure to give their relationship a new start.

Director: Thomas Bidegain (2023)
Cast: Gilles Lellouche, Mélanie Thierry
Genre: Drama

Marie-Line et son Juge— available beginning October 25 (English ST)

A young woman in Normandy juggles between odd jobs to support her agoraphobic father.

Director: Jean-Pierre Améris (2023)
Cast: Louane Emera, Michel Blanc, Philippe Rebbot
Genre: Drama