As November arrives, so does a touch of Parisian sparkle. The 41st vOilah! French Film Festival is returning to Singapore, ready to brighten everyday life with big-screen magic from 13 to 30 November 2025. It’s the perfect excuse to trade familiar routines for a little wonder, a little delight, and a whole lot of French flair.

This beloved celebration of cinema feels like an annual love letter, one that speaks of creativity, curiosity and the close friendship between France and Singapore. It’s not just about movie premieres and red carpets, but the joy of being transported into someone else’s world, the thrill of discovering new perspectives, and the comfort of sitting shoulder to shoulder in the dark with a room full of strangers who might laugh or gasp at exactly the same moment.

Audiences can lose themselves in gripping true-to-life moments, like the high-stakes intensity of 13 Days 13 Nights, where courage is pushed to its limits amid global upheaval. There are bold visions of tomorrow too: Dog 51 imagines a Paris transformed by relentless technology, while Dalloway playfully blurs the line between human creativity and artificial intelligence. Stories of transformation continue in Alpha and The Incredible Shrinking Man, each using science fiction not to push us away from reality, but to bring us closer to what it means to be human.

Balancing this rush of adrenaline are heartwarming tales designed for shared laughter and wide-eyed delight. Families can journey through misty mountains with Moon the Panda, or rediscover innocence and imagination in Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, films that remind us why our childhood selves still live quietly inside us.

And then there are the stories rooted in history and artistry, rich with ambition and resilience. The Great Arch reaches into France’s architectural past with sweeping scale, while The Richest Woman in the World and Muganga, The One Who Treats shine a light on people driven by determination and compassion, no matter the challenges they face.

For those drawn to glamour, Couture lets us slip behind the curtains of Paris Fashion Week, where beauty, pressure and vulnerability walk hand in hand. And with lyrical emotion, Colours of Time invites us into a tale that dances across eras, weaving memory and modernity together as only French cinema can.

To make French cinema accessible to everyone, the festival is once again partnering with People’s Association to bring PG-rated screenings beyond traditional theatres to community clubs, integrated community hubs and other public spaces. In partnership with Sentosa Development Corporation, open-air screenings will also take place at Palawan Beach. These initiatives continue a long-standing tradition of bringing stories to where people gather, transforming everyday spaces into cinemas. Through these free and family-friendly screenings, vOilah! extends the joy of French storytelling to new audiences across generations, fostering connection, curiosity and a shared love of film in the heart of Singapore’s communities.

Students and senior citizens can also enjoy preferential ticket rates for screenings at Alliance Française and Shaw Theatres, ensuring that French cinema remains within reach to audiences of all ages. With tickets priced at $11 (standard tickets at $16, and $14.50 for Alliance Française and Singapore Film Society members), the festival continues its commitment to making the magic of cinema available to all.

Adding to the excitement, visiting filmmakers and stars will join audiences for conversations that go beyond the film credits, sharing laughter, inspirations and the unexpected twists behind their creations. Festival audiences can look forward to special appearances by acclaimed guests including Gilles de Maistre (director of Moon the Panda) and Garance Marillier (star in Couture). It’s the kind of personal connection that reminds us how much artistry lies behind a single moment on screen.

As the lights fade and the first scene flickers to life, the hustle of everyday life seems to pause. There’s a shared breath, a spark of anticipation. And for a couple of hours, we are allowed to dream freely in a language that doesn’t need subtitles to be understood: the language of cinema. So this November, say yes to curiosity. Chase stories. Fall in love with the world again, one beautiful French film at a time.

French Film Festival 2025 runs from 13th to 30th November 2025. Film details and tickets are available at voilah.sg