French Film Festival Manila 2026: Schedule, Films and How to Get In

The essentials

• Dates: 6 to 30 November 2026.
• Opening night: Friday 6 November, 6pm, SM Cinema Manila, Level 4, SM City Manila. The 5pm reception is by invitation only. The screening is open to the public.
• Getting in on opening night: free on the Embassy's Eventbrite page, which also says seating is limited and first come, first served once doors open.
• The rest of the festival: press coverage disagrees slightly. The festival's press release says the films are shown "for free", and The Manila Times says "most screenings will be free of charge". We have only read the Embassy's own listing for opening night, so check the listing for any other film before you travel.
• Screening times: the French Embassy's Facebook and Instagram accounts carry the schedule.

Where it plays

Note that the Quezon City screenings sit inside QCinema, which has its own booking rules. Our QCinema page has that festival's details.

The films to know

Les Misérables, by Fred Cavayé. The opening film, with Vincent Lindon, Tahar Rahim, Camille Cottin, Noémie Merlant and Vassili Schneider. It follows Jean Valjean, a former inmate who served 19 years for stealing bread, now living under a new identity and raising Cosette.

Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, by Alexandre Castagnetti. Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel moved to present-day Paris. Deva Cassel plays a young dancer who joins the Paris Opera, and Romain Duris is in the cast.

Moulin, by László Nemes. In competition at Cannes this year. French Resistance leader Jean Moulin, played by Gilles Lellouche, is arrested while trying to unify the Secret Army's forces.

De Gaulle: L'âge de Fer (Résistance) and De Gaulle: J'écris ton nom (Liberté). A two-part film on General Charles de Gaulle's refusal to accept France's defeat in 1940.

La Maison des Femmes (A Place for Her), by Mélissa Godet, and L'Objet du Délit (Crescendo), by Agnès Jaoui. The festival's two films on women's experiences and the institutions around them. Screenings are followed by panels with Filipina film professionals and people working for women's rights.

Délicatesse and Jalouse, by David Foenkinos. Both come from his own novels, and he attends the special screening on 27 November at SM Aura BGC.

Muyi, by Julien Chheng. An animated film at SM Cinemas during the 6 to 15 November run, with the director visiting. Two more animated films screen at Animahenasyon on 25 and 26 November.

The Filipino films

This edition also shows two Filipino classics restored in France: Lino Brocka's Jaguar, restored by Cité de Mémoire, and Ginauhaw Ako, Ginagutom Ako, restored by the CNC. Jaguar is the 1979 neo-noir about a security guard pulled into crime, and the first Filipino film to compete for the Palme d'Or, at Cannes in 1980. The heritage films are at the Cinémathèque Centre in Intramuros. Dates had not been announced when we checked on 3 November.

Talks you can sit in on

• 11 November, SM City Manila: a panel where history professors talk about France's experience of the Second World War.
• 12 November, SM Aura: a roundtable on women's experiences and gender equality, described as open to the public.
• 27 November, SM Aura BGC: the special screening with David Foenkinos.

Questions people ask

Is the French Film Festival free? Opening night is listed as free by the Embassy. The press release says the festival's films are shown for free, and The Manila Times says most screenings are. Check the listing for the film you want.

Do I need to book? For opening night, reserve a spot on the Embassy's Eventbrite page, then arrive early, because seats go first come, first served once doors open. For other screenings, check the Embassy's accounts.

Where is the opening? SM Cinema Manila, Level 4, SM City Manila, at Concepcion corner Arroceros and San Marcelino Streets, Ermita.

What else is on for film fans this month? QCinema runs 13 to 22 November in Quezon City, and our guide to the November holiday covers the long break in the middle of it.