The club, founded by French cinema-lover Manon Kerjean, runs weekly screenings of French films – both new releases and classics – with English subtitles, to allow people whose French is not yet fluent to appreciate the depth of France’s cinema.

Screenings are preceded with drinks, which are a great way to make friends if you’re new to the city, and March also sees a pre-film stand-up comedy night and a walking tour. 

Here’s what’s on:

Zaï Zaï Zaï Zaï

The film: Described as a ‘bittersweet critique of contemporary society’, Zaï Zaï Zaï Zaï tells the story of comedy actor Fabrice, who while shopping realises that he doesn’t have his loyalty card. Under the gaze of a threatening security guard, he flees. It’s not long before Fabrice becomes Public Enemy # 1 in France. With a media frenzy brewing around his escape, the film follows his desperate attempts to evade capture.

The details: Friday March 4th at the Club de l’étoile cinema, 14 Rue Troyon, 75017 Paris. Tickets €15 or €13 concessions. The film starts at 8pm, with drinks from 7pm and a stand-up comedy show from comedian Hugo Gertner from 7.30pm. Tickets here.

Enquête sur un Scandale d’État

The film: Inspired by real-life events, this is a drama about police complicity in narcotics trafficking.

It begins with French customs seizing seven tons of cannabis in the heart of the capital. The same day Stéphane Vilner, a journalist at the leftwing French daily newspaper Libération is contacted by a man who claims to be able to demonstrate the existence of State drug trafficking led by Jacques Billard, prominent media figure and high-ranking French police officer. 

The details: Friday, March 11th at L’Entrepôt cinema, 7 Rue Francis de Pressensé, Paris 14. Tickets €8.50 or €7 concessions. Screening at 8pm, with drinks from 7pm and an introduction from the film’s director Thierry de Peretti. Tickets here.

Un peuple

The film: This drama follows Agnès, Benoît, Nathalie, and Allan in Chartes, who in 2018 get involved in a protest about a new fuel tax introduced by Emmanuel Macron’s government. Their protest becomes a part of the ‘Yellow Vest’ movement that shook France during late 2018 and 2019, and this film is described as “a breathless and sensitive account” of a defining moment in history.

The details: Sunday, March 20th, at Luminor cinema, 20 Rue du Temple, Paris 4. Tickets just €4 thanks to the printemps du cinema discount scheme. Screenings at 8pm, drinks from 7pm. Before the film is the option to join a French New Wave walking tour – details here. Tickets here.

Rien à foutre

The film: This is a preview showing of Rien à foutre (Zero fucks given) which is the first feature-length film from the Belgian directors Emmanuel Marre and Julie Lecoustre. It tells the story of Cassandre, a flight attendant on a budget airline who is following the philosophy of ‘live in the moment’ until an unexpected event forced her to confront her buried pain.

The details: Thursday, March 24th at L’Arlequin cinema, 76 Rue de Rennes, 75006 Paris. Full details on time and ticketing to come.