Throughout May, 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

Special

L’invité – May 14-25 TBA

Cannes Film Festival Red Carpet Special

Host Patrick Simonin will be on the red carpet interviewing the stars at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Host: Patrick Simonin (France 2024)

Genre: News

Films

En ville – May 7 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival

(English ST)

Iris is sixteen and finishing up her teenage years in a small town when she meets Jean, a forty-year-old photographer from Paris. As they get to know each other, their relationship evolves into an amorous friendship that will turn their lives upside down.

Director: Valérie Mréjen, Bertrand Schefer (France, 2011)

Cast: Lola Créton, Stanislas Merhar, Adèle Haenel, Valérie Donzelli

Genre: Dramedy

Awards: The Directors’ Fortnight Selection (Cannes, 2011)

L’angle mort – May 9 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival

(English ST)

Since childhood, Dominick has been able to make himself invisible, a gift he’s never really made the most of. Now an adult, he finds it more difficult to use this ability, seeing it as a guilty secret, hidden even from his fiancée. Until the day his power becomes uncontrollable…

Director: Patrick Mario Bernard, Pierre Trividic (France, 2018)

Cast: Jean-Christophe Folly, Isabelle Carré, Golshifteh Farahani, Sami Ameziane

Genre: Drama

Awards: Selected by ACID (Cannes 2019)

Mon légionnaire – May 12 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus beginning May 8

(English ST)

A young woman leaves Ukraine to follow her boyfriend, a young soldier based in Corsica.

Director: Rachel Lang (France, 2021)

Cast: Camille Cottin, Louis Garrel, Ina Marija Bartaité

Genre: Drama

Awards: The Directors’ Fortnight Selection (Cannes 2021)

Dans Paris – May 16 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus

(English ST)

Paul is unable to accept his break-up with Anna. On the verge of depression he returns to live with his father in Paris and buries himself in his bedroom. All those around him, each in their own way, try to help him to get over his broken heart…Oh yeah

Director: Christophe Honoré (France, 2006)

Cast: Romain Duris, Louis Garrel, Guy Marchand, Marie-France Pisier

Genre: Drama

Awards: The Directors’ Fortnight Selection (2006 Cannes), nomination (2007 César Awards)

Freda – May 19 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival

(English ST)

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)

Je veux voir – May 21 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus beginning May 8

(English ST)

Lebanon, 2008. Two documentary filmmakers invite the French star Catherine Deneuve and their favorite actor Rabih Mroué to travel together through the regions affected by the 2006 war. Through their presence, they hope to once again capture the beauty their own eyes are no longer able to discern…

Director: Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige (France, Lebanon, 2008)

Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Rabih Mroué

Genre: Drama

Awards:  ”Un Certain Regard” Nominee (Cannes 2008)

Les bureaux de dieu – May 23 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival

(English ST)

Within the walls of the Family Planning offices, women listen to other women grapple with the freedom to love. Women of all ages and all backgrounds, who can finally confide without fear. To at last be able to talk freely, see their desires more clearly, and make the right choices.

Director: Claire Simon (France, Belgium, 2007)

Cast: Anne Alvaro, Nathalie Baye, Michel Boujenah, Rachida Brakni

Genre: Dramedy

Awards: The Directors’ Fortnight Selection (Cannes 2008)

Slalom – May 26 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus beginning May 8

At 15, Lyz has just joined the prestigious ski-study section of the Bourg-Saint-Maurice High School. Fred, former champion turned coach, decides to stake everything on this new recruit. Galvanized by his support, Lyz puts everything into her sport, physically and emotionally. But the teenager soon falls completely under Fred’s sway…

Director: Charlène Favier (France, Belgium, 2020)

Cast: Noée Abita, Jérémie Renier, Marie Denarnaud

Genre: Drama

Awards: Official Selection (Cannes 2020), Most Promising Actress and Best First Film nominations (2022 César Awards)

Une aussi longue absence – May 28 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus

(English ST)

