Throughout February, 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

12 ans, 7 mois et 11 jours—February 7 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

Despite being judged innocent in the accident that killed Raphaël, Inès continues to feel guilty. She is convinced that Raphaël’s mother will take revenge on her own son as he reaches the same age. When the day comes, she runs away with him, without warning her husband.

Director: Alexandre Coffre (France, 2023)
Cast: Marie Denarnaud, Julie Gayet, Hubert Delattre, Mhamed Arezki, and Anton Alluin
Genre: Drama, TV-Movie

Sira—February 9 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT/ February 17 at 11:30pm ET/8:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration Berlinale and FESPACO

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus beginning February 5

On the way to join her future husband, Sira and her family are attacked by terrorists in the desert. Raped and left for dead, she finds herself alone having to rely on her survival instinct. Between grief and desire for revenge, Sira does everything to thwart the attackers’ plans.

Director: Apolline Traoré (Burkina Faso, France, Germany, Senegal, 2022)
Cast: Nafissatou Cissé, Mike Danon, Lazare Minoungou, Nathalie Vairac, Ruth Werner, and Abdramane Barry
Genre: Drama
Awards: Audience Award and Amnesty International Film Award at Berlinale (Germany, 2023), five awards, including the Gold Award at FESPACO (Burkina Faso, 2023), Grand Prix World Cinema Exchange Award (Amsterdam, 2023)

Une histoire d’amour—February 16 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT/ February 24 at 11:30pm ET/8:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration of Valentine’s Day

Two women fall in love and decide to have a child, leaving it to chance to decide who will carry the baby.

Director: Alexis Michalik (France, 2022)
Cast: Alexis Michalik, Juliette Delacroix, and Marica Soyer
Genre: Drama

Trois couleurs : Rouge—February 18 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration of the 50th César Awards

Valentine, a student and model, runs over a dog. She brings the wounded animal back to its owner, a retired judge. The embittered man spends his evenings spying on his neighbors’ telephone conversations. In time, their initially turbulent relationship evolves into a deep friendship.

Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski (France, Poland, Switzerland, 1994)
Cast: Irène Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Juliette Binoche, Julie Delpy, Jean-Pierre Lorit, and Samuel Le Bihan
Genre: Dramedy
Awards: BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Film (1995), César Award for Best Music (1995), official selection at Cannes (1994)

L’exercice de l’Etat—February 20 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration of the 50th César Awards

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus beginning February 5

Bertrand Saint-Jean, Minister for Transport, is woken in the middle of the night by his chief of staff. A coach has plunged into a ravine. He has no choice, he must go on site. And so the statesman is drawn into an ever more complex and hostile world of intrigue.

Director: Pierre Schoeller (France, Belgium, 2010)
Cast: Michel Blanc, Olivier Gourmet, Zabou Breitman, Laurent Sttocker, and Didier Bezace
Genre: Dramedy
Awards: In compétition at the Cannes Film Festival 2011, 3 Césars (supporting role for Michel Blanc, sound, script) in 2012

Les secrets du finistère – le chant des sirènes—February 21 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

The body of a woman dressed as a mermaid is found on the beach. Laubier calls on Le Dantec to help out on the case. The investigation leads them to a small fishing boat that has been seen drifting and on which the victim’s DNA has been found.

Director: Jean-Marc Thérin (France, 2024)
Cast: Évelyne Bouix, Jérémy Banster, Antoine Chappey, Karina Marimon, and Patxi Garat
Genre: Thriller, TV-Movie

Ashkal, l’enquête de Tunis—February 23 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration of FESPACO

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus beginning February 5

A charred body is discovered in a building in Jardins de Carthage, an abandoned property project, in Tunis. Two police officers, Fatma and Batal, are put in charge of investigating this mysterious death. Other immolations then follow, using the same modus operandi.

Director: Youssef Chebbi (France, Tunisia, 2022)
Cast: Fatma Oussaifi, Mohamed Grayaâ, Rami Harrabi, Bahri Rahali, Hichem Riahi, and Oumayma Meherzi
Genre: Thriller
Awards: Three awards at Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival (France, 2022), Gold Award at FESPACO (Burkina Faso, 2023), selected at the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes Festival (France, 2022)

La dernière tentation des belges—February 25 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration of Les Magritte du Cinéma

It’s the story of a father, Jan, a cultural leader in a hostile environment, and his daughter Marie, an occasional stripper, who are on the edge of the precipice. She wants to jump and he tries to hold her back.

