Cécile de France, Sandrine Kiberlain, Vincent Lindon, the stars arrive at the Arras Film Festival

Prestigious previews, meetings with the stars and film teams, more than 110 films from all over the world, the Arras Film Festival is celebrating its 25th edition in style! See you at the Grand’Place in Arras from November 8 to 17, 2024.

The Arras Film Festival is back. Demanding, curious, popular, glamorous, the festival achieves the feat of being all of these at the same time while remaining a very friendly event. We wanted to know more by asking 3 questions to Eric Miot, general delegate of the Arras Film Festival (AFF).

By creating a major film festival in Arras, our project was, as we had previously had the idea in Lille then in Dunkirk, to offer our region a cinematographic event which would be both attractive and popular, but also artistically demanding.

We wanted this event, devoted primarily to European cinema (even if for a time it was focused on America), to be able to interest people, whether they are film buffs or not, not only the inhabitants of Arras, its community urban, but also those of the mining basin and the entire Region. This objective was largely achieved and today exceeds our expectations!

For ten days, the entire city of Arras lives to the rhythm of the Festival, everyone organizing their schedule to the rhythm of the sessions, offered from 9 a.m. to midnight! We also attract an audience from the entire department, the entire region and now even from almost everywhere in France.

For ten days, the entire city of Arras lives to the rhythm of the Festival, everyone organizing their schedule to the rhythm of the sessions!

Eric Miot, general delegate of the AFF

Not to mention the many French and European professionals who come to take part in this meeting which has become essential for the cinema industry.

Since 2018, the Festival has attracted around 50,000 entries, which is a remarkable result given the volume of the city and the crises it has experienced, from COVID to the sad attack of October 13, 2023. But whatever happens, we want to still standing and let’s try to look to the future with confidence.

Like every year, and long before it became a fashion, we honor women in cinema. Two actresses who will each spend a day in Arras. The first, Cécile of Franceis Belgian, even if we sometimes tend to forget it.

Always looking for new challenges, this girl from the North refuses the comfort of her star status and does not hesitate to take new paths. She constantly knows how to surprise us, as shown in her new film For love by Élise Otzenberger, which will be previewed in Arras on Saturday November 9 at 9 p.m.

The second, Sandrine Kiberlainshe also knows how to play everything, and has proven herself to be an excellent director with A young girl who is doing well that she came to present in Arras in 2021. She is dazzling, magnificent, in Sarah Bernhardt, la Divine by Guillaume Nicloux which will also be presented in preview on Tuesday November 12 at 6:15 p.m. Her interpretation of the great French tragedienne is already a real lesson in acting, and festival-goers will be able to come and listen to her talk about her career that same day at 4 p.m.

The third guest, Miki Manoljovicreflects the very “Eastern European” orientationof the Festival (no less than 32 films out of 115 this year). He is best known in France for his roles in the best films of Emir Kusturica, Dad is on a business trip has Undergroundor even in Largo Winchbut let’s make no mistake, his career is immense, and he is as popular in the Balkans as Novak Djokovic or the footballer Dejan Stankovic. His coming to Arras is a great event and will give a special shine to our retrospective “Once upon a time… Yugoslavia”.

We will also have the pleasure of receiving Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel, Franck Dubosc, Michel Hazanavicius, Ludivine Sagnier, Anthony Bajon, Carine Tardieu, Fabrice du Welz…

We first make our selection for Festival spectators and we are impatient to have their feedback on all the films we offer them. If there is, however, one session that we are particularly looking forward to, it is the opening, which will take place on Friday November 8 at 8 p.m. Firstly because it is always a strong, unique, intense moment, like that of the launching of a ship. But in addition, for this 25^e anniversary, we are lucky to have succeeded in presenting a film which is totally in our image and which has the particularity of speaking perfectly about our region. A fanfare by Emmanuel Courcol is a generous film, well written, well filmed and which provides beautiful emotions. It shows how culture is essential in our lives and engenders living together.

For our 25th anniversary, we are presenting a film totally in our image and which speaks perfectly about our region: “En fanfare” by Emmanuel Courcol.

Eric Miot, general delegate of the AFF

It will be a great party, with the presence of all the actors and the Municipal Harmony of Miners of Lallaing who plays in the film.

This session will be broadcast live in cinemas in the region, in Bapaume, Abbeville, Caudry, Hirson, Liévin, Leers, Maubeuge, Merville, Quend plage, Senlis… and will mark the start of a memorable tour which will pass through Saint-Pol -sur-Ternoise, Bruay-la-Buissière, St-Omer, Calais, Dunkerque, Hazebrouck, Valenciennes, Lomme, and Villeneuve of Ascq. Until November 27, the film’s release date, there will be previews and fanfares throughout the region. Beautiful moments to experience in perspective, not only in Arras, but also everywhere in Hauts-de-France.

Arras Film Festival from Friday November 8 to Sunday November 17, 2024.