Lupin may be Netflix’s French sensation, but it’s far from the only game in town. The hit is a television series, not a film, but if you’re craving French cinema, we’ve got you covered.
Here’s how to get your well-deserved dose of French cinema right here in Austin.
From an elite boxing school in France to the streets of Olympic-era Paris, the four-day festival brings award-winning Francophone cinema to the big screen.
Austin audiences will have an opportunity to explore contemporary French-language cinema when New French Cinema Week returns November 12–15, 2026, with six feature films that examine ambition, identity, family, desire, and the uncertain business of becoming oneself.
The four-day festival brings together emerging filmmakers and recent international festival standouts, including films recognized at Cannes and other European film festivals. Screenings take place at AFS Cinema, with English subtitles for all films.
The opening-night selection, Wild Foxes, features writer-director Valéry Carnoy in person for a post-screening question-and-answer session. The film follows Camille, a champion boxer at a French boarding school for elite athletes, but a devastating accident throws her future into doubt. Selected for Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, the film also won the Best Actor award at the Premiers Plans Festival of Angers, France.
The evening begins with a reception at 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 12, featuring complimentary light bites from Angers-based chef Germain Kpakou and regional French wines. The reception is open to attendees of the opening-night screening, festival pass holders and AFS members. The film begins at 7:30 p.m.
Six films, six different perspectives
Friday, November 13, at 6:30 p.m.
La Gradiva (lead photo), directed by Marine Atlan, follows a group of 17-year-old French students on a school trip to Naples. As they encounter ancient history, competing personalities and complicated family histories, the journey becomes an exploration of who they are becoming. Atlan, an acclaimed cinematographer making her feature directorial debut, won the top prize at Cannes Critics’ Week for the film.
Saturday, November 14, at 4 p.m.
In A Man of His Time, director Emmanuel Marre turns his attention to ambition and moral compromise during France’s Nazi occupation. The story follows businessman Henri Marre, who arrives in Vichy, the seat of France’s collaborationist government, hoping to advance his career. Armed with a manifesto on government management, he pursues influence as the regime increasingly aligns itself with Nazi Germany. The film won Best Screenplay at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
Saturday, November 14, at 7:30 p.m.
Shana, directed by Lila Pinell, takes a darker, more irreverent approach. The troubled heroine faces danger after her abusive drug-dealer boyfriend is released from prison and finds that his money has vanished. With a criminal gang closing in, Shana’s unlikely protection comes from a magic ring inherited from her Moroccan-Jewish grandmother. The result is a dark comedy about a woman whose attempts to navigate chaos rarely go according to plan.
Sunday, November 15, at 4 p.m.
In That Summer in Paris, director Valentine Cadic places a quiet outsider in the middle of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Blandine, a 30-year-old from Normandy, arrives in the capital hoping to watch her favorite swimmer compete and reconnect with her estranged half-sister. When her plans unravel, the trip becomes an unexpected reckoning with her relationships, expectations, and desires.
Sunday, November 15, at 7 p.m.
The closing-night selection, Flesh & Fuel, directed by Pierre Le Gall, follows Etienne, a middle-aged long-distance truck driver who has built his life around work at the expense of personal relationships. A chance encounter with a Polish trucker develops into an unexpected romance, forcing Etienne to confront the habits and identity that have defined him. Set against Europe’s changing landscape, the film offers a portrait of queer love that arrives without a roadmap.
A window into contemporary European life
Together, the films move beyond familiar images of France to examine people confronting moments when the lives they have constructed no longer fit. Young athletes question their futures, teenagers encounter histories larger than themselves, and adults discover that ambition, family obligations, and emotional connection can pull in conflicting directions.
The Premiers Plans Film Festival and 400 Coups Cinemas, both based in Angers, Austin’s sister city, partner to present the festival, with support from Villa Albertine and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy. The collaboration brings Austin audiences films from across the Francophone world, including works that have not yet secured U.S. distribution.
For viewers interested in international cinema, the festival offers an opportunity to encounter new filmmakers and stories that challenge conventional narratives about identity, belonging and the choices that shape a life.
Tickets and practical information
New French Cinema Week 2026
- Dates: Thursday, November 12, through Sunday, November 15, 2026
- Venue: AFS Cinema, 6259 Middle Fiskville Road, Austin, TX 78752
- Online tickets and festival passes: austinfilm.org/french
- Complete festival program: austinfilm.org/new-french-cinema-week-2026
Festival passes are available at 20% off the combined list price of individual tickets and include admission to all six screenings and the opening-night reception. AFS members receive additional discounts on passes and individual tickets.
All films contain English subtitles.