Summary:
- The 41st vOilah! French Film Festival runs from 13 to 30 November, showcasing over 30 contemporary French films across Singapore, including at Alliance Francaise and Shaw Theatres.
- Screenings span genres from political thrillers and sci-fi to comedies and family-friendly animations, with discounted tickets for students and seniors and free showings at community centres and Sentosa’s Palawan Beach.
- Organised by the Embassy of France in Singapore with local partners, the festival celebrates cross-cultural exchange and aims to make French cinema accessible to wider audiences.
Local movie buffs looking to fill the void left by the closure of indie cinema darling The Projector, this one’s for you: The vOilah! French Film Festival is returning this month for its 41st edition from 13 to 30 November.
There’re lots to expect. Look forward to free movie screenings in heartland community centres, an open-air cinema on Sentosa’s Palawan Beach, and even discounted tickets for seniors at the theatres.
In all, cinema lovers can expect over 30 contemporary films celebrating the creativity and storytelling of cinema’s birthplace to be screened at various locations around Singapore.
The films range from adrenaline-thumping political thrillers based on real-world events to futuristic explorations of artificial intelligence and its impact on society. For those seeking something more light-hearted, there will also be plenty of family-friendly fare.
The annual festival is organised by the Embassy of France in Singapore in partnership with Alliance Francaise de Singapour and Shaw Organisation.
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Highlights of the 41st vOilah! French Film Festival
Headliners of vOilah!’s 41st edition include drama flick Alpha, which was nominated for the prestigious Palme d’Or following its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival 2025.
The film explores themes surrounding coming-of-age, teenage rebellion, and body horror over the course of a tense 122 minutes.
If political thrillers are more your thing, consider making time for 13 Days, 13 Nights instead. The film, which also premiered at Cannes, follows the 2021 evacuation of the French Embassy in Kabul during the Taliban takeover.
Though it eventually underperformed at the box office, the 112-minute book adaptation scored mostly positive reviews for its attention to real-world detail and the lead performance by French actor Roschdy Zem.
But what if you’d rather imagine scenarios that aren’t quite on the horizon yet? We’d recommend Dog 51, an adaptation of a science fiction novel which featured in the 2025 Venice Film Festival Awards.
The 105-minute thriller dives into the classic tension between surveillance and freedom, exploring the emerging place of artificial intelligence in society.
After all that heaviness, it might be fitting to look for some light-hearted fun instead. Look to Better Days for a women-led comedy centred around rehabilitation and rediscovery, or Class Reunion for a hilarious romp following four former classmates who unexpectedly reunite after the death of a mutual friend.
The latter is especially poignant, given its subject matter surrounding nostalgia, friendship, and ageing.
The films will be screened in French with English subtitles at Alliance Francaise, Shaw Theatres Lido, and Shaw Theatres PLQ.
Both seniors and students will be able to snag tickets at a discounted rate of $11 at any of the three locations. Normally, it would cost $14.50 for Alliance Francaise or Singapore Film Society members, or $16 for the public.
For exact schedules, head here.
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Bringing French film across Singapore
As part of the festival’s efforts to bring French cinema to a wider Singaporean audience, there will be free screenings of family-friendly movies at One Punggol, Heartbeat @ Bedok, Our Tampines Hub, and other community centres, as well as at Sentosa’s Palawan Beach.
These include PG-rated animations like Even Mice Belong in Heaven (focusing on a friendship between a mouse and a fox); Nina and the Secret of the Hedgehog (a whimsical tale that uses a child’s bedtime stories to explore coming-of-age); and Calamity, a Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary (an old-timey tale of defying gender stereotypes in the wild west).
As you won’t be able to make seat reservations for these public screenings, we’d recommend heading down early to show the French a bit of our Singaporean kiasu culture by chope-ing the best seats up front.
For an exact schedule of these free movie screenings, head to vOilah’s website.
