2 March 2026
38 fantastique films are set to grace the screens of the iconic Hayden Orpheum as part of the 37th edition of the Alliance Française French Film Festival.
Running from 3 March to 8 April 2026, the festival invites Sydneysiders on a cultural journey featuring several Australian premieres, passionate stories, compelling biographies of France’s most iconic artists, and thought-provoking debuts from a new generation of French filmmakers and actors.
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Chair of the Board of the Film Festival, François Romanet “This year, French cinema makes a powerful statement. In A Private Life, Jodie Foster performs entirely in French, while in Couture, Angelina Jolie embraces the language with elegance and confidence. When two Hollywood icons choose la langue française, it sends a clear message: French cinema is vibrant, relevant and beautifully global. And if they can try a little French… perhaps you can too!”
A quick guide to the festival at the Orpheum:
- Opening Night Reception: Colours of Time (Tuesday 3 March) – A family saga by Cédric Klapisch that mirrors life between 1895 and 2025.
- Centrepiece Premiere: The Richest Woman in the World (Sunday 8 March) – A drama inspired by the real-life scandal surrounding the L’Oréal fortune.
- CinéWine: Leave One Day (Tuesday 10 March) – A musical romance about a Parisian chef returning to her rural roots.
- Ladies’ Night: Cycle of Time (Thursday 12 March) – A social comedy where a 1950s family is catapulted into the year 2025.
- CinéWine: What is Love? (Tuesday 17 March) – Starring Laure Calamy, this film follows a woman asked for a church annulment by her ex-husband.
- Taste of France: Redress (Thursday 19 March) – A missing person mystery, meets the high intensity French culinary scene.
- CinéWine: A Private Life (Tuesday 24 March) – Starring Jodie Foster, a shocking death, a determined psychiatrist, and a truth no one else wants to see.
- Classic Movie: A Man and a Woman (Sunday 29 March) – A 60th-anniversary screening of the 1966 Oscar-winning, romantic drama classic.
- Closing Night: Rodrigue in Love (Wednesday 8 April) – A story that explores the blurry line between acting and real life love.
For the full schedule, tickets and more information head to: https://www.orpheum.com.au/affff2026