Where can I watch new French movies?

Americans have an undeniable love for French films. But apart from a couple of films like The Intouchables and The Artist, most fans of French cinema know and love the films of the New Wave from Godard and Truffaut, the love stories of Lelouch, and the thrillers of Henri Verneuil and Jean-Pierre Melville. French cinema is usually seen through the prism of classic French films, not new, recent French movies. And yet, France has so much to offer. So how do you get on to watch recent French movies?

Image

1. In theaters

This is the obvious one. But the offer is obviously very limited. Only a handful of French movies are released every year. If you live in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Chicago, then you’re probably going to have access to all of these movies. But if you live in a smaller town, chances are only a couple of French movies might be released in your city. But then, you have to be on the lookout not to miss them. That’s where FrenchFlicks comes to help with its extensive listing of every French movie playing in theaters in America, whether you live in the heart of Manhattan or in the countryside of Montana!

Image

2. On TV or on streaming with TV5MONDE

If you’d rather watch French films at home than in theaters, then look no further than TV5MONDE, which offers the best and largest selection of French movies and TV shows through its different channels. You have TV5MONDE USA, the 24h network which broadcasts hundreds of French films, and a lot of recent releases. It comes with an access to TV5MONDE Cinema on Demand which brings every month a new, curated selection of French movies, sometimes in partnership with French film festivals meaning you’ll get to enjoy from your couch French films that haven’t even been released yet in France or in the US! Finally, the service comes with the new French streaming platform TV5MONDEplus, which boasts an impressive library of French movies and TV shows, with a good mix of French classics and new releases.

3. In Festivals

Every year, dozens of French and international Film Festivals present very recent French films, including movies which haven’t even been released yet in France. Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous With French Cinema in New York will for example showcase the best of new French cinema and a good mix of much-anticipated films from major directors like Jacques Audiard, Anne Fontaine and Céline Sciamma for example and independent French cinema from up and coming directors. Same goes for COLCOA in Los Angeles, which offers a week of new French cinema from popular comedies to César-Awards winners.

Houston, Richmond, Miami, New Orleans, Minneapolis… French and International film festivals are happening all around the country! And with the pandemic, more and more films are sometimes available both in theaters and online for a few days across America, meaning you can watch in Colorado or Maine a French movie from a festival in Austin or Los Angeles! Finally, don’t miss every year around January, MyFrenchFilmFestival, an online festival which aims to showcase the vitality of new French cinema and gives you access from your TV or laptop to 30 to 40 titles every year.