{"id":610537,"date":"2026-09-24T18:06:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T18:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/610537\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T18:06:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T18:06:09","slug":"netflix-animated-drama-in-waves-opens-american-french-film-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/610537\/","title":{"rendered":"Netflix Animated Drama ‘In Waves’ Opens American French Film Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAnimated feature \u201cIn Waves,\u201d directed by Phuong Mai Nguyen, opens the American French Film Festival<\/a> Nov. 3 as the fest celebrates its 30th anniversary.
\u201cIn Waves\u201d made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, where it was the first animated feature to kick off Critics\u2019 Week. Adapted from AJ Dungo\u2019s graphic novel, the feature is a love story between a shy teenage boy and the girl who teaches him how to surf and how to live, before she succumbs to cancer. The English-language voice cast includes Will Sharpe and Stephanie Hsu. The opening night screening is presented in association with Netflix.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe festival runs Nov. 3-8 at the DGA complex in West Hollywood.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAJ Dungo, a Californian surfer and self-taught artist, spent years drawing his own graphic novel as a way of processing the loss of his girlfriend. That intimate, autobiographical work found its second life across the Atlantic, where French-Vietnamese director Phuong Mai Nguyen and Silex Films optioned it, assembled a French production and spent years translating Dungo\u2019s linework into a fully animated feature. Netflix has now brought the finished film back to American audiences as the U.S. distributor, closing a circle that began on a California beach and passed through French animation studios before returning home. It is precisely this kind of journey \u2014 an American story reimagined through French artistry and craft, then returned to its origins \u2014 that sits at the heart of what TAFFF exists to celebrate,\u201d says C\u00e9cile Rap-Veber, president of the Franco-American Cultural Fund (originator of TAFFF) and CEO of French org SACEM.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film has an organic tie to the festival. In 2024, TAFFF and the Writers Guild of America West presented the workshop \u201cBringing Graphic Worlds to Life,\u201d in which Dungo and \u201cIn Waves\u201d producer Priscilla Bertin explored the journey from page to screen.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019m thrilled that \u2018In Waves\u2019 will open the American French Film Festival\u2019s 30th anniversary edition \u2014 a first for an animated feature film,\u201d said Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix. \u201cAs the ultimate stateside destination for French films and series, it\u2019s an honor to have TAFFF\u2019s support and I look forward to audiences around the world discovering this special film.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe festival\u2019s lineup will be announced Oct. 6. But the festival also recognizes the artistry of the small screen. The 12 TV series competing for the TAFFF Audience Award and Jury Award have been announced, and they are:<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAlice: Pioneer of Cinema,\u201d directed by Virginie Verrier and Guillaume Lonergan and written by Tim Loane, Claire LeMar\u00e9chal and Andr\u00e9 Gulluni. The series stars B\u00e9r\u00e9nice Bejo and explores the life of artist and entrepreneur Alice Guy.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAll Shapes of Us,\u201d created by Fanny Riedberger and directed by Jean-Baptiste Pouilloux and Elsa Bennett. Starring Catherine Frot, Claudia Tagbo, Ornella Fleury, G\u00e9r\u00e9my Cr\u00e9deville and Marc Riso, the series follows the story of six teenagers as they navigate a new school year at the Hive, which specializes in eating disorders.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cLaura\u2019s Treatment,\u201d created and written by Marie Kremer and Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Krivine, and directed by Alim Iske). Series centers on Laura, a small-town pharmacist and mother who runs a support group for abuse victims. When authorities and the judicial system fail to protect the women and a group member is murdered, Laura takes matters into her own hands. Stars Val\u00e9rie Bonneton.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMinimum Security,\u201d created by John Wax and Gauthier Plancquaert. A comedy starring Audrey Lamy as the director of a French prison who mothers her blundering team of guards and inmates.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOne Day We Will Make Love,\u201d written and directed by J\u00e9r\u00f4me Bonnell. Natacha Krief and \u00c9douard Sulpice star as two very different people with nothing in common except that they\u2019ve both experienced a rough day, followed by a night together that was as joyful as it was boozy. But over the course of a weekend, love can blossom.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPaolo,\u201d created by S\u00e9bastien Marnier. J\u00e9r\u00f4me Niel stars as Paolo, whose daily life is turned upside down when he reunites with T\u00e9ophane (Yoann Gasiorowski), a former schoolmate who is now running for mayor of his city, and who, it seems, has everything going for him. What begins as simple admiration and a desire to support the campaign turns into a consuming obsession.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cProphet (A),\u201d created by Abdel Raouf Dafri and Nicolas Peufaillit and based on Jacques Audiard\u2019s feature \u201cA Prophet.\u201d Mamadou Sidib\u00e9 stars as Malik, a young African immigrant, who must try to survive after being incarcerated for drug smuggling.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cR 91,\u201d created by Henri Debeurme and Mathilde Arnaud, and directed by Julien Despaux. The series, which stars \u00c9lodie Yung, Alban Lenoir, Patrick Mille and Jacques Gamblin, is set aboard the French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle during a strategic and highly volatile mission in the eastern Mediterranean. When a female crew member is found dead on board, and another goes missing shortly afterward, an investigator is rushed onto the ship to uncover what happened.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cRebounds: A History of Electro Dance,\u201d written and directed by Lo\u00efc Phil and Marianne Getti. Doc series centers around Miel, dancer and choreographer Brandon Masele, as he explores the global evolution and history of electro dance and the Tecktonik phenomenon.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSingapura,\u201d created and written by Elsa Marpeau; directed by Danielle Arbid. The crime thriller stars Nailia Harzoune as Justine, who arrives in Singapore, determined to reinvent herself and give her family a fresh start. In the tightly-knit world of French expatriates, she is captivated by \u00c9lisa (India Hair), an eccentric and tormented free spirit. But when a murder shakes their privileged circle, the buried secrets, lies, and betrayals begin to surface.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSomeone Should Ban Sunday Afternoons,\u201d created by Isabel Coixet. Starring Liv Henneguier, Clara Bretheau, Th\u00e9o Christine, Balibar and Tim Robbins, the drama follows Louise, who has always dreamed of becoming a filmmaker, as she moves to Paris to be mentored by a legendary American writer-director. But reality quickly sets in and she discovers that Paris is tougher than she imagined.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSwapped,\u201d written and created by Alexandra Echkenazi and Vincent Robert, and directed by Vania Leturcq and Savina Dellicour. Rose, played by Lula Cotton-Frapier, is a young woman who leaves her rural home in 19th-century Paris to work as a wet nurse for a wealthy, bourgeois family, only to find herself stepping into a dangerous and dark environment.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Television Series Competition is presented in association with Wild Bunch, Federation Studios, France TV Distribution, Disney+, Film & Picture, HBO Max, StudioCanal, SND Group M6 and Zorba Prods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Animated feature \u201cIn Waves,\u201d directed by Phuong Mai Nguyen, opens the American French Film Festival Nov. 3 as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":610538,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[156,409,111,139,69,300911],"class_list":["post-610537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-the-american-french-film-festival"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/610538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}