Lights down, phones off: CINEMANIA 2026 opens today. For 12 days, from Nov. 4 to 15, the largest French-language film festival in North America takes over screens across downtown and the Plateau with premieres, galas, master classes and guests from across the Francophonie. If you’ve never been, or you only catch one film a year, here’s how to navigate the 32nd edition and the special events worth planning your week around.
CINEMANIA 2026 by the numbers
When the festival unveiled its lineup on Oct. 22, it announced 138 films, 16 series and 173 international guests. Two territories are in the spotlight this year: French-speaking Belgium and Martinique. The festival also launches the brand-new Journées de la série francophone, a showcase for French-language television series.
Belgium’s turn as guest of honour was announced in April during an official visit to Montreal by leaders of Wallonia and the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. It continues a series of national spotlights that featured Luxembourg in 2022, Switzerland in 2023, France in 2024 and Morocco in 2025.
Founded in 1995, the festival has grown from a niche event into a fixture of Montreal’s fall calendar, the place where Quebec audiences get first looks at the year’s big French and Belgian releases alongside discoveries from Africa, the Caribbean and beyond. This year’s guests include, for the first time, John Nollet, the hairstylist behind many of French cinema’s most famous looks, whose visit the festival frames as a celebration of the crafts that shape characters on screen.
Four special events to circle
A first ciné-concert (Saturday, Nov. 7)
For the first time in its history, the festival presents a ciné-concert: Europe : la bataille des sièges, a documentary by Luxembourg filmmaker Donato Rotunno about how Strasbourg, Luxembourg and Brussels came to host Europe’s institutions, with Pascal Schumacher’s original score played live by the Singülar Orchestra. It’s at the Monument-National at 8:30 p.m.
Lumière! with Thierry Frémaux (Tuesday, Nov. 10)
The Cannes Film Festival’s general delegate, who also directs the Institut Lumière, will introduce and comment live on a selection of restored films by the Lumière brothers, from Sortie d’usine to L’Arroseur arrosé and the famous train arriving at La Ciotat. 7 p.m. at the Monument-National.
CINEMANIA VR
At the Cinémathèque québécoise, in the Raoul-Barré room, four immersive works push past the screen, including Artou by Abderrahmane Sissako, an orchestral experience inside the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège playing Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and Gwo ka Odyssey, which turns you into an apprentice of Guadeloupe’s ka drum.
The new series days
The Journées de la série francophone bring French-language TV series into the festival for the first time, a nod to how much great storytelling now happens on the small screen.
Where to watch
Screenings take place in several downtown and Plateau venues, including Cinéma Odéon Quartier Latin, Cinéma du Parc, the Monument-National and the Cinémathèque québécoise. Box offices open about 30 minutes before the first screening of the day. Note that some Monument-National screenings are booked directly from each film’s page on the festival site.
Because venues are a short walk or a couple of metro stops apart, it’s easy to string together two or three screenings in a day: an afternoon film at the Cinémathèque on de Maisonneuve, dinner in the Quartier Latin, then an evening screening at the Odéon or Cinéma du Parc.
Passes and tickets
According to the festival’s ticketing page, single tickets, six-film booklets and gala tickets went on sale Oct. 21. Unlimited passports cost $200, or $120 for those 30 and under (plus a $3 service fee each), and passport holders get 15 per cent off at partner restaurants. Download the FEST app to browse the program and build your schedule.
Tips for first-timers
- Check each film’s page for language and subtitle information before booking.
- Galas and guest-attended screenings sell out first; book those early.
- Pair a weekday matinee with a long lunch nearby. The festival is spread out enough that you can make a neighbourhood day of it.
- Last year’s top prize went to Nino by Pauline Loquès, a reminder that the competition is a great place to discover tomorrow’s names.
Want to keep the culture streak going? Browse our guide to must-see museum exhibitions, our November festivals calendar and our list of free things to do in November. For a different kind of show, there’s also our Planetarium and Biodome guide, plus more ideas in our Things to Do section. Bon cinéma!
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- Afternoon Tea in Montreal: 9 Tea Rooms for a Cozy November Break
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- More things to do in Montreal on MTL365
Photo: Loupbrun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources: CINEMANIA, CINEMANIA (program), CINEMANIA (ciné-concert), CINEMANIA (Lumière!), CINEMANIA (tickets), Tourisme Montréal
