Christmas

Speech & Language

London

Kensington and Chelsea

Clémence Madeleine-Perdrillat & Nathaniel H’Limi’s first feature film strucks to the heart with humour and candour. After her parents’ passing, eight-year-old Violet goes to live with her uncle, Regis, a gruff maintenance worker at the Palace of Versailles. Despite a rocky start, Violet and Regis learn to live and face life’s challenges together. Through complex friendships, first loves and a Christmas trip to Violet’s grandparents, they slowly create a new life rich in discoveries and tender moments in the heart of Versailles.
 Director(s): Clémence Madeleine-Perdrillat & Nathaniel H'Limi
 Cast: Jacques Weber, Ariane Ascaride, Thierry Lhermitte
 Original title: La Vie de Château - Mon Enfance à Versailles
 Country, year: FRA/LUX | 2025
 Duration: 81 mins
 Language: French with English subs
 Recommended Age: 6+
 Cert.: TBC
 More information: UK Premiere
 Price: £6

UK Premiere screening "My Life in Versailles"

Stéphane decides to move to the beautiful Cantal mountains to reconnect with his eight-year-old daughter Victoria, who has been mute since her mother’s death. During a walk in the forest, a shepherd gives Victoria a puppy named Mystery who will gradually give her a taste for life again. But very quickly, Stéphane discovers that the animal is in fact a wolf… Despite warnings and the danger of the situation, he cannot bring himself to separate his daughter from this seemingly harmless ball of fur.
 Director(s): Denis Imbert
 Cast: Tcheky Karyo, Vincent Elbaz, Eric Elmosnino, Shanna Keil, Marie Gillain
 Original title: Mystère
 Country, year: FRA | 2021
 Duration: 83 mins
 Language: In French with English subs
 Age: 7+
 Cert.: TBC

Screening "Vicky & Her Mystery"

Screening "Animated Shorts for Younger Audiences"

Adapted from Amélie Nothomb’s bestselling autobiography The Character of the Rain, Little Amélie transports us to Japan seen through the eyes of a thriving little girl decided to discover the world in her own terms. She is curious and loves to indulge in her Belgian grandma’s treats, but this doesn’t always fit in with the more traditional Japanese upbringing. The beautiful and colourful style will please the younger ones while the more tragic subjects will move older ones.

Special Offer
Calling all parents and guardians! Tickets for accompanying adults are £6 when bought with one or more tickets for children for this film. Simply add the kids and your ticket (Standard/Member/Concession) to the basket and the discount will automatically be applied at the checkout.
 Director(s): Mailys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han
 Cast: Loïse Charpentier, Victoria Grosbois, Isaac Schoumsky
 Original title: Amélie et la métaphysique des tubes
 Country, year: France | 2025
 Duration: 77 mins
 Language: In French with EN subs
 Age: 5+
 Cert.: TBC
 More information: Courtesy of Vue Lumière

Screening "Preview- Little Amelie"

Highly anticipated, after the huge success of part one in 2023, this sequel does not disappoint. Picking up with Zuzia preparing to return to Poland after her surgery, the film initially focuses on life at the station where Lampo the white Swiss Shepherd dog lives. Familiar faces return, Adam Woronowicz as the station director and Maksymilian Zieliński as his son Antek, as well as new characters. Watch out for Karol Osentowski. Retaining the spirit of the original book by Roman Pisarski this is a heart warming, adventure packed tale for the whole family to enjoy together.

 Director(s): Magdalena Nieć
 Cast: Liliana Zajbert, Mateusz Damięcki, Monika Pikuła, Adam Woronowicz, Maksymilian Zieliński
 Original title: O psie, który jeździł koleją 2
 Country, year: Poland | 2025
 Duration: 93 mins
 Language: In Polish with English subtitles
 More information: Writers: Mojca Tirš, Katarzyna Stachowicz-Gacek

Screening "The Dog Who Travelled By Train 2" as part of KINOTEKA

As children, we all thought rainbows were magical. In Ugo Bienvenu’s colourful time travelling adventure, Arco, a 10-year-old boy, comes from the future and lands by mistake in 2075 where he meets Iris. Now stuck in a world where technology has gone too far and the environment is at stake; Arco will count on the strong friendships he makes to help him return home.

With Arco, produced by Natalie Portman and winner of the Cristal Award at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Bienvenu manages to paint a fun, positive and moving film that will leave adults and children full of hope for humankind.
 Director(s): Ugo Bienvenu
 Cast: Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Flea, Natalie Portman
 Country, year: FRA| 2025
 Duration: 82 mins
 Language: In French with EN subtitles
 Age: 7+
 Cert.: TBC

Screening "ARCO"

Animator Paul Grimault and poet/screenwriter Jacques Prévert’s collaboration over 30 years brought us the intergenerational French masterpiece that is The King & the Mockingbird. Adapted from a Hans Christian Anderson fairytale, it depicts the story of the King of Takicardia, feared by all in the kingdom. The King is in love with a beautiful shepherdess in a painting on his wall, but she is in love with a chimneysweep from another artwork. Often considered one of the best animated features of all time and winner of the Prix Louis Delluc, this animation film has been cited by Studio Ghibli’s Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata as a profound influence on their work.

Special Screening
Preceded by an introduction by Michael Leader and Jake Cunningham, creators & hosts of Ghibliotheque

 Director(s): Paul Grimault
 Cast: Jean Martin, Pascal Mazzotti
 Original title: Le Roi & L'Oiseau
 Country, year: FRA | 1980
 Duration: 83 mins
 Language: French with English subs
 Recommended Age: 6+
 Cert.: TBC
 Price: £6

The King & the Mockingbird + Intro

Institut Français du Royaume-Uni

The Institut français du Royaume-Uni promotes French language and culture and encourages cross-cultural exchanges from both sides of the Channel. Explore, experience and enjoy!

Founded in 1910, and based in South Kensington in London, it comprises a Language Centre, a Cultural Centre, Ciné Lumière, a cinema with two screens, and a multi-media library, La Médiathèque.

The Institut welcomes over 100,000 people each year, thanks to its wide range of public events, from film screenings, debates and festivals to concerts and workshops. It has also developed a broad offer for young audiences through public and school activities and its dedicated spaces, the Bibliothèque Quentin Blake and L’Atelier. It also hosts Gazette, London’s most authentic French brasserie.

UK Premiere screening "My Life in Versailles"

Institut Français du Royaume-Uni

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