The EUROPEAN Union FILM SHOWCASE
December 3 to 21 - AFI SILVER
SPECIAL PRESENTATION A PRIVATE LIFE [VIE PRIVÉE]
Sat, Dec. 6, 7:10; Thurs, Dec. 11, 6:30
Jodie Foster impresses in a prickly, funny performance — in French! — as an expat American psychologist living and working in Paris who suspects foul play when her longtime client apparently commits suicide. Foster stars as Dr. Lilian Steiner, an accomplished mental health professional who is suddenly consumed with self-doubt after the unexpected suicide of her longtime client, Paula (Virginie Efira). She is further shaken after being angrily confronted by a dissatisfied former client who claims a hypnotist helped him stop smoking immediately, after years of making no progress with Lilian, from whom he now demands reimbursement. After Lilian’s attempts to contact Paula’s family go horribly wrong — and reveal details that cast doubt on the official explanation of her death — Lilian goes into detective mode, enlisting the help of her ex-husband Gabriel (Daniel Auteuil). Further family drama and Freudian farce ensue in this quirky curveball of a movie, deftly directed by Rebecca Zlotowski, equal parts murder mystery, psychological thriller and comedic romp. Foster and Auteuil have great comic chemistry together, and the outstanding ensemble cast includes Mathieu Amalric, Vincent Lacoste and Luana Bajrami. DIR/SCR Rebecca Zlotowski; SCR Anne Berest, Gaëlle Macé; PROD Frédéric Jouve. France, 2025, color, 103 min. In English and French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
https://silver.afi.com/movies/detail/0100005334/
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CASE 137 [DOSSIER 137]
Sat, Dec. 6, 9:20; Tue, Dec. 9, 4:00; Sat, Dec. 20, 11:45 a.m.
In this gripping and quietly explosive policier, Stéphanie (a riveting Léa Drucker) is a Paris-based investigator for France’s internal affairs unit — tasked with holding officers accountable in a system built to protect its own. Navigating a fraught terrain of institutional silence and deep-rooted corruption, she takes on the controversial case of a young protester who was shot by riot police during a Yellow Vest demonstration. Personal conflicts arise when she discovers the victim also happens to be from her own hometown. As the investigation unfolds, so does Stéphanie’s disillusionment — forcing her to question the very system she has dedicated her life to. Director Dominik Moll crafts a taut, emotionally restrained drama that balances procedural intensity with rich social commentary and occasional wry humor. Touching on police impunity and class tension, and anchored by a superb script and Drucker’s commanding performance, CASE 137 is as much a character study as it is a chilling and timely reflection of unchecked state power. (Note courtesy of AFI FEST.) Official Selection, 2025 AFI FEST and Cannes film festivals. DIR/SCR Dominik Moll; SCR Gilles Marchand; PROD Caroline Benjo, Barbara Letellier, Carole Scotta. France, 2025, color, 116 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
https://silver.afi.com/movies/detail/0100005329/
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A MAGNIFICENT LIFE [MARCEL ET MONSIEUR PAGNOL]
Sat, Dec. 13, 11:20 a.m.; Mon, Dec. 15, 7:00
Sylvain Chomet, an Oscar® nominee for THE OLD LADY AND THE PIGEONS, THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE and THE ILLUSIONIST, returns with his first animated feature in 15 years. As with THE ILLUSIONIST, which was based on an unproduced autobiographical screenplay by Jacques Tati, Chomet investigates the life of another beloved member of France’s artistic pantheon: playwright, novelist and filmmaker Marcel Pagnol (1895–1974). Pagnol is best remembered for his Marseille Trilogy of plays — which he later produced as the films MARIUS, FANNY and CÉSAR in the 1930s — and his 1952 film MANON OF THE SPRING, later adapted in two parts with huge success by Claude Berri in the 1980s. Told in flashback as the older Pagnol imagines a conversation with his younger self, his story is a bittersweet mix of artistic triumph and personal heartbreak, fortunes made and lost, and a man whose work at one time seized the moment critically and commercially — but whose career lasted long enough to see times change. Chomet’s hand-drawn animation — which cleverly includes hybrid sequences that incorporate clips from Pagnol’s films, projected on a screen — beautifully conveys the intimacy and emotion of shared memories and the epic sweep of Pagnol’s life story across major events in 20th century French history. Official Selection, 2025 AFI FEST and Cannes film festivals. DIR/SCR Sylvain Chomet; PROD Lilian Eche, Ashargin Poiré, Valérie Puech, Aton Soumache. France/Luxembourg/Belgium, 2025, color, 90 min. In English with English subtitles. RATED PG-13
https://silver.afi.com/movies/detail/0100005333/
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SPECIAL PRESENTATION THE GREAT ARCH [L’INCONNU DE LA GRANDE ARCHE]
Sun, Dec. 14, 4:10*; Thurs, Dec. 18, 9:30
*Post-screening reception sponsored by Alliance Française Washington DC