Thérèse Langlois is intrigued by a tramp who looks just like her husband, deported by the Germans fifteen years earlier. She decides to follow him, to be certain that it is indeed him. But he’s suffering from amnesia. Patiently, Thérèse tries to find a way to reawaken his memories…

Director: Henri Colpi (France, Italy 1960)

Cast: Alida Valli, Georges Wilson, Charles Blavette, Amédée

Genre: Drama

Awards: Palme d’Or Winner (Cannes 1961), Louis Delluc Prize Winner (1960)

Tom Medina – May 30 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival

(English ST)

In the mystical French region of Camargue, Tom Medina turns up, on probation, on the doorstep of big-hearted Ulysses. Tom dreams of becoming a good person. But he’s thwarted by the hostility flung in his general direction, which shows no sign of abating.

Director: Tony Gatlif (France, 2021)

Cast: David Murgia, Slimane Dazi, Karoline Rose Sun

Genre: Drama

Awards: Official Selection (Cannes 2021)

Series

Jeux d’influence, les combattantes – Sundays, starting May 5 at 11:30pm ET/8:30pm PT

Season 2 premiere

(English ST)

A year after the victory of the decree prohibiting certain toxic pesticides in agriculture, the situation has worsened despite the law. During a school trip to the Vitalia cooperative, some pupils faint. The journalist Claire Lansel is informed of Vitalia’s practices by Chloé Forrest. Minister Delpierre’s cabinet discovers suspicious collusions of interest between Vitalia and the agricultural syndicate Synea. An employee suffers from red rashes on his arms, nocturnal sweating and itching. Claire rapidly receives threats on the subject of her investigation.

Director: Jean-Xavier de Lestrade (France, 2022)

Cast: Alix Poisson, Laurent Stocker, Pierre Perrier, Marilou Aussilloux, Jean-François Sivadier

Genre: Thriller

Garde partagée – Wednesdays, starting May 8 at 11:30pm ET/8:30pm PT

Season 1 premiere

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus

(English ST)

Behind our often fanciful or preconceived ideas, what’s the reality of shared custody and single parenthood? Each episode puts one family and one crazy situation in the spotlight, exploring the lives of single parents and blended families with all their joys, unexpected challenges, and regrets.

Director: Christian Essiambre (Canada, 2020)

Cast: Ludger Beaulieu, Caroline Bélisle, Tanya Brideau, Florence Brunet, Christian Essiambre

Genre: Comedy, sketch series

Détectives… ou presque – Tuesdays, starting May 28 at 11:30pm ET/8:30pm PT

Season 1 premiere

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus

(English ST)

In financial straits, former policeman Leo Brand sets up a detective school in Basel. To help them get the best out of the course, his amateur detectives learn on the job by solving real cases. Each has their own unique character… But none really correspond to the task in hand.

Director: Michael Steiner (Switzerland, 2022)

Cast: Roeland Wiesnekker, Meryl Marti, Dardan Sadik, Martin Rapold, Esther Gemsch

Genre: Thriller, crime comedy

Documentaries

Dans un cinéma près de chez vous – May 10 at 3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus

(English ST)

An immersive visit behind the scenes of the Quebec film industry in the company of French-Canadian actress Karine Vanasse. From studio to editing room, from screenplay to post-production or public screening, she meets the creatives behind the films, whether fiction, documentary, animated…

Director: Frédéric Nassif (Canada, 2023)

Genre: Documentary

Claire Denis, les chemins de traverse – May 13 at 3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival

(English ST)

A look on French film director and screenwriter Claire Denis’ life and work throughout the years. She is arguably most known for Beau Travail, a war drama loosely based on Herman Melville’s novella Billy Budd.“ Denis’s films are filled with lush scenes of the natural world—African deserts, snowy Alpine fields, and the mineral-green waters of the South Pacific—and characters who tend to reveal themselves not through dialogue but through how they move and look.” (The New Yorker)

Director: Vincent Soulié (France, 2021)

Genre: Documentary

Jean-Louis Trintignant, mystérieux et insaisissable – May 14 at 3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus

(English ST)

From ”And God Created Woman”, ”Il Sorpasso”, ”A Man and a Woman”, ”The Conformist”, ”Amour”… the list of successes by Jean-Louis Trintignant (1930-2022) may be impressive but his films say little about the man himself. A look back over the life of a discrete and deliberately enigmatic actor.

Director: Marc Clouet d’Orval (France, 2022)

Genre: Documentary

Viva Varda! – May 22 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus

(English ST)

A leading post-war film director, and initiator of the Nouvelle Vague, acknowledged by Hollywood during her lifetime, Agnès Varda’s work (1928-2019) was quirky, open to the world, and sensitive to society’s most vulnerable. She frequently recounted her life, her work, building her legend. But was the reality even more extraordinary? A free-ranging portrait.

Director: Pierre-Henri Gibert (France, 2023)

Genre: Documentary

Alain Delon, la beauté du diable et les femmes – May 21 at 3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival          

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus

(English ST)

Claudia Cardinale, Monica Vitti, Brigitte Bardot… throughout his career Alain Delon has starred opposite the most beautiful actresses. Some even shared his life: Romy Schneider, Mireille Darc, and Anne Parillaud. Women have always played a major role in the life of this icon of French cinema.

Director: Antoine Lassaigne (France, 2018)

Genre: Documentary

Refuges de montagne – Thursdays, starting May 16 at 3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT

Season 8 premiere

Previous episodes also streaming on TV5MONDEplus

(English ST)

A summertime visit to the Swiss Alps to discover mountain refugees and the people who look after them. Susanne Brand manages the Gauli mountain hut, made famous by the emergency landing of an American Dakota on the glacier of the same name in 1946. In Engadin, we discover the Cluozza mountain cabin. Finally, in the canton of Appenzell, Ruth and Paul Graf welcome us to the Hundstein.

Director: Danielle Giuliani (Switzerland, 2020)

Genre: Documentary series

TV5 Monde Plus

Films

Entre les vagues – Now streaming

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival

(English ST)

Two best friends with dreams of becoming successful actresses get cast in a high-profile play in Paris, but one of them has a secret that could jeopardize everything.

Director: Anaïs Volpé (France, 2022)

Cast: Souheila Yacoub, Déborah Lukumuena, Matthieu Longatte, Angélique Kidjo

Genre: Drama

Awards: The Directors’ Fortnight Selection (Cannes, 2021), 2022 Riviera International Film Festival Student Jury Award Best Film Winner, Champs-Élysées Film Festival 2021 Prix du Jury Best Female French Director Winner

Gueule d’ange – Now streaming

In celebration of the Cannes Film Festival

(English ST)

One day, Marlene suddenly chooses to abandon her daughter for a man she has just met during yet another night of excess. Elli must confront her mother’s demons to get her back.

Director: Vanessa Filho (France, 2018)

Cast: Marion Cotillard, Ayline Aksoy-Etaix, Alban Lenoir

Genre: Drama

Awards: Cannes Film Festival 2018 Un Certain Regard Award Nominee

Un beau voyou – Now streaming

(English ST)

Beffrois, a disillusioned police captain nearing retirement, has his curiosity aroused by a new art theft. Seemingly an art specialist, the burglar prefers works of average value. No doubt to avoid attracting attention. Another distinctive sign: he always passes by the roof. For Beffrois the investigation looks to be athletic.

Director: Lucas Bernard (France, 2018)

Cast: Swann Arlaud, Charles Berling, Jennifer Decker

Genre: Dramedy

Series

Les grandes Grandes Vacances – Streaming beginning May 8

(English ST)

2 siblings visit their grandparents in Normandy, just as France enters World War II.

Creators: Delphine Maury, Olivier Vinuesa (France, 2015)

Cast: Julie-Ann Dean, Benjamin Bollen, Janet James

Genre: Animation history series

Documentaries

Cheveux afro – L’histoire d’une couronne innée – Streaming beginning May 8

(English ST)

Season premiere, TV5MONDE coproduction with BKE

Written and directed by journalist Rachel Kwarteng, this series features 19 inspiring black women, who narrate their personal experiences. With them, the world of kinky hair is explored in depth, from pre-colonial times to today.

Director: Rachel Kwarteng (France, 2024)

Genre: Documentary series

TV5 Monde Cinema

Theme: French films at major film festivals

La dérive des continents (au sud) – Available beginning May 3

(English ST)

A woman, on a mission for the European Union in Sicily, is responsible for organizing French President Macron and German Chancellor Merkel’s next visit to a migrant camp.

Director: Lionel Baier (2022)

Cast: Isabelle Carré, Théodore Pellerin, Ursina Lardi

Genre: Dramedy

Awards: 2022 Cannes Film Festival Directors’ Fortnight Official Selection

L’établi – Available beginning May 3

(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 (2023)

Cast: Swann Arlaud, Mélanie Thierry, Denis Podalydès

Genre: Drama

Awards: 2023 Francophone Film Festival of Greece Official Selection

Le destin de Juliette – Available beginning May 10

(English ST)

After a farmer’s daughter marries a railway worker for the welfare of her family, she realizes her happiness is more important.

Director: Aline Issermann (1983)

Cast: Laure Duthilleul, Richard Bohringer, Véronique Silver

Genre: Drama

Awards: 1984 César Awards Best First Work nomination

Les bienheureux – Available beginning May 10

(English ST)

A few years after the Algerian Civil War, a couple celebrates their twentieth wedding anniversary at a restaurant.

Director: Sofia Djama (2017)

Cast: Sami Bouajila, Nadia Kaci, Faouzi Bensaïdi, Lyna Khoudri

Genre: Drama

Awards: 2017 Venice Film Festival Best Actress Winner (Lyna Khoudri)

Bruno Reidal– Available beginning May 17

(English ST)

Based on the true story of Bruno Reidal, a young peasant from Cantal who was found guilty of murdering a child in 1905.

Director: Vincent Le Port (2021)

Cast: Dimitri Doré, Jean-Luc Vincent, Roman Villedieu

Genre: Drama

Awards: 2023 César Awards Best First Film Nominee

Les particules – Available beginning May 17

(English ST)

As winter sets in, and young man starts to observe strange phenomena in the environment. The changes are imperceptible at first, but gradually his whole world seems to be on the brink.

Director: Blaise Harrison (2019)

Cast: Thomas Daloz, Néa Lüders, Salvatore Ferro

Genre: Drama

Awards: 2019 Cannes Film Festival Golden Camera Nominee

Les héroïques – Available beginning May 24

(English ST)

A former junkie becomes a dad again at age 50 and fights not to repeat the same mistakes he did with his first son.

Director: Maxime Roy (2021)

Cast: François Créton, Richard Bohringer, Ariane Ascaride

Genre: Dramedy

Awards: 2021 Cannes Film Festival Golden Camera Nominee

Tant que le soleil frappe – Available beginning May 24

(English ST)

A tenacious landscaper fights to create a wild garden open to all in the city center of Marseille.

Director: Philippe Petit (2022)

Cast: Swann Arlaud, Sarah Adler, Grégoire Oestermann

Genre: Drama

Awards: 2022 Venice Film Festival Best Film Nominee

Lola vers la mer – Available beginning May 31

(English ST)

An 18-year-old transgender woman is finally able to have an operation. However, her mother who was going to support her financially, unexpectedly dies.

Director: Laurent Micheli (2019)

Cast: Benoît Magimel, Mya Bollaers, Els Deceukelier

Genre: Dramedy

Awards: 2020 César Awards Best Foreign Film Nominee

Trois nuits par semaine– Available beginning May 31

(English ST)

A man becomes mesmerized by a young drag queen in Paris and immerses himself in a new world.

Director: Florent Gouëlou (2022)

Cast: Pablo Pauly, Romain Eck, Hafsia Herzi

Genre: Dramedy

Awards: 2022 Venice Film Festival Queer Lion Nominee