French Films at the 2026 St. Louis International Film Festival
Film Festival
The Arab directed by Malek Bensmail (2026)
From a hidden painter in rural France to a psychological duel between Resistance leader Jean Moulin and the Gestapo, this year’s St. Louis International Film Festival brings a rich and wide-ranging selection of French and francophone cinema to the screen.
This year’s St. Louis International Film Festival offers a dynamic lineup of in-person screenings across the city, celebrating the best of international cinema. French and francophone films are featured prominently throughout the program, showcasing French cinema’s artistry and diversity through features, documentaries, and shorts. Don’t miss this unique cinematic journey!
All of a Sudden
DIR. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi | France, Japan, Germany, Belgium
LANGUAGES French, Japanese
GENRES Drama, Psychological drama
Marie-Lou, the director of an elder care facility, is on the verge of burnout when a chance encounter sparks a deep, transcendent friendship.
Ana, en passant
DIR. Fernanda Salgado | France, Brazil, Portugal
LANGUAGES French, Portuguese
GENRES Animation, Black Perspectives
Following her grandmother’s death in Paris, a young woman travels to Brazil where she encounters her exact double in this lyrical animated drama.
Bunker
DIR. Florian Zeller | France, Spain
LANGUAGES English, Spanish
GENRES Psychological thriller, Drama
When an architect (Javier Bardem) is recruited to design a survivalist bunker for a tech billionaire, his wife (Penélope Cruz) begins to question their marriage.
From Gaza with Love
DIR. Charles Villa, Suhail Nassar | France
LANGUAGE French, Arabic, English
GENRE Documentary
Made under extreme conditions in 2025, this documentary gives voice to the children of Gaza, connecting French journalist Charles Villa — barred from entering the territory — with photographer Suhail Nassar on the ground, some 3,200 kilometers away.
La Gradiva
DIR. Marine Atlan | France, Italy
LANGUAGES French, Italian
GENRES Drama, Coming-of-age
A high school trip to Naples becomes the staging ground for a profound coming-of-age experience in this spellbinding, mythic portrait of teenhood.
The Arab
DIR. Malek Bensmail | Algeria, France, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Belgium
LANGUAGE French, Arabic
GENRE Drama, Thriller, Historic, War
Haroun, an elderly man carrying an extraordinary secret, is at the center of this drama that tells the story of an “Arab” whose name was stripped away, and of another man who claims to be his brother.
The Gleaners and I (Les Glaneurs et la Glaneuse)
DIR. Agnès Varda | France
LANGUAGE French
GENRE Documentary
Across the French countryside and the streets of Paris, Agnès Varda sets off in search of gleaners old and new and finds, in their act of gathering, a mirror for her own practice as a filmmaker.
Séraphine
DIR. Martin Provost | France, Belgium
LANGUAGE French
GENRE Biography, Drama
In 1914, a German art collector renting a room in the French town of Senlis discovers that his unassuming housekeeper, Séraphine, secretly paints luminous, otherworldly canvases in her spare time, setting in motion a story of artistic recognition that will carry her from obscurity to acclaim, and ultimately toward madness.
Shorts 1: Alaska
DIR. Ilan Cohen | France
LANGUAGE French
GENRE Short film, Drama
Jo plans to smuggle his best friend out of the country inside a suitcase, but at thirty-five, he’s beginning to wonder if it’s his own life that needs to change.
Shorts 2: Four Wise Monkeys (Le 4ème singe)
DIR. Xin Wang | France
LANGUAGE French
GENRE Short film, Drama
Inspired by a true story, a series of small, seemingly unrelated events builds toward a man’s death that finally breaks a community’s silence.
Shorts 3: Marble & Lemons
DIR. Anna Katalin Lovrity | France, Hungary
LANGUAGE French
GENRE Short film, Animation, Family Drama
On vacation on the Italian coast, a refined mother and her free-spirited adult daughter struggle to connect until the daughter glimpses her mother’s vulnerability and steps into a new role, in this animated ode to femininity and sisterhood.
Shorts 4: Max
DIR. Adrien Boublil | France
LANGUAGES French, German
GENRES Short film, Drama, History, War
In a sealed room during World War II, a brutal psychological duel unfolds between Jean Moulin, leader of the French Resistance, and Klaus Barbie, head of the Gestapo in Lyon.
Shorts 5: profession: activist
DIR. Saber Tatarcheh | France, Iran
LANGUAGE Persian
GENRE Short film
A filmmaker who wants to make documentaries about human rights, animals, and the environment finds himself blocked at every turn.
Shorts 6: The Most Beautiful Girl in the World (La plus belle fille du monde)
DIR. Vassili Schneider | France
LANGUAGE French
GENRE Short film
Gabriel strikes up a friendship with “the most beautiful girl in the world.” Obsessed, he sets aside everything he believes in, hoping it might be enough to win her over.
Shorts 7: Under the Sun (Al Sol)
DIR. Isabel Barajas | France
LANGUAGE Spanish
GENRE Short film, Drama
On vacation, ten-year-old Elisa wants her mother to finally teach her to swim, but work calls keep getting in the way. Caught in the middle of her parents’ divorce, Elisa decides to brave the water alone.