From November 6 to 15, 2026
CARLTON CINEMA – 20 CARLTON Street – TORONTO

GRAND PUBLIC FESTIVAL 2026

29th edition of Cinéfranco

The Grand Public Festival will take place from November 6 to 15, 2026, at the Carlton Cinema.

It is thanks to the support of Force 5, the Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Heritage, the Ontario Arts Council, Telefilm Canada, Ontario Creates and OLG that Cinéfranco has been able to bring together these gems of international French-language cinema. The selected works come from the Maghreb—particularly Morocco—Central Africa, including the Congo, France, Belgium and many other European countries, as well as Quebec, Ontario and all corners of Canada.

When ?

Join us from November 6 to 15, 2026, for an unforgettable experience.

Location ?

CARLTON CINEMA
20 Carlton Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 2H5

Our Major Sponsors

Our Community Partners

Our Media Partners

Cinéfranco — Welcome Letter

In a world marked by manipulation, facial-recognition surveillance, algorithms, the potential dangers of artificial intelligence, fake news, as well as dictatorships and totalitarian regimes seeking to subjugate and impoverish peoples, Cinéfranco felt compelled to reflect.

Have great visionaries such as George Orwell predicted today’s world? Is their fiction becoming reality?

The selection committee—composed of Cécile Robertson, Hadley Foucher, Marcelle Lean and Wayne Gasner—explored many avenues in order to bring you films that illustrate the effects of power and its impunity; the relationship between truth and propaganda; injustice and resistance; lies at every level; and the control of bodies and minds.

The strong presence of the Second World War at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival also informed our reflections and guided the selection of films such as Le Faux Soir, Les Rayons et les ombres, and La Troisième Nuit, which bring these themes to light.

You will discover films that will leave you astonished, outrage you, make you laugh until you cry, but above all, make you think and leave no one indifferent.

Cinéfranco is proud to celebrate Le Labo’s 20th anniversary and to continue its collaboration with RACCORD. Together, these organizations are dynamically contributing to the growth of the Franco-Canadian film industry.

Cinéfranco remains deeply grateful to all its community partners who co-present the films, as well as to its media partners who help promote the 2026 Public Festival.

And what can we say about Cinéfranco’s volunteers? Dedicated, generous with their time and always present, whatever the circumstances, they are the beating heart of Cinéfranco. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Hoping to welcome many of you to discover these cinematic gems—several of which will be presented in Toronto for the first time—I wish you an excellent festival.

ENJOY THE FILMS!
Marcelle Lean
on behalf of Cinéfranco’s dedicated team

The 20th Anniversary of the Toronto Francophone Media Arts Center

To mark the 20th anniversary of Toronto’s francophone media arts laboratory, this programme, created by artist-curator Laura Demers, brings together experimental works by artists and filmmakers from the artist-run centre’s community, along with pieces drawn from its archives. The programme traces a fragmented journey through formal explorations, intimate narratives, philosophical reflections, and ironic subversions—a fitting reflection of the flourishing and diverse artistic community that has animated it for two decades.

Explosion no 2 (2007) | Julie Tremble (VHS, animation numérique, 1:00 min)
Géometrika (2024) | Nicole Blundell (Animation sur pellicule 16 mm, 4:02 min)
COMMENT ON PEUT SUPPOSER QUE DIEU ÉTAIT BIEN INTENTIONNÉ, MALGRÉ LES AVALANCHES, LES MOUSTACHES ET LES PETITS TRACAS QUOTIDIENS (2019) | Marie Dauverné (Vidéo expérimentale, 6 :10 min)
Archive (2018) | Simon M. Benedict (Vidéo, 9 :05 min)
Derrière l’image, un portrait de Sylvie Bélanger (2007) | Nadine Valcin

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with some of the participating artists and the curator.

Full program coming soon.