Alliance Française Cultural Foundation
The Cultural Foundation supports many cultural projects each year, including the annual Alliance Française French Film Festival, the
biggest French film festival in the world outside of France and the leading French cultural event in Australia.
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Current edition
3 March – 8 April 2026 · Sydney
From 3 March to 8 April in Sydney, the Alliance Française French Film Festival returned to Australian cinemas for its 37th edition, the biggest in the festival’s history. The festival welcomed 65,638 attendees in NSW, including around 2,700 students who participated in the festival’s dedicated schools programme. A total of 38 films were presented, ranging from Cannes favourites to a newly restored 4K classic.
This year’s programme brought together a strong cohort of female filmmakers, while Hollywood stars Jodie Foster and Angelina Jolie both appeared in French-language roles for the very first time.
It was also an exceptional year nationally, with 213,000 attendees across 18 cities over nearly five weeks of screenings.
36th Edition
The Alliance Française French Film Festival made a remarkable return to Australian cinemas, running from 4 March to 27 April. Over nearly two months, the festival lit up screens nationwide with a stellar program of 42 films, offering audiences an unforgettable celebration of French storytelling.
From moving biopics to heart-stirring romances, the 2025 edition delivered a rich and diverse cinematic experience. Filmgoers were treated to the very best of contemporary French cinema, reaffirming the festival’s reputation as a cultural highlight on Australia’s arts calendar.
Presented by Intrepid Travel, this 36th edition was one of the most anticipated yet, bringing together beloved stars such as Laure Calamy, Pierre Niney, and Charlotte Gainsbourg, alongside visionary filmmakers including Costa-Gavras, Louise Courvoisier, and Gilles Lellouche.
Archives
The 2024 Alliance Française French Film Festival (AFFFF) offered a thrilling 41-film lineup across Australian cities, celebrating 35 years of showcasing French cinema. Highlights included Michel Gondry’s The Book of Solutions, Isabelle Huppert in The Crime Is Mine and Sidonie in Japan, and Catherine Breillat's provocative Last Summer.
Audiences also enjoyed The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan and its sequel, along with Juliette Binoche in The Taste of Things and The Animal Kingdom. The festival featured a mix of genres, from historical dramas like Bonnard, Pierre & Marthe to comedies like Mr Blake at Your Service! and animated films like Nina and the Secret of the Hedgehog.
AFFFF celebrated France’s cinematic legacy, offering something for every movie lover.
Once again, we opened the 34th annual Alliance Française French Film Festival with another Cannes smash-hit, Nicolas Bedos’ steamy new thriller Masquerade. Together across 12 regions and 15,000km, audiences enjoyed the film and celebrated the start of another year of exceptional cinema with French champagne, delicacies and of course, exciting entertainment and activations!
Among those in attendance were festival patrons, internationally esteemed actor and director David Wenham and French chef Guillaume
Brahimi. Our special events, including the Flix & Wine sessions, private screenings and previews, provided unique experiences and
immersed audiences in French cinema.
Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, cementing the Festival as a premier cultural event on the Australian events calendar.
It was with passion and enthusiasm that the 33rd edition of the Alliance Française French Film Festival (AFFFF) was launched in Sydney on March 1, 2022.
Both AFS and sponsors were very pleased with the results: despite the floods, incessant rain and Omicron, the festival welcomed 50,000 Francophile patrons in cinemas across Sydney to view the 42-film line-up assembled by Karine Mauris, Artistic Director and Cultural Attaché of the Embassy of France in Australia.
National attendance was also hampered by weather and the reluctance of patrons in some states to return to cinemas. The AFFFF, travelling to 10 cities around Australia and 26 cinemas, celebrates the best of contemporary French cinema. It is the leading festival of French film outside of France and a major event in Australia’s annual cultural calendar.
The 32nd Alliance Française French Film Festival returned to Sydney in March 2021, bringing a sense of renewal and celebration after a year of global disruption. Despite the lingering impact of COVID-19, the Festival delivered a vibrant program of over 35 films, drawing audiences back to cinemas with stories full of imagination, emotion, and adventure.
Highlights included the surreal comedy Mandibles, the inspiring sports drama Final Set, and the heartfelt journey of Miss. Films like Gagarine and Skies of Lebanon explored themes of flight and resistance through poetic storytelling, while Summer of 85 and The Godmother offered tales of love, loss, and transformation.
Audiences also embraced the charm of Antoinette in the Cevennes, a whimsical mountain trek with a stubborn donkey and unexpected self-discovery. The Festival’s return was a testament to the enduring power of cinema and its place in Australia’s cultural calendar.
2020 was a year like no other, with devastating impacts on Sydney's cultural landscape. Despite the challenges, the Alliance Française French Film Festival still took place. The Opening Night was held at the beautiful Notre Dame Chippendale, with an elegant reception followed by a screening of The Extraordinary starring Vincent Cassel.
After a brief hiatus due to government restrictions, the Festival officially relaunched in July — one of the first major cultural events to do so in the country, and the biggest public event in Australia in 2020. It still welcomed 70,000 attendees nationally, attesting to the enduring bond between our two cultures.
2019 marked the 30th anniversary of the Alliance Française French Film Festival — a record 63,000 attendees in Sydney and 195,000 nationally. Highlights included a Q&A between David Stratton and Jacques Audiard following The Sisters Brothers (Venice Best Director), an evening with Gilles Lellouche discussing his directorial debut Sink or Swim, and a Women's Day event centred on Eva Husson's film about Kurdish women fighting ISIS.
This year also saw the triumphant return of the Alliance Française Classic Film Festival, dedicated to the incomparable Isabelle Adjani — the only actor in history to have won five César Awards.
