The San Diego French Film Festival is returning to La Jolla next month with a bigger presence in San Diego County, an extra day and a focus on female voices.
The annual festival — now in its sixth year — is presented by Alliance Francaise San Diego, a nonprofit organization and certified Heritage School founded in 1927 to promote the French language and French-speaking cultures.
The event has grown since its debut during the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, 1,100 people attended. This year, organizers hope for at least 1,200.
There will be plenty of space to accommodate new guests as the festival expands to the Carlsbad City Library, along with The Lot La Jolla.
The five days of activities will kick off May 3 with an opening-night gala at The Lot, followed by screenings at both venues through May 7. Last year’s festival was four days.
The addition of Carlsbad as a site comes as Alliance Francaise looks to expand the festival’s presence in the county.
Alliance Executive Director Julie Ripoll said guests in La Jolla can expect an experience similar to past years.
The opening gala at The Lot is “where we put all our problems aside, where we drink champagne from France and have light entertainment after the movie,” Ripoll said.
“For the rest of the movies at The Lot … it’s more of a traditional festival with short films, long films and Q&As afterward.”
Film producer and La Jolla resident Clay Epstein will moderate the Q&As.
Director Gregory Boutboul, producer Clay Epstein, Alliance Francaise San Diego Executive Director Julie Ripoll and actor Max Boublil attend last year’s San Diego French Film Festival. (Vinciane Van Moer)
Epstein got involved with the festival years ago after becoming friends with Ripoll. While he’s not French himself, his wife and kids are.
Starting as a member of an “unofficial committee” for the festival, Epstein’s involvement steadily grew, as did the event.
In 2021, it was held virtually because of the pandemic. A year later, 150 people attended when it had a hybrid format.
Since the festival went solely in-person, engagement and reach have increased exponentially.
“We have this nice premiere party … and there’s always guests coming up to me saying ‘I drove in from Escondido’ [or] ‘I drove in from Temecula because we wanted to go to a cultural event’ or ‘I love French movies’ or ‘I studied French,’” Epstein said.
“That’s what the appeal is to me — not just because I’m married to a French woman but [also because] it’s such an international culture. The language is spread all over the globe. I think that’s why it attracts such a mix of guests to the festival.”
As a producer, Epstein said he has an appreciation for film festivals that amplify underappreciated artists and allow cinema lovers to unite.
“Film festivals are for the local audience and for voices and talent that might not otherwise have a platform in the traditional distribution world,” he said.
“That’s why every filmmaker and actor still dreams of walking down the red carpet in Cannes. If festivals didn’t matter, they wouldn’t have that dream.”
In preparing this year’s French Film Festival, organizers curated a grouping of movies highlighting “the diversity, creativity and strength of women’s voices in francophone cinema,” Ripoll said in a statement. Among those women is French American actress Julie Delpy, director and star of the 2024 French comedy-drama “Meet the Barbarians.”
The theme is designed to bring attention to women who are underrepresented or not properly recognized, Ripoll said.
Last year’s theme, “Love in All Its Forms,” highlighted concepts such as solidarity, interfaith harmony and social determinism.
Other guests this year will include Adrien Frier, consul general of France in Los Angeles; music director Victor le Masne; film directors Erige Sehiri and Nathan Ambrosioni; actor-director André Nerman; producer Marianne Maddalena and actress Caroline Amiguet.
Movies to be screened at The Lot include:
• “Colors of Time” (“La Venue de L’avenir”), 5 p.m. Sunday, May 3
• “Meet the Barbarians” (“Les Barbares”), including a Q&A with Delpy, 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 4
• “Promised Sky” (“Promis le Ciel”), including a Q&A with director Sehiri, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 5
• “Out of Love” (“Les Enfants vont Bien”), including a Q&A with director Ambrosioni, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 6
• “Summer Beats” (“Ma Frere”), including a Q&A with directors Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 7
See the full lineup or buy tickets at afsandiego.org/sd-french-film-festival-2026. ♦