As part of the second edition of Rencontres Archipel #Chaos-Monde, the 33rd Francophone Film Fortnight presents twelve screenings of new films from September 28 to October 3, 2026, including fiction, documentaries and animation from 18 countries across the Francophonie, bearing witness to different worlds, realities, current events and urgent issues.
This selection offers a journey through the Francophonie to discover powerful and sensitive works rooted in postcolonial narratives and opening the door to a wealth of thought-provoking discussions. The festival opens with two works of fiction exploring the prospect of reconciliation in Rwanda after the 1994 genocide: Kwibuka (Se souvenir) by Jonas d’Adesky, starring Sonia Rolland and Jean-Hugues Anglade, and Ben’Imana, Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo’s first feature film, winner of the Caméra d’or at the Festival de Cannes 2026! This year, fresh Francophone perspectives come from Haïti (Marie Madeleine by Gessica Généus) and the République centrafricaine, with Rafiki Fariala’s breathtaking and exhilarating Congo Boy (the closing film), winner of the Prix d’interprétation masculine in Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2026! Documentary filmmakers have trained their lenses on Senegal’s young protest movement (Independance Tey by Abdou Lahat Fall); David-Pierre Fila continues his pan-African body of work by paying tribute to Michael Raeburn, a pioneer of Zimbabwean cinema; Jean-Charles Mbotti Malolo and Quentin Noirfalisse follow five mixed-race women born in Congo as they denounce the crimes against humanity committed against them. Belgian cinema stands out for its refusal to be reduced to a common denominator and for its boldness, thanks to funding from the Centre du Cinéma et de l’Audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, which enables filmmakers to shoot far beyond Belgium. This is the case for Idriss Gabel and Kabwela, who filmed children scarred by the wars in eastern RDC in Kivu (Nyota, les enfants lumière); Rakan Mayasi, who develops a thriller-like investigation blending documentary and fiction in a Bedouin village in the Bekaa Valley, on the Lebanese-Syrian border (Une disparition); and Comes Chahbazian, who reveals the quiet resistance of the Armenian people as they prepare to flee Haut-Karabagh (Ici, ailleurs). Comedy can also capture social realities, as demonstrated by Les Baronnes, written and directed by Nabil Ben Yadir and his mother Mokhtaria Badaoui, which deconstructs clichés and prejudices about the municipality of Molenbeek. Noëlle Bastin and Baptiste Bogaert take the same approach with Vitrival, in which absurdity and surrealism take over everyday life in a Walloon village. Meanwhile, Luxembourg filmmaker Carlo Vogele uses animation in Matin Brun to warn of the dangers of failing to resist nationalist and hateful rhetoric. This selection is united by a shared cinematic drive to challenge our certainties, awaken our perspectives and celebrate cultural diversity. Louis Héliot Head of Cinema Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles/Paris Featuring: KWIBUKA (SE SOUVENIR) by Jonas d’Adesky BEN’IMANA by Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo NYOTA, LES ENFANTS LUMIERE, by Vanessa Kabwela & Idriss Gabel UNE DISPARITION (Yesterday the Eye didn’t sleep) by Rakan Mayasi ICI, AILLEURS by Comes Chahbazian MATIN BRUN by Carlo Vogele MARIE MADELEINE by Gessica Généus L’AUTRE RAEBURN (The Other Raeburn) by David-Pierre Fila LES BARONNES by Mokhtaria Badaoui & Nabil Ben Yadir INDEPENDANCE TEY by Abdou Lahat Fall VITRIVAL by Noëlle Bastin & Baptiste Bogaert MÉTISSES. CINQ FEMMES CONTRE UN CRIME D’ÉTAT by Jean-Charles Mbotti Malolo & Quen-tin Noirfalisse CONGO BOY by Rafiki Fariala
Admission: 3 to 5 euros.
Source: paris.fr — photo: DR