The Institut français at Lyon's Marché International du Film Classique and other October cinema news
Published on 7 October 2025
From October 14 to 17, the Institut français presents its activities in the field of heritage cinema at the Marché International du Film Classique in Lyon. This October, the Fête du cinéma d'animation is also back on IFcinéma, and the French cultural network abroad is bringing several highlights to Lagos, Stuttgart and Porto Alegre.
The Institut français at the Marché international du film classique in Lyon
From October 14 to 17, 2025, the Institut français is establishing itself as a major player in the Marché international du film classique in Lyon, a flagship event held alongside the Festival Lumière. This year, the Institut français, with its long tradition of commitment to heritage cinema, is one of the Grands partenaires.
As an institutional partner, the Institut français places at the heart of its Lyon presence the enhancement of African heritage cinema and the promotion of its cultural resources. The Senegalese film Njangaan, restored thanks to the Institut français, will benefit from the prestigious Lumière Classics label and will be screened on October 13 and 15.
But Lyon will also be the setting for wider initiatives:
- On October 14, the "Cinéastes d'Afrique" podcast series, co-produced by the Institut français and RFI, will be launched, giving a chance to hear the voices and journeys of African filmmakers, through interviews, archives and extracts from restored films.
- On October 15, the Institut français will be taking part in a round table entitled "How to build an international distribution strategy for heritage film?", engaging in a debate around the challenges and opportunities of circulating heritage works worldwide.
Other October news
The Institut français is joining forces with the AFCA (Association française du cinéma d'animation), to offer IFcinéma a wide-ranging program of animated shorts and features as part of the Fête du cinéma d'animation, whose theme this year is "Faire corps".
On the occasion of this major annual rendezvous, articulated with World Animation Day on October 28, the French Institute is also offering a science-fiction focus around the restoration of René Laloux's animated classic, Les Maitres du temps, and a program dedicated to films produced by Studio Folimages.
As in 2024, the Institut français, in partnership with the AFCA, will be offering an online masterclass on Monday October 20 at 2:30 p.m. around the film Les Maîtres du temps, hosted by animated film specialist Xavier Kawa-Topor. In addition to being a historian and founder of NEF Animation, Xavier Kawa-Topor is a specialist in the history and aesthetics of animated cinema. He will present all the secrets behind René Lalou's second feature, an adaptation of Stefan Wul's novel.
In Lagos, on the sidelines of the Création Africa Forum, the Institut français invites participants to a Cinémathèque Afrique evening. On the bill: Bal poussière by Henri Duparc, a cult Ivorian comedy made in 1989 and restored in 2021. The film recounts, with humor and tenderness, the trials and tribulations of Demi-Dieu, a rich polygamous peasant who, despite his five wives, decides to marry a sixth. A joyful and critical portrait of the failings of Ivorian society in the 1980s, Bal poussière remains a classic of African cinema, celebrated for its freedom of tone and modernity. The screening will be followed by a cocktail reception.
From October 6 to 10, the Redenção Hall at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul will be hosting a cycle of French heritage cinema to celebrate the 80 aces of the Alliance Française Porto Alegre. The anniversary of AFPOA, which was founded on October 9, 1945, will host a screening of the silent version of René Chair's Paris qui dort in ciné-concert format with a pianist and a bonimenteur. An exhibition on the 80th anniversary of the Alliance Française still runs until October 26 at the Praia de Belas Shopping Center.
The Festival International du Film Francophone Tübingen | Stuttgart is the largest French-language film festival in the German-speaking world, and has been an integral part of the region's cultural landscape for over 40 years. Every year, the festival provides a platform for both young talent and established filmmakers. Films that can often only be seen in Germany as part of the festival are presented as exclusive previews. Paris qui dort by René Clair will be screened in the film and music section during a ciné-concert on Friday, October 31, 2025 at the Cinema Museum in Tübingen.
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