Color of Time period movie screenshot of woman in red dress

29th Festival of Films in French

February 13-15 & 20-22, 2026

This year’s festival will take us from Paris to the Jura, Strasbourg, Ukraine, Quebec, Cambodia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In “Terrorists” in Retirement, surviving members of the French Resistance recount and reenact their operations undertaken during the Nazi occupation of Paris, challenging persistent myths and the erasure of their legacy.

In Kyiv Theater, an Island of Hope, Ariane Mouchkine uses theater as a bold act of cultural defiance, bringing together hundreds of Ukrainian actors. 

Of Mud and Blood follows miners and local communities in rural DRC as they fight for environmental and social justice. 

Ghost Trail traces the path of a Syrian refugee navigating the fine line between justice and revenge.

For Jean-Luc Godard (Godard Cinema), resistance takes the form of pushing artistic and political boundaries through film.

And in Meeting with Pol Pot, journalists pursue truth in the face of the Khmer Rouge’s propaganda and intimidation.

Other films highlight the evolution of French artistic innovation, from Impressionism and the avant-garde in the 19th century (Colors of Time), to the intertwining of the arts in the 1920s silent film era (Princess Mandane), to the Nouvelle Vague (Godard Cinema), and French theater (Kyiv Theater).

Together, these works illuminate the cultural figures and movements that have shaped France’s artistic landscape. This year’s selection also features stories of young characters discovering the importance of tradition, culture, and family. Dounia reconnects with her Syrian heritage while embracing her friends’ French-Canadian and Indigenous cultures in Dounia, The Great White North, and Totone seeks to preserve his family’s way of life by learning the craft of cheesemaking in Holy Cow.

Come in from the cold for six days of thought-provoking films, and travel across space and time to witness stories of resilience, freedom, creativity and friendship.

Contact Us

Larry Kuiper
Department of World Languages & Cultures, French
kuiper@uwm.edu

For information about showtimes, theater logistics, et cetera, please contact:

Office Phone
414-229-4070

Cinema Phone
414-229-5249

UWM Union Cinema
cinema@uwm.edu

Plan Your Visit

Location

All films will be showing at:

UW-Milwaukee Union Cinema
2200 East Kenwood Boulevard
Milwaukee, WI 53211

The theatre is located on the second floor of the Union.

Parking

Paid parking is available in the Union Garage, in the basement of the UWM Union. The entrance to the garage is on Kenwood Boulevard.

UWM Transportation Services
2200 East Kenwood Boulevard
Milwaukee, WI 53211

Ground Level Room #WG25 (Student Union)

(414) 229–4000

Admission

All films are free!

inside of the Union theater
Union Cinema

Gratitude for Our Sponsors

Our thanks go to HOME & the Lynden Sculpture Garden for their renewed support.

We extend our profound appreciation to the Québec Government Office in Chicago for its continued support.

The film Dounia, the Great White North is shown in memory of Nicole Darmon Chandler, a former president of the Alliance française de Milwaukee. We also thank her daughter, Kitty Morse, for her continued and generous support.

We also thank our many UWM co-sponsoring offices, schools, colleges, departments and programs, past and present: Student Involvement, Union Cinema, World Languages & Cultures and its Masters program, Film Studies, Women’s & Gender Studies, African and African Diaspora Studies, Political Science, History, Music, Film, Video, Animation and New Genres, the Peck School of the Arts, the College of Letters and Science, the UWM OSHER French Class in honor of Professors Gabrielle Verdier and Jim Mileham, as well as the Sam & Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies, and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (CLACS).

We extend a special note of gratitude to Professor Martine Meyer (1929-2013) and Professor Emerita Gabrielle Verdier for their vision in establishing the UWM Festival of Films in French.

Interested in sponsorship opportunities?

Contact Leslie Horn
Office of Advancement
414-229-3294
lahorn@uwm.edu

Our 2026 Supporters

logos for UWM Cinema

Consulat Général de France À Chicago

Villa Albertine

Albertine Foundation

Albertine Cinémathèque

Lynden Sculpture Garden

Sam & Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies

Alliance Française de Milwaukee

Québec Délégation Chicago

The UWM French Program is grateful for the generous support of our community and institutional sponsors:

  • Albertine Cinémathèque, a program of Albertine Foundation and Villa Albertine, with support from the CNC (Centre National du Cinéma), and SACEM/Fonds Culturel Franco-Américain
  • HOME & the Lynden Sculpture Garden
  • The Alliance Française of Milwaukee
  • SWAAF (Southeast Wisconsin Academic Alliance in French)
  • The Milwaukee French Immersion School
  • The Québec Government Office in Chicago

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