For the first time since 2019, we’re thrilled to bring back one of our most beloved festivals, a showcase of French cinema par excellence from the past year—plus a cherished classic. This year’s lineup is on the petite side, so we took care to make sure every film is a gem. All films are in French with English subtitles.

The festival opens with Eric Gravel’s big-hearted thriller Full Time, about a single mom (César Award winner Laure Calamy) racing against time to a potentially life-changing job interview. Also included is Quentin Dupieux’s time travel farce Incredible But True, about a couple who discovers their new house has a remarkable quirk; the beguiling mystery Madeleine Collins with Virginie Efira; the sumptuous costume drama Lost Illusions, winner of the César Award for Best Film; and Robust, a tale of unlikely friendship between a cantankerous actor (Gérard Depardieu) and his bodyguard (Déborah Lukumuena). Catch a special 25th-anniversary screening of the sweet drama My Life in Pink, about a six-year-old trans girl and her family’s journey of acceptance. We close out the festival with actor-turned-director Mathieu Amalric’s heartbreaking drama Hold Me Tight, featuring a lauded performance from breakout Phantom Thread star Vicky Krieps.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many recent French films deal with trauma and healing, and these seven standouts are no exception. Each film provides the kind of cathartic experience only cinema can achieve—an experience most potent when shared with others in front of a big screen.

The Boston French Film Festival is curated by Katherine Irving.