French Film Festival UK (FFF UK), the unique annual francophone cinema event, makes a welcome return this winter to more than 40 different locations across the UK featuring a host of new films from acclaimed and debut directors alongside beloved and rarely seen classics.
The varied programme includes 32 UK premieres out of a total of 62 films, including a relaxed screening and a live TV5 presentation, with cinemas also being offered three subtitled films for deaf or Hard of Hearing (HoH) cinema goers.
Some of the most eagerly awaited French language films of the year from celebrated directors including Cédric Klapisch, François Ozon, Diane Kurys, Hafsia Herzi, Julia Ducournau and Lionel Baier are part of this year’s selection. FFF UK 2025 also boasts serious star power on screen from the likes of American actress Jodie Foster (speaking impeccable French) Daniel Auteuil, Virginie Efira, Sergi López, Benjamin Voisin, Roschdy Zem, Mélanie Thierry, Cécile de France, Sandrine Kiberlain, Louis Garrel, Franck Dubosc, Laure Calamy, Valérie Lemercier, Camille Cottin and the late Michel Blanc.
Across Scotland, 8 venues are participating with Edinburgh’s Institut Français d’Écosse hosting 11 films from 8th to 16th November that range from the 1913 silent film Fantômas that is set to live piano and cello accompaniment from Jane Gardner and Caroline Salmon to more recent productions such as Where There is Love There is no Darkness (Là où on s’aime, il ne fait jamais nuit)about a Senegal migrant to Paris; Doves without Gravity (Colombes sans gravité) about the prolonged crisis in Mali; Safe House (Cache) set against the 1968 demonstrations and a programme of recent short films from France and Belgium. The McDonald Road Library is showing the wonderful animation Josep that brilliantly tells of a Catalan illustrator who was an internee in France.
The legendary Gaumont Studios, that is 130 years old this year, throws a spotlight on Marcel Pagnol in a year that also marks 130 years since his birth with such beloved films as Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, with his 1938 film The Baker’s Wife (La Femme du Boulanger) and his 1950 Topaze having Edinburgh screenings.
Edinburgh audiences can also anticipate a 2022 animation, Nina and the Hedgehog’s Secret (Nina et le secret du hérisson), voiced by Audrey Tatou and Guillaume Canet; a 1979 absurd film noir Cold Cuts (Buffet froid) starring Gérard Depardieu; the 1994 Dead Tired (Grosse fatigue) directed by and starring the late Michel Blanc and the 1998 box office hit The Dinner Game (le Diner des cons)
Spanning festival hits from Cannes, Venice and elsewhere the line-up embraces both new and established talents; documentaries and tributes not least being François Ozon’s black and white adaptation of Albert Camus’s classic novel The Stranger (l’Étranger).
Encouraging a new generation of Francophone cineastes, more than 25,000 pupils around the UK will watch French-language films as part of a specially curated Schools programme while community cinemas in rural and coastal locations will also have a chance to join the celebration.
Festival Director Richard Mowe said, “With this 33rd edition the true diversity of French-language cinema has never been as strong and as vibrant as in this year’s selection. There is an “embarras de richesses” – an overwhelming choice. We are delighted to partner with so many incredible cinemas and cultural institutions across the UK to platform the brilliance of French and francophone cinema.”
FFF UK runs from 6th November to 14th December 2025
See FFF UK Film Programme website for full details
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 