24 fresh French stories, across 24 towns and cities, over 4 weeks.
After a standout 2025 marked by packed theatres and widespread sell-outs, the L’Oréal French Film Festival Aotearoa celebrates its 20th edition by bringing the magic of French cinema back to audiences across New Zealand from 27th May.
Releasing its full programme today, the festival guarantees a compelling line-up of standout, hand-selected films including French box-office hits, Cannes favourites and award-winning talent including Pierre Niney in Guru, Angelina Jolie in Couture, Pierre Lottin in the modern take on the Alfred Camus classic The Stranger, and Isabelle Huppert in The Richest Woman in the World – all with that unmistakable French flair that audiences continue to fall in love with year after year.
Opening the festival this year is the acclaimed drama from Cédric Klapisch (The Spanish Apartment, Back to Burgundy) Colours of Time, following four estranged cousins who are reunited by the unexpected inheritance of a house in Normandy, uncovering the extraordinary story of their ancestor in 19th century Paris – a city alive with invention, early photography and the rise of Impressionism.
Other highlights include The Richest Woman In The World– the modern day scandal of billionaire L’Oréal heiress, Liliane Bettencourt; Award-winning François Ozon’s, The Stranger, a story of a young expatriate on trial for murder in 1930s French-colonised Algeria and a poignant new adaptation of Victor Hugo’s masterpiece Les Misérables, charting the origin story in Jean Valjean, the beloved tale’s iconic protagonist.
L’ORÉAL FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL AOTEAROA IS IN CINEMAS ACROSS THE COUNTRY FROM 27th MAY TO 28th JUNE. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE