Film Screening — Annette

2026 French Film Festival presents:

Annette
(Leos Carax, 2021, 139 min, France, English, DCP)

-- Introduced by Prof. Anne-Gaëlle Saliot (Romance Studies/Cinematic Arts); Q&A to follow

A years-spanning musical melodrama drenched in greens and yellows, scored by oddball art-pop duo Sparks and based on their original story, Annette marks the French director’s first English-language film, which revolves around a celebrity couple in present-day Los Angeles. Henry (Adam Driver), a towering stand-up comedian, and Ann (Marion Cotillard), a world-famous singer, are living life happily in the spotlight until their world is upended after the birth of their first child, Annette, a mysterious little girl with a peculiar talent. Carax imbues his sixth feature with grandiose compositions, an exhilarating sense of movement, and a turbulent emotional register—alternately moody, beguiling, effusive, and hilarious—all the while toying with established genres in the most thrilling ways imaginable.

Winner for Best Director at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival

“Annette is a ride like no other, a spellbinding waltz in a storm.” – Empire Magazine

“Annette is remarkable. It's an exhilarating collision of cinema, live concerts, stage shows, and celebrity culture, shaken up and let loose with abandon.” – Polygon