The American French Film Festival 2026

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Event Description:

The American French Film Festival (TAFFF) is America's first and largest French film festival, dedicated to showcasing the best in French cinema and series. Now ranked among the top 3 film festivals in Los Angeles, TAFFF kicks off awards season in Hollywood each fall with a selection made entirely of U.S. premieres — making it a proven Hollywood launchpad for French films entering the global awards race. The festival is held at the Directors Guild of America on Sunset Boulevard and draws 15,000+ attendees, 500+ French and American actors, writers, directors, producers, composers, and studio executives who have presented their work at the festival. In 2024, Netflix leveraged TAFFF's Opening Night as the official Hollywood premiere for Emilia Pérez, with Ted Sarandos taking the stage alongside director Jacques Audiard and stars Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and Karla Sofía Gascón — catapulting the film into the Oscars race. Other notable talent includes Marion Cotillard, Quentin Tarantino, Michael Mann, Taylor Hackford, Helen Mirren, Charlize Theron, Omar Sy, Diane Kruger, Sharon Stone, and hundreds more. Programming spans red-carpet premieres, press conferences, industry mixers, VIP cocktails, panels, VIP after-parties, and an awards ceremony in Paris. TAFFF also runs an acclaimed education program — 100+ high schools in Southern California have participated, with 40,000+ students welcomed life-to-date and 3,000 seats offered across 5 screenings each year, plus a Master Class program on college campuses. 40% of films and series presented in the past 10 years were written and/or directed by women, supported by partnerships with Women In Film and dedicated panels and film series. The festival generates 5M+ social media impressions, reaches 500,000+ yearly website visitors, and distributes through email lists totaling 2M+ addressees via partner organizations including the DGA, SAG, Women in Film, LA Phil, LAist 89.3, Laemmle Theatres, and the Writers Guild of America. Created and produced by the Franco-American Cultural Fund — a unique partnership between the DGA, MPA, SACEM, and WGA West — TAFFF is backed by past premieres from Netflix, Canal+, France Télévisions, and Lionsgate, with media coverage spanning Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Los Angeles Times, Deadline, Indiewire, The Wrap, France 2, TF1, TV5 Monde, E!, and more.