French Film Festival launch brings Oscar fever to Cork

There’s a bit of an Oscar buzz around Leeside at the moment following the launch of the 37th Cork French Film Festival.

Running from 2-8 March at the Arc Cinema in Cork city, this year’s line-up includes a wealth of César-nominated features and award-winning shorts.

The programme features 15 films in total which will all be presented with English subtitles.

One of this year’s highlights will be a special red carpet screening of ‘Redress’, the latest release from director Régis Wargnier, whose film ‘Indochine’ won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1993.

Meanwhile, Oscar-winner Angelina Jolie’s remarkable performance in her first French-speaking role in Alice Winocour’s ‘Couture’ is expected to be a major talking point at this year’s festival.

The festival, which was launched on Friday by An Taoiseach Micheál Martin, is directed by Valérie David-McGonnell, president of Alliance Française de Cork.

Valérie said: “More than a cultural bridge between France and Ireland, the festival serves as a platform to showcase the richness and diversity of French-language cinema and storytelling. In addition to French productions, we are delighted to propose a number of Francophone works with the support of the embassies of France, Belgium, Switzerland, and Luxembourg.”

One of the most anticipated films this year is ‘Case 137’, a taut crime drama that has a whopping eight nominations for the upcoming César Awards and has already netted Léa Druker the Lumière for Best Actress for her turn as lead investigator in an internal affairs probe.

Also featuring is Cédric Klapisch’s ‘Colours of Time’ which offers a piece of historical fiction that casts current attitudes in an unflinching light. The film follows four cousins who inherit a house in Normandy and a new perspective on turn-of-the-century Paris — as they retrace the steps of their ancestors.

Sticking with themes of the past, feature-length Swiss animation ‘Mary Anning’ follows the story of the titular real-life 12 year old English fossil hunter who would go on to be known as the Mother of Palaeontology in her hunt for dinosaurs on the Jurassic Coast. A second feature-length animation, ‘The Songbirds’ Secret’, follows young Lucie as she uncovers deeply buried skeletons from her family’s mysterious past when she joins her archaeologist mother on an excavation over the summer holidays.

This year’s classic film pays tribute to the late Brigitte Bardot in legal drama, ‘The Truth’.

Launching the festival programme, An Taoiseach, Micheál Martin said: “Culture and the arts are essential for a well-rounded society, and they are also a powerful means of promoting mutual understanding and respect. This year’s programme speaks to universal experiences and concerns. As a nation of storytellers, we value these stories for what they tell us about our world but also about ourselves.”

This year’s festival is once again supported by the Embassy of France in Ireland. H.E. Céline Place, Ambassador of France to Ireland, said: “The Cork French Film Festival is the longest-running French film festival in Ireland! For almost 40 years, it has brought the best of French cinema to Cork, and the French Embassy is delighted to support it once again.

“The festival’s outstanding line-up reflects the creativity and vitality of our film industry. This year is particularly special as we welcome Oscar-winning filmmaker Régis Wargnier to present his latest film and engage with Cork audiences through a Q&A and a masterclass.

“The festival truly embodies the longstanding connection between France and Cork as 2026 is a milestone year with Cork officially twinned with France during Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU.

“I invite you to come together, explore and share our love of cinema throughout this wonderful ‘rendez-vous’ with French language and culture,” concluded Ms Place.

The Cork French Film Festival runs at The Arc Cinema in Cork city from 2-8 March. Screenings in the Schools’ Programme will take place from 10-12 March. See corkfrenchfilmfestival.com for full programme and ticket sales.