French cinema has been at the forefront of the global film industry since the 1950s, and French film-makers are known to take more risks than their Hollywood counterparts. Showcasing a diversity of films, My French Film Festival brings you some of the best French-language films from the past year. From comedies, thrillers, and documentaries to animated films and drama, it's a welcome departure from the skop, skiet en donder action flicks that break box office records, or the all too familiar copy-and-paste formulaic Netflix shows.
This year, My French Film Festival's 15th edition presents 10 feature films and 10 short films, all of which feature subtitles in eight languages. Whether you set up a viewing party with friends, make it a budget-friendly date night choice, or enjoy some well-deserved me time, this is an event you can't afford to miss.
Thu, Feb 6 – Attend a free screening of A Real Job at The Bioscope. RSVP here.
Thu, Feb 13 – Mars Express sceens for free at The French Institute of South Africa. RSVP here.
Fri, Jan 17 – Mon, Feb 17 – Head to myfrenchfilmfestival.com to stream all 20 of these cinematic masterpieces for free.
What you can expect from My French Film Festival in 2025
FEATURE FILMSNo Love Lost by Erwan Le Duc (comedy-drama)
The Man With a Thousand Faces by Sonia Kronlund (documentary)
The Dreamer by Anaïs Tellenne (drama)
Along Came Love by Katell Quillévéré (romance)
Making Of by Cédric Kahn (comedy)
Mars Express by Jérémie Périn (animated science fiction)
Through the Night by Delphine Girard (thriller)
All to Play For by Delphine Deloget (drama)
A Real Job by Thomas Lilti (comedy-drama)
The Apprentices by Pierre Salvadori (comedy)
SHORT FILMS
Alexx196 & the Pink Sand Beach by Loïc Hobi (adventure)
Alarms by Nicolas Panay (thriller)
Changing Rooms by Violette Gitton (drama)
Sweet Tooth by Joséphine Darcy Hopkins (horror)
Gigi by Cynthia Calvi (animated documentary)
Winter by Jean-Benoît Ugeux (drama)
Blood Ties by Hakim Atoui (comedy-horror)
Montsouris Park by Guil Sela (comedy)
The Mysterious Adventures of Claude Conseil by Marie-Lola Terver and Paul Jousselin (comedy)
Nube by Christian Arredondo Narváez and Diego Alonso Sánchez de la Barquera Estrada (animation)
All films are screened in French with subtitles in eight languages: German, English, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Mandarin. Subtitles are made possible by the support of the Institut Français network and the festival’s platform partners.
Win 10GB of data
Three lucky movie-lovers will win 10GB of data to enjoy the 2025 edition of My French Film Festival. Simply fill in this form to enter. The competition closes on Wed, Feb 5. Ts&Cs apply.Free screening at The Bioscope
Thu, Feb 6 at 18:00 – Head to The Bioscope at 44 Stanley for a free screening of A Real Job directed by Thomas Lilti. The synopsis reads: "Summer is over. A new school year dawns at the middle school and Pierre, Meriem, Fouad, Sophie, Sandrine, Alix, and Sofiane, a dedicated and close-knit group of teachers, are reunited. They are joined by Benjamin, a young, inexperienced substitute teacher who is quickly confronted with the trials and tribulations of his job. Through their interactions, he comes to find that the passion for teaching is still alive and well within this fragile institution." RSVP to save your seat here.Free screening at IFAS
Thu, Feb 13 at 12:00 – The French Institute of South Africa (IFAS) at 62 Juta Street, Braamfontein hosts a screening of Mars Express by by Jérémie Périn. The synopsis reads: "In the year 2200, headstrong private investigator Aline Ruby and her android partner Carlos Rivera are hired by a wealthy businessman to capture a notorious hacker on Earth. Back on Mars, a new case leads them to venture into the underbelly of Noctis, the Martian capital, in search of Jun Chow, a missing cybernetics student." RSVP to save your seat here.
