French Films and New Media Highlights This May

In 1936, as the British Empire tightens its grip on Palestine, Yusuf is caught between his village home and his work in Jerusalem. Amidst an anti-colonial revolt and Jewish refugees fleeing persecution from Europe, all sides converge in a decisive moment for the region.

Jason Robards stars as a New York Jewish lawyer who returns to his hometown of Stuttgart after 55 years to find traces of his parents (including a doctor father who was proud of having fought for the Fatherland during WWI) and closest school friend, scion of one of Germany’s most notable families. Told mostly in flashback, Reunion centers on the two 16-year-old boys (Christien Anholt as the young Robards and Samuel West as his aristocratic friend) and their unlikely friendship, even as national socialism begins to insinuate itself into everyday life.

Algiers, 1938. Meursault, a quiet and unassuming employee in his early thirties, attends his mother’s funeral without shedding a tear. The next day, he begins a casual affair with Marie, a work colleague, and quickly slips back into his usual routine. However, his daily life is soon disrupted by his neighbor, Raymond Sintès, who draws Meursault into his shady dealings — until, on one blisteringly hot day, a tragic event occurs on a beach.

One of a handful of female outsider artists to earn praise from the early exponents of art brut, Aloïse Corbaz—born in modest circumstances in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1886; institutionalized as a schizophrenic in 1918; and kept under psychiatric observation until her death in 1964—is portrayed here by two of the premiere European actresses of their respective generations: Isabelle Huppert, who plays Corbaz as a ruminative, searching young woman, and Delphine Seyrig, astonishingly committed as the elder artist. Produced by Paul Vecchiali, de Kermadec’s sophomore feature, newly restored by Cinémathèque Française, is an ideal introduction to an unjustly forgotten giant of post–New Wave French cinema, who in the same year of its release would serve as one of the producers on Seyrig and Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce. Screens with Qui donc a rêvé?, de Kermadec’s first short, undertaken shortly following an “apprenticeship” period as set photographer to the likes of Agnès Varda and Alain Resnais.

Discover our roundup of this month’s must-see programs available on the international French-language network, TV5 Monde.

Priding himself on his eclecticism when many of his generational cohort of French filmmakers were eager to be seen as auteurist specialists, Louis Malle was perhaps better suited than most Gallic cineastes to cross the Atlantic—and so he did, with aplomb, arriving in the United States towards the end of the 1970s and producing a body of work every bit as distinguished here as that which he’d left behind back home. Accompanying our US premiere of Claire Duguet’s new documentary Louis Malle, le révolté, with Duguet in attendance, Metrograph—with help from the filmmaker’s daughters, Justine Malle and Vogue US editor Chloé Malle, who will be on hand —takes a look back at Malle’s years in les États-Unis. Vive l’Alliance Franco-Américaine!

Interested in nocturnal mysteries? Step inside Masquerade NYC, Manhattan’s secret cabaret immersive experience. Directed by Tony Award® winner Diane Paulus, this reinvention of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera transforms the Paris Opera House into a fully enveloping world where audiences move freely through the story: from the grandeur of the masked ball to the intimacy of backstage dressing rooms, down through mirrored passages into the deepest corners of the Phantom’s lair. Woven throughout, live performances, DJ sets, and intimate masked encounters unfold within a hidden, luminous speakeasy — a sensory plunge into music, mystery, and after-dark revelry. stranger and more phantastically than you’ve ever dreamt it.

Albertine Cinémathèque continues to offer access to French cinema across the United States through its educational film and grant program for universities and colleges. For the 2026–2027 academic year, the initiative supports 55 campus-based French film festivals selected for their strong artistic vision and academic impact. From Puerto Rico to Hawai’i, these festivals will bring a diverse range of films to students nationwide.

Alongside its grants, Albertine Cinémathèque offers a curated selection of contemporary and classic films, including a new focus on emerging filmmakers through the Young French Cinema program in collaboration with Unifrance. By combining screenings, academic engagement, and opportunities to connect with filmmakers, the program highlights the richness and vitality of French cinema while fostering meaningful cultural exchange on campuses.

Albertine Cinémathèque is part of the French for All initiative by Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation, and is made possible by the support of the Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée (CNC), and Unifrance. 

Villa Albertine will take part in the Cannes Immersive Talks program with a panel dedicated to the evolving relationship between artistic creation, cinema, and artificial intelligence.

At a time when emerging technologies are reshaping artistic practices, artist residencies are becoming essential spaces for experimentation, research, and creation. This discussion will explore how Villa Albertine’s residency program supports transformations in cinema and new media, particularly in the context of artificial intelligence.

Through the intersecting journeys of three Villa Albertine residents, including participants in the Arts in the Age of AI program, the panel will highlight new forms of storytelling as well as continuities with more traditional cinematic approaches.

Villa Albertine and Unifrance are pleased to unveil the 2026 Young French Cinema selection, featuring six acclaimed French films still awaiting U.S. distribution. From intimate auteur stories to socially engaged dramas, these bold new works spotlight the most exciting voices in contemporary French cinema, with women directors behind five of the six films. Available à la carte, the program invites art-house theaters, festivals, universities, and cultural organizations nationwide to bring today’s best French films to their audiences.

French Studies, Human Rights, CMIA, GSS, Literature, and the Division of Languages & Literature presents Albertine French Film Festival: Orlando directed by Paul B. Preciado.

Academic virtuoso turned filmmaker Paul B. Preciado’s Berlin Film Festival award-winning doc tells his and others’ stories of transition through unique reenactments and visual interpretations of Virginia Woolf’s Orlando: A Biography.

This festival is supported by a grant from Albertine Cinémathèque, part of the French for All initiative by Villa Albertine, The French Institute for Culture and Education, and Albertine Foundation. It is made possible with the support of the Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée (CNC). All films will be introduced in English and shown with English subtitles.

Taking place from June 3–14 in New York City, the Festival will showcase 118 feature films—including a record 103 world premieres—alongside 86 short films. Founded in the aftermath of September 11 on the belief that storytelling unites communities, Tribeca has grown into a global platform for bold storytelling and emerging voices. This milestone edition reflects that legacy, bringing together acclaimed filmmakers, breakthrough talent, and major cultural figures for a can’t miss, citywide celebration.