1 A very assertive international opening
For the first time, the festival welcomes important international delegations on the professional side. An American delegation, including representatives of the Women in Film association and the Alliance of Women Film Composers, will travel to discuss practices across the Atlantic. An African delegation will also be present, confirming the festival’s desire to scrutinize world creation.
Cult British director Edgar Wright will come on June 24 to share his meticulous creative process, accompanied by his favorite composer Steven Price. Together, they will decipher the total synergy between the rhythm of the image and the music, notably on films like “Baby Driver” or the documentary “The Sparks Brothers”. Above all, international cinema will be celebrated as during the opening night of June 23 where an awards ceremony will reward, for example, the Lebanese duo formed by director Nadine Labaki and composer Khaled Mouzanar for their collaboration on ” Capharnaüm”, jury prize at Cannes in 2018 and screened on June 25 at the Apollo Ciné 8. The festival is keen to program strong international works, like “The Way We Move”, a documentary in English on the American pioneer of “chansigne”, the musical interpretation in sign language, Amber Galloway presents on June 27.
2 To put an end to the exception of women creators
The organizing team recalled that women remain a minority in the industry, “with less than 6% of screen music composers and 26% of filmmakers.” Additional motivation for Julie Gayet, founder of the festival, to highlight women who create or to pay tribute to those who have had to fight to exist like Joanna Bruzdowicz, an immense Polish composer. The documentary “Zodiac Suite” in the presence of its director Julie Ledru will resurrect on June 27 the memory of Mary Lou Williams, a forgotten figure and yet founder of jazz. As for classical music, the Saint-Louis Church will host concerts, one dedicated to Fanny Mendelssohn (June 25) and one entitled “American Nights” on June 26 with works by Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, Bernice Petker and Amy Beach.
The Artistic Encounters will also give pride of place to women. Valentine Duteil, a brilliant cellist and arranger who has long remained in the shadows, here alongside Alex Beaupain, will be celebrated on June 26 at 5 p.m. at the Coupe d’Or. Likewise, an hour before, the singer November Ultra will come to explain how she composed her first soundtrack for the lovely series visible on Arte “Someone should ban Sunday afternoons” by Isabel Coixet, also present.
3 Unmissable popular headliners
This 2026 edition achieves the feat of combining high artistic standards with popular programming. Vanessa Paradis, currently on tour throughout France with her album “The Return of Beautiful Days”, produced with Étienne Daho, will be there. As an echo, note the screening of an intimate documentary on the creation of this album on June 25 at noon at the Cinémobile and two of his films “Café de Flore” and “A Knife in the Heart”. The singer who has been present since the beginning of the festival, Benjamin Biolay will obviously be there. The actress B©atrice Dalle will offer a creation “Come As You Are” where she will read texts by Kurt Cobain, accompanied by rock musicians, on June 24, at 8 p.m.
For the most music lovers, the presence of Evelyn Glennie is one of the gifts of this edition. This immense Scottish classical percussionist, recognized worldwide, has the particularity of being deaf. His testimony, on June 24, will prove that listening is an experience that involves the whole body. As for the directors, the festival will offer “Mixtape”, a moving Canadian immersive installation dedicated to the late filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée (“CRAZY”) for whom music was the absolute driving force of the production. At the same time, a vast retrospective will salute the work of Bruno Monsaingeon, undisputed master of classical music documentaries, known for his legendary recordings of Glenn Gould.
