Cannes leaves behind a slate of films that most moviegoers will never see in the theater. Some of them, however, also reach Romania — on TV5MONDE+, the free francophone streaming platform with Romanian subtitles, accessible online or through the mobile application or Smart TV. A place less visible than the big platforms, but with an editorial selection that knows what it wants: auteur films, documentaries, cultural shows and interviews made right during the festival.
Mungiu, a few hours before the Palmé d’Or: “a slap given to the spectators”
Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, Cristian Mungiu was the guest of TV5MONDE at Cannes. A few hours before receiving the highest distinction of world cinema, the Romanian director spoke on the show “L’Invité” about his new movie — “Fjord” — and about his intention for it to be “like a slap to the audience”. A formula that, coming from its author «4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days» and “Baccalaureate”it’s not an image challenge, but a technical description. It’s exactly what it’s been doing for two decades: a cinema that doesn’t give you answers, but leaves you with something you don’t know what to call it.
The interview can be watched for free live on TV5MONDE+ — it’s worth it as a pre-Palma vintage document, and for the content itself. The show “L’Invité” is part of the wider offer of cultural and current affairs programs available on the platform: in addition to films and series, TV5MONDE+ offers access to interviews with directors, actors and personalities of European cinema, conducted during the major festivals.
Seven films in the selection: what they really deserve
TV5MONDE+’s Cannes-inspired selection isn’t exhaustive — a few obvious titles are missing, and a few choices feel more catalog than editorial curation. But in it you also find things that are really worth your time.
If you’re going to start with something, start with La nuit du 12 (Dominik