5 films shot in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur

A film by Dominique Filhol (2025)

The pitch: On the morning of July 1st, 1965, the life of Maurice Masse, a lavender grower near the village of Valensole, on the border of Provence and the Alps, changed dramatically. He explained to the police that he had seen an unidentified flying object “the size of a Dauphine car” take off from his field. The police actually found mysterious marks on the ground. The news, which immediately attracted crowds and the press, split the population of the village into two camps: the sceptics and those who supported Maurice, who tried as best he could to protect his family. Based on a true story, which marked local life durably, the preview of the film was presented in the village of Valensole, where it all started.

A film by Sophie Deraspe (2025)

The pitch: Mathyas, a publicist in Montreal in Quebec, drops everything from one day to the next to become a shepherd in Provence. A profession of which he knows nothing whatsoever. The learning curve is a laborious one, and the locals do not always provide a warm welcome. A bit later, Mathyas comes across Elise, a civil servant at France Travail, who also decides to leave her job on a whim and join him. Together, they accompany the transhumance of a herd of 800 sheep and write a new chapter of their life. A full-length feature film adapted from a true story.

A film by Johann Dionnet (2025)

The pitch: Stéphane is an actor, but lately his career has been going nowhere. Freshly arrived at the Festival d’Avignon, where he plays a part in a farce, he comes across Fanny, an actress he met several years before and who has, since been awarded a Molière. Under the charm of the young woman, he digs himself deeper and deeper into his lies, persuading her that he is playing the part of Rodrigue in Le Cid on the stage of a famous theatre.

A film by Laurent Cantet, produced by Robin Campillo (2025)

The pitch: Enzo, aged 16, from a wealthy family, decides to become a builder’s apprentice. The news sets off his parents’ wrath, because they had imagined a completely different future for him. While the family atmosphere becomes worse and worse, Enzo meets Vlad, a Ukrainian worker, in the shipyards of La Ciotat.

A film by Tony Datis (2025)

The pitch: Marius (played by the rapper Soprano), a guide in Marseille, takes tourists around the Mediterranean city in his clunky orange van. But the van breaks down, putting his activity in peril. And that’s when he meets three children who say they are hunting for a treasure.