The French and Francophone Studies Program at Carroll College is among the 2026-2027 Albertine Cinémathèque grantees and presents its French Film Festival, from November 5 to November 13, 2026, on campus, in the Sage Room, at the Corette Library.
Our French Film Festival brings to campus a series of six movies (five recent features and one classic), all presented in French with English subtitles.
All screenings are free and open to the public and will be followed by a discussion with Carroll College faculty members.
Albertine Cinémathèque is an educational and grant program of Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation, with the support of the CNC and Fonds Culturel Franco-Américain. Designed to expand access to French cinema and support film programming at American colleges and universities, Albertine Cinémathèque’s annual film selection engages with the greatest issues of our time, while nurturing an enduring love for this diverse and evolving art form.
Albertine Cinémathèque is part of the French for All initiative by Villa Albertine – The French Institute for Culture and Education, and Albertine Foundation, and is made possible thanks to the support of the Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée (CNC) and Unifrance.
1. Thursday, November 5, 2026 – 6 pm
The Stranger (L’Étranger)
In French Algeria, Meursault drifts through life and love with mysterious detachment. When he stands accused of murdering an Arab man, indifference is his only alibi in François Ozon’s fresh take on Albert Camus’s classic novel.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/K5-x2Fx-JJ8?si=ikIOhgJbhFOwBOAq
2. Friday, November 6, 2026 – 2:30 pm
Little Amelie or the character of Rain (Amélie, ou la métaphysique des tubes)
– Mailys Valade and Liane Cho, 2025. Animation. 77 minutes
The world is a perplexing, peaceful mystery to Amélie until a miraculous encounter with chocolate ignites her wild sense of curiosity. As she develops a deep attachment to her family’s housekeeper, Nishio-san, Amélie discovers the wonders of nature as well as the emotional truths hidden beneath the surface of her family’s idyllic life as foreigners in post-war Japan.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/R4UzR12bBBE?si=hbmXeTJb14tro7pO
3. Sunday, November 8, 2026 – 5 pm
Meeting with Pol Pot (Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot)
– Rithy Panh, 2024. Historical drama. 113 minutes.
Democratic Kampuchea - Cambodia - 1978. Three French journalists are invited by the Khmer Rouge to conduct an exclusive interview of the regime’s leader, Pol Pot. The country seems ideal. But behind the Potemkin village, the Khmer Rouge regime is declining and the war with Vietnam threatens to invade the country. The regime is looking for culprits, secretly carrying out a large scale genocide. Under the eyes of the journalists, the beautiful picture cracks, revealing the horror. Their journey progressively turns into a nightmare. Freely inspired by journalist Elizabeth Becker’s account in When The Wars Was Over.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edHcZVcTHZo
4. Tuesday, November 10, 2026 – 6 pm
Four nights of a dreamer (Quatre nuits d’un rêveur)
– Robert Bresson, 1971. Romance. 97 minutes
Robert Bresson’s great forgotten masterpiece is a stark yet haunting ode to romantic idealism and the capriciousness of love. Jacques, a lonely artist who roams bohemian Paris in search of the girl of his dreams. One night he saves a beautiful young woman, Marthe, from plunging into the Seine in despair over her rejection by an avoidant lover.
Trailer: https://youtu.be/lIyGNC75ML0?si=cA_LG87Azr7mgNFL
5. Thursday, November 12, 2026 – 6:30pm
Promised Sky (Promis le ciel) – Erige Sehiri, 2025. Drama. 92 minutes
An Ivorian pastor and former journalist, Marie, opens her home in Tunisia to three generations of migrant women: Naney, Jolie, and Kenza. A mother desperate to obtain residency status in Tunisia, Naney seeks a better life for herself and her daughter. Jolie, in Tunisia on a student visa, feels burdened by her family’s expectations for her future. Kenza, an orphaned child and the only survivor of a shipwreck carrying refugees to Tunisia, is lost and in need of a mother. Marie struggles with her role as a spiritual leader while assuming the role of Kenza’s caregiver and supporting Naney and Jolie. As the four women grow closer in this makeshift family, they must grapple with poverty, conflict, and alienation.
Trailer: https://filmmovement.com/promised-sky#trailer
6. Friday, November 13, 2026 – 2:30 pm
Partir un jour (Leave One Day) – Amélie Bonnin, 2024. Romantic dramedy. 98 minutes
Cécile is about to open her own gourmet restaurant, finally making her dream come true, when suddenly her father has a heart attack. She is called back to her small hometown, far from the bustling life of Paris. There, she unexpectedly reconnects with her teenage crush. As memories resurface, her certainties begin to unravel.
Trailer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ysn9Egs1GmitTTDhfF2tkJev9v5CH4xd/view?usp=sharing