Director: Jan Bucquoy (Belgium, 2022)
Cast: Alice Dutoit, Wim Willaert, Alex Vizorek, and Alice Moons
Genre: Comedy

Terrible jungle—February 27 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration of the 50th César Awards hosted by Catherine Deneuve

Eliott, a naïve young researcher, heads off to study a mysterious tribe in Amazonia: the Otopis. An opportunity for him to escape his stiflingly possessive mother, Chantal de Bellabre! But worried about her son, she decides to go in search of him, deep in the jungle…

Director: Hugo Benamozig, David Caviglioli (France, Belgium, Switzerland, 2019)
Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Vincent Dedienne, Alice Belaïdi, and Jonathan Cohen
Genre: Comedy
Awards: Official selection (Alpe d’Huez 2020)

Series

Disparition inquiétante—February 4 at 11:30pm ET/8:30pm PT (English ST)

Ep 6. Fear on the campus: Lyon University campus is buzzing with the news: a student has disappeared. Despite having only just arrived, Superintendent Julia Sanchez, leads the investigation. And she is all the more determined to succeed as her daughter, Oriana, has begun studying on the same campus and could also be in danger.

Director: Sandra Coppola, Félix Tétreault (Canada, 2021)
Cast: Claudia Tagbo, Bruno Solo, Julien Boisselier, Natalia Dontcheva, and Aaliyah Lexilus
Genre: Drama, crime, miniseries

Lou et Sophie— Wednesdays starting February 12 at 11:30pm ET/8:30pm PT (French ST)

Season premiere

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus

Lou and Sophie, true best friends forever, have just finished high school. On the threshold of adulthood, they yearn for freedom and adventure. All summer in their run-down neighborhood? No way! Instead, they’re in search of an old car to buy, ready to head off on a road trip.

Director: Sandra Coppola, Félix Tétreault (Canada, 2021)
Cast: Jade Charbonneau, Zeneb Blanchet, Sophie Cadieux, Hubert Proulx, and Étienne Galloy
Genre: Drama

Documentaries

Jean Yanne, Tendre Provocateur—February 3 at 3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT (English ST)

In film, television, radio or his cabaret performances, Jean Yanne (1933-2003), through his portrayal of surly characters and low-life crooks, relentlessly attacked all that was wrong in society. Portrait of a debonair entertainer, who, with his caustic sense of humour and cheeky irreverence, respected no boundaries.

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

Refuges de montagne—Thursdays, starting February 6 at 3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT (English ST)

Season 9 premiere

Previous seasons also streaming on TV5MONDEplus

A summertime visit to the Swiss Alps to discover mountain refugees and the people who look after them.

Nik Hartmann heads for the Oberaletsch mountain refuge to meet Debi and Peter Schwitter and their two daughters. At the Gelmerhütte, in the canton of Berne, he catches up with Peter Schläppi who has taken over the reins from his parents, Ruth and Walter.

Nik Hartmann has joined Walter and Peter Schläppi at the Gelmer hut. Father and son take advantage of a quiet moment to climb to the top together. At the Rotondo mountain refuge, he meets up with Jeanne Richenberger and her friend Tanja Pfammater who share their impressions after three seasons.

Director: Sabine Grossrieder, Matthias Hämmerly, and Bettina Muller-Hendry (Switzerland, 2020)
Genre: Documentary series

Les chèvres de ma mère—February 11 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

In celebration of the 50th César Awards

Maguy has been producing goat cheese with respect for nature and animals for 40 years. She will soon be retiring and must sell her herd. She is training Anne-Sophie, a young farmer, who will be taking over. A tough handover process for both of them.

Director: Sophie Audier (France, 2013)
Genre: Documentary
Awards: César Award for the Best Documentary Film (France, 2015), selected at Hamburg Film Festival (Germany, 2014)

Vietnam, l’amour est au bout du voyage—February 12 at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT (English ST)

Also streaming on TV5MONDEplus beginning February 5

“Whether I wanted it or not Vietnam has forever accompanied me, every step along my path through life.” Mei-Chen Chalais retraces her childhood in Vietnam at war, from Hanoi to Saigon, until her exile in France alongside a courageous mother.

Director: Sophie Agacinski and Marc Clouet d’Orval (France, 2024)
Genre: Documentary

TV5 Monde Plus

Films

I love Greece—Streaming beginning February 5 (English ST)

In celebration of Valentine’s Day

Jean and Marina, a Franco-Greek couple, go to Athens for summer vacation. There they find Marina’s exuberant family and a Greece in crisis. While they plan to spend a few romantic days on a small island in the Cyclades, the whole family decides to accompany them.

Director: Nafsika Guerry-Karamaounas (France, Greece, 2022)
Genre: Romantic comedy
Cast: Stacy Martin, Vincent Dedienne, Maria Apostolakea

Timgad—Streaming beginning February 5 (English ST)

In honor of Ramadan

In 1996, in Timgad, Algeria, twelve babies are born on the same night. Twelve years later, their teacher Mokhtar dreams of forming a football team with them called Juventus of Timgad. Jamel, an archaeologist and former footballer, returning to the country to carry out excavations, lends a hand.

Director: Fabrice Benchaouche (France, Belgium, Alergia, 2016)
Cast: Sid Ahmed Agoumi, Mounir Margoum, Myriem Akheddiou
Genre: Comedy
Awards: Audience award at Cinemed in Montpellier (2016)

La fiancée du poète—Now streaming (English ST)

In celebration of Valentine’s Day

In celebration of Les Magrittes du Cinéma

A fan of painting and poetry, Mireille combines her job as a waitress at the Café des Beaux-Arts in Charleville with a bit of petty theft and an illegal cigarette trade. Not able to maintain the large family home that she inherits, she decides to take on three lodgers…

Director: Yolande Moreau (France, 2022)
Cast: Yolande Moreau, Sergi López, Grégory Gadebois, and Estéban
Genre: Dramedy
Awards: Magritte Awards Best Actress Nomination (Yolande Moreau, 2024)

Perdrix—Now streaming (English ST)

In celebration of Valentine’s Day

Pierre Perdrix has been enjoying an enchanted though restless existence since the enigmatic Juliette Webb burst into his life. A stranger who landed in his family’s unique world like a meteorite, and who by her presence alone will force this tight-knit microcosm to redefine their boundaries and, finally begins to fully live their lives.

Director: Erwan Le Duc (France, 2019)
Cast: Swann Arlaud, Maud Wyler, Fanny Ardant, and Nicolas Maury
Genre: Comedy
Awards: Cannes Film Festival Golden Camera Nominee (2019), Bayard d’Or for Best First Work (2019)

Series

En résidence— Streaming beginning February 5 (English ST)

Season 1 premiere

Residents of a retirement home must accommodate a group of university students after their dormitory burns down.

Director: Christian Essiambre (Canada, 2024)
Cast: France Castel, Germain Houde, and Roc Lafortune
Genre: Comedy

TV5 Monde Cinema

Theme: Love/Valentine’s Day

Mal de pierres— available beginning February 7 (English ST)

The cynical boss of a big insurance agency invites his top-salary employees to spend a weekend in his country house.

Director: Nicole Garcia (2016)
Cast: Marion Cotillard, Louis Garrel, and Alex Brendemühl
Genre: Drama
Awards: 2016 Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or Nominee

Les petits flocons— available beginning February 7 (English ST)

On holiday in the mountains, a woman is suddenly unable to ski due to phlebitis. While her husband and children enjoy the slopes, she finds solace in caring for her guest, who has just been released from prison.

Director: Joséphine de Meaux (2019)
Cast: Joséphine de Meaux, Grégoire Ludig, and Gustave Kervern
Genre: Comedy

La dégustation— available beginning February 7 (English ST)

A single woman determined not to end up alone meets a divorced man who runs a wine cellar on the verge of bankruptcy.

Director: Ivan Calbérac (2022)
Cast: Isabelle Carré, Bernard Campan, and Mounir Amamra
Genre: Comedy

Juliette au printemps— available beginning February 14 (English ST)

A children’s book editor returns to her hometown to reconnect with her family.

Director: Blandine Lenoir (2024)
Cast: Izïa Higelin, Sophie Guillemin, and Jean-Pierre Darroussin
Genre: Dramedy

Une année difficile— available beginning February 14 (English ST)

Two compulsive spenders infiltrate a group of climate activists to get free food and drinks.

Director: Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache (2023)
Cast: Pio Marmaï, Noémie Merlant, and Jonathan Cohen
Genre: Comedy

Tristesse club— available beginning February 21 (English ST)

Two brothers and a woman, who may be their sister, embark on a journey to find their supposedly dead father.

Director: Vincent Mariette (2014)
Cast: Roschdy Zem, Doria Tillier, and Guillaume Gallienne
Genre: Historical drama

Elle l’adore— available beginning February 21 (English ST)

A beautician who loves telling fanciful tales is shocked when her celebrity crush knocks on her door asking for help.

Director: Jeanne Herry (2014)
Cast: Sandrine Kiberlain, Laurent Lafitte, and Pascal Demolon
Genre: Comedy

Hors-saison— available beginning February 28 (English ST)

A middle-aged, well-known actor reconnects with a past love.

Director: Stéphane Brizé (2023)
Cast: Guillaume Canet, Alba Rohrwacher, and Sharif Andoura
Genre: Dramedy

Et la fête continue !— available beginning February 28 (English ST)

In the working-class district of Marseilles, a woman nearing retirement feels disillusioned until she meets a man who inspires her to pursue her dreams.

Director: Robert Guédiguian (2023)
Cast: Ariane Ascaride, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Lola Naymark
Genre: Dramedy