Best French short movies

The Legend of the Crabe-Phare (2015)

The Crabe-Phare is a legendary crustacean. He captures the lost sailors' boats to add them to his collection. But the crab is getting old, and it is more and more difficult for him to build his collection.

A Sheep on the Roof (2007)

A man is confronted with the change of his day-to-day life following the landing of a sheep on the roof of the house opposite.

Flow (2019)

A turbulent day in a life, painted by air.

Arekara - The Life After (2013)

In February 2012, I went to Ishinomaki, a town North of Tokyo that was half destroyed by the tsunami of March 11th, 2011, to meet the disaster victims who now live in temporary housing. I spent several days in the North, under the snow, listening to these people talk candidly about what they had lived through, telling their own stories without the media as an intermediary. Their testimonies were terrifying, harsh and sad, but at the same time touching, sincere and human. From the pictures and interviews that I collected, I decided to make a film, not to reflect how awful the events were, but to communicate the singular and even surreal nature of each person’s experience. My intention wasn’t so much to focus on this particular event in Japan, but rather to make these stories more universal as a way of paying tribute to all the victims of natural disasters throughout the world.

Migraines (2013)

Wanted Melody (2012)

A surprising western starring ... penises.

Inès (2019)

Inès is facing a difficult choice. Tonight, she thinks about the decision she will make.

Histoire(s) du Cinéma 3a: The Coin of the Absolute (1998)

Part 5 of Godard's 8 part examination of the history of the concept of cinema and how it relates to the 20th century.

The Return of the Waves (2020)

Coming back to his hometown in hopes of reconnecting with his past, a young man encounters the place completely stopped in time. Moving through the familiar streets, memories disorient him as he faces what he once left behind.

The Mask of the Devil (1976)

One night, an old lady flees the carnival and takes refuge in the mountains. At midnight, the devil knocks on his door and offers him a very special domino game.

Planet Sigma (2015)

On planet Sigma, enormous creatures are trapped inside the ice. And then, all of a sudden explosions erupt from subterranean volcanoes. The ice begins to melt; a global warming concludes the giants’ deep slumber and new life begins. The creatures crawl forth, out of the ice.

The Pocket Man (2016)

A little man lives in an old suitcase. One day he finds a new friend - an old blind man. The little man jumps into the blind man's pocket. With music, the pocket man helps the blind man walk and see things in the street. Both are very happy together.

Pièce touchée (1989)

Arnold's source material is a piece of footage from the 1950s, eighteen seconds long and very typical for the period. A quiet take: A living room, a woman in an armchair. Her husband opens the door, kisses her, then moves out of the picture accompanied by a camera pan, his wife follows after him. In Arnold's film the sequence takes 16 minutes. Cadre by cadre, it becomes an exciting tango of movements. But Pièce Touchée is more than just a matter of forms; The reflections, distortions and delays it displays challenge cinema's stable system of space and time.

Mano a Mano (2019)

Abby and Luca are circus acrobats, travelling from town to town to perform their duet. Their love relationship is falling apart. As they are driving in their small camping-car to the next theater, they have to confront their problems to regain trust in each other.

Les joueurs de cartes arrosés (1896)

A friendly card game goes sour fast.

Uncanny Valley (2015)

Inside a museum, nowadays. A diorama represents two young soldiers in the trenches. All of a sudden, we are thrown into the diorama: the immobile soldiers come to life, there is terror on their faces – the camera dances around them – explosions, chaos, fog: everything flies about in the air. With every gunshot, they shudder and curl up

The Fig Tree (2023)

A story like any other, about love, marriage, and passion fruits.

Mammas (2013)

Isabella Rossellini writes, directs and slips into the role of animal mothers, examining the different ways their maternal instinct is put into action in nature.

Rubika (2010)

Welcome to Rubika, a planet with a fancy gravity.

Poussière (2011)

The Revolution Is Only a Beginning. Let's Continue Fighting. (1968)

Half family photo album, half ciné-tract, the film was shot in Paris during the events of May ‘68 and in Rome where the actor was featuring in the film Partner by Bertolucci. Rediscovered in a basement in 1999, this silent film appears to be one of Clémenti’s most purely beautiful and concentrated works, at times recalling Brakhage and Eisenstein. - MUBI

NOCT (2014)

Jay, recently insomniac and away from any emotions, falls prey to a strange presence, which will turn into his executioner, but also his deliverer.

Wormwood (2024)

The day the radiation disappears, Simon rushes to the heart of the zone, taking his colleague Agathe with him, in the hope of rediscovering a lost past.

Querelle de matelassières (1898)

Two old female mattress makers get into a fight until a passing man attempts to break them up.

In a Cage (2016)

It’s the story of an encounter: a caged bear who can’t sing meets a little bird who can’t fly but who can sing beautifully. Their friendship will be mutually beneficial and together they will overcome their disabilities.

The First Exhibition (2016)

A woman gets too immersed in an artwork during a museum visit.

How To Make A Friend (2024)

Moo mourns her deceased friend, so Yuu decides to create a new companion for her. Their adventure fails, but they discover they have built a new friendship during the journey.

Colza (2020)

A young lizard named Clarence steals a precious plane while the whole village is distracted by the greatest concert it has ever seen.

The Actor (1974)

In his dressing room, a young actor is making up as an old man. But behind the young man’s mask, what is his real face like ?

Where Is My Romeo? (2007)

Various shots of women watching "Romeo and Juliet" and being extremely moved by what they see. A short film made for "To Each His Own Cinema"