The vOilah! French Film Festival 2026 opened to the public today, 12 November, and runs until 29 November 2026. It has 34 films at Shaw Theatres, Alliance Française de Singapour, Filmhouse and community venues across the island, with standard tickets at S$16. Two of its biggest titles are headed for regular cinemas as well: The Phantom of the Opera opens on 19 November and Asterix: The Kingdom of Nubia on 3 December. That leaves you with a choice between the festival screenings and the mainstream run.
The organisers count this as the festival’s 42nd edition. It’s organised by the Embassy of France in Singapore and co-presented by Alliance Française de Singapour, Shaw Organisation and Filmhouse. Stephen Marchisio, Ambassador of France to Singapore, says the selection “reflects the many ways cinema helps us understand our past, question our present and imagine our future.” That’s a big promise for 18 days of screenings, so here are the titles that justify the ticket.
Start With the De Gaulle Diptych
The programme is built around De Gaulle I: Tilting Iron and De Gaulle II: The Sovereign Edge. This two-part portrait follows Charles de Gaulle, the French general who became a central figure of the French Resistance during World War II. Antonin Baudry directed it, and Part I opened the festival. It earned a spot in the Official Selection, Out of Competition, at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
If you’re going to block out time for one big history night this month, this is the strongest case in the line-up. You get leadership, wartime pressure and two films’ worth of story about the choices that shaped modern France.
A Phantom in Present-Day Paris
Alexandre Castagnetti’s The Phantom of the Opera moves the story into present-day Paris. Young dancer Anastasia joins the Paris Opera and starts rehearsing Orpheus, a cursed opera said to be the work of the Phantom. She falls for a mysterious pianist tied to its secrets, and a string of accidents pulls her into danger as opening night nears. The film is set in the Palais Garnier, the opera house in Paris that the Gaston Leroux story made famous.
Romain Duris, Deva Cassel, Julien de Saint-Jean, Laïka Blanc-Francard and Guillaume Diop star. The film is rated NC16 (No Children under 16) for sexual references and runs 134 minutes. It’s in French with English subtitles, so this is a different beast from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical and won’t have you singing along.
Here’s why the festival version is worth considering even though the film opens in cinemas on 19 November. Castagnetti is in Singapore for post-screening Q&A sessions, and a regular weekday ticket at the mall won’t give you the director in the room. Check the official programme for the sessions he’s attending before you settle for the general release.
Paris, Protest and Cannes Picks
Paris runs through much of this year’s line-up. The Electric Kiss, which opened the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, is set in early 20th-century Paris and mixes romance with fantasy. Delicacy, from brothers David and Stéphane Foenkinos, is a gentler story about love and second chances. David Foenkinos is a novelist and screenwriter, and he’s in town for Q&As.
The festival’s films about women are worth your time too. Mélisa Godet’s A Place For Her has a special screening at Alliance Française de Singapour on 18 November, timed ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November. Women On Trial, another Out of Competition title at Cannes 2026, revisits a landmark fight for women’s rights in France. Malika tells the true story of a woman who overcame poverty, discrimination and a childhood accident to become a mezzo-soprano.
The classics strand includes Fred Cavayé’s new Les Misérables, which adapts Victor Hugo’s novel. Filmhouse is screening Persepolis in honour of the late Marjane Satrapi, whose award-winning animated film is about identity, freedom and resistance.
Jeunet Is Coming to Town
Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the director of Amélie, is in Singapore for a retrospective. The organisers promise at least four special screenings with post-screening Q&As. His latest film, Violette, follows a cemetery caretaker in a small Burgundy town who listens to other people’s confessions. Then a police investigation into her own past forces her to face a truth she has buried for years.
For an Amélie fan, four chances to hear Jeunet talk about his craft in person is the best reason in the whole line-up to buy a festival ticket. Animation fans can catch Julien Chheng, who directed Muyi And The Handsome General and Ernest and Celestine: A Journey in Charabia.
Asterix Speaks English Here
There are nearly ten family-friendly films this year. The organisers frame the animation selection as a nod to The Violinist, which recently became Singapore’s first award-winning animated film. Asterix: The Kingdom of Nubia leads the strand, and it’s screening in English, which is helpful when your audience can’t read subtitles yet.
In the film, a youth elixir spills into the magic potion and turns the Gauls into harmless children. With the Romans closing in, Asterix and Obelix head to the distant Kingdom of Nubia to find a cure. Alexandre Heboyan directs, and the voice cast includes Christian Clavier, François-Xavier Demaison, Eye Haïdara and Issa Doumbia. It’s rated PG (Parental Guidance), runs 87 minutes and opens in cinemas on 3 December 2026.
The rest of the family slate includes Pets on a Train, Mune: Guardian of the Moon, The Choir and Sophie’s Misfortunes. That’s a solid spread for a Saturday with the grandparents tagging along!
French Films Near Your HDB
The festival goes well beyond the cineplex. The People’s Association is back as a partner with 20 screenings across 10 community clubs and Integrated Community Hubs. Sentosa’s Movies by the Beach is hosting an open-air screening at Palawan Beach. New partners, the National Library and Archives Board and Serangoon Garden Country Club, add libraries and another heartland venue to the map.
At the regular venues, tickets cost S$16 standard, S$11 for students and senior citizens, and S$14.50 for Alliance Française and Singapore Film Society members. These are the prices at the regular screening venues.
🗓️ Date: 12 to 29 November 2026
⏰ Time: Various timings
📍 Location: Shaw Theatres, Alliance Française de Singapour, Filmhouse and participating community venues
🎟️ Tickets: S$16 standard, S$11 for students and senior citizens, S$14.50 for Alliance Française and Singapore Film Society members
🔗 Details: vOilah! French Film Festival
Three titles are worth booking first. The De Gaulle diptych is the festival’s centrepiece. A Jeunet Q&A won’t come around again once he flies home. The Phantom of the Opera with Castagnetti present beats waiting for its 19 November cinema run. Browse the full line-up and book seats on the vOilah! French Film Festival website before the director sessions fill up!
Photos and Visuals courtesy of vOilah! French Film Festival 2026.
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