Continuing the tradition of films about obsessive architects, Stéphane Demoustier’s THE GREAT ARCH follows the true story of Johan Otto von Spreckelsen, an idealistic and little-known Dane whose design proposal was the surprise winner of a prestigious 1980s international competition to build a futuristic arch in Paris’s La Défense district. Having previously completed only a handful of modest projects, von Spreckelsen (brilliantly played by Claes Bang) seems the unlikeliest of candidates for such a monumental commission. But his lack of experience does not temper his hubris or exacting standards. As he grapples with technical obstacles, financial disputes, French bureaucracy and political upheaval, the strain of staying true to his artistic vision begins to take its toll. With intelligence, droll humor and indelible sequences — including a breathtaking visit to the famed Carrara marble mines in Italy — THE GREAT ARCH also features pitch-perfect performances, from Michel Fau’s sly turn as French president François Mitterrand to Xavier Dolan’s steely portrayal of a stringent diplomat. (Note courtesy of AFI FEST.) Official Selection, 2025 AFI FEST and Cannes film festivals. DIR/SCR Stéphane Demoustier, from the novel by Laurence Cossé; PROD Muriel Meynard. France/Denmark, 2025, color, 106 min. In English, French and Danish with French subtitles. NOT RATED
https://silver.afi.com/movies/detail/0100005332/
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SPECIAL PRESENTATION THE STRANGER [L'ÉTRANGER]
Thurs, Dec. 18, 7:00; Sat, Dec. 20, 4:10
François Ozon brings Albert Camus’ acclaimed 1942 novel to the big screen as a sun-baked, black-and-white neo-noir, a potent blend of psychological thriller and anti-colonial critique. The film opens with a vintage travelogue inviting tourists to visit Algeria, then under French control, playing up its exoticism for western eyes. But Ozon seamlessly segues from the travelogue into less tourist-friendly images of anti-French graffiti, a prison in Algiers and a newly admitted prisoner, Meursault (Benjamin Voisin), seemingly the only European among the prisoners. Now told in flashback, Meursault’s story proceeds from the death of his aged mother to a period of mourning — although Meursault appears impassive and numb to all observers — which coincides with him reconnecting with an acquaintance, Marie (Rebecca Marder), with whom he begins a romance. At the same time, Meursault becomes embroiled in a dangerous and violent intrigue involving his neighbor Raymond Sintès (Pierre Lottin) and an Algerian woman Sintès has been pimping out. When the woman’s brothers intervene, events turn deadly. Ozon masterfully adapts Camus’ existentialist masterpiece, crafting a film that is mysterious and thought-provoking in equal measure, featuring indelible performances from a talented cast that includes Denis Lavant as Meursault’s aging neighbor Salamano and Swann Arlaud as the jailhouse chaplain. The crisp, crepuscular black-and-white cinematography is by Manuel Dacosse. Official Selection, 2025 AFI FEST, Venice, London and San Sebastián film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD François Ozon, from the novel by Albert Camus. France/Belgium/Morocco, 2025, b&w, 122 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
https://silver.afi.com/movies/detail/0100005335/
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DOG 51 [CHIEN 51]
Thurs, Dec. 18, 7:10; Fri, Dec. 19, 9:30
In the year 2045, the grand city of Paris has been subdivided into three class-based zones guarded by military checkpoints and monitored by the omnipresent AI ALMA. When ALMA’s creator is mysteriously murdered, a pair of cops — elite agent Sala (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and grizzled veteran Zem (Gilles Lellouche) — are tasked with apprehending his killer. DOG 51 is a nail-biting cyberpunk thriller whose sci-fi setting feels like the inevitable outcome of real life, with worsening class stratification, the deployment of ever-present surveillance systems and the pervasiveness of AI in every facet of our lives. The film wears its influences on its sleeves — from BLADE RUNNER to MINORITY REPORT to CHILDREN OF MEN — and features a star-studded cast that also includes Louis Garrel, Romain Duris, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk. Official Selection, 2025 Venice and Toronto film festivals. DIR/SCR Cédric Jimenez; SCR Olivier Demangel, from the novel by Laurent Gaudé; PROD Hugo Sélignac. France, 2025, color, 106 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
https://silver.afi.com/movies/detail/0100005331/
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SPECIAL PRESENTATION COLOURS OF TIME [LA VENUE DE L'AVENIR] Sat, Dec. 20, 6:45
Celebrated French filmmaker Cédric Klapisch (L'AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE) returns with this sweeping period piece following country mouse Adèle (Suzanne Lindon, SPRING BLOSSOM) as she journeys to turn-of-the-century Paris in hopes of finding her parents. En route, she meets Lucien (Vassili Schneider, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO) and Anatole (Paul Kircher, THE ANIMAL KINGDOM), two young artists who introduce her to a whole new world of possibilities. Over 100 years later, Adèle’s distant relatives inherit her house and start to piece together her story, discovering just how she brushed up against the brightest figures of the Impressionist era. Art history, romance and mysteries collide in this jovial and heartwarming film, an undeniable crowd-pleaser. Official Selection, 2025 Cannes Film Festival. DIR/SCR/PROD Cédric Klapisch; SCR Santiago Amigorena; PROD Bruno Levy. France/Belgium, 2025, color, 124 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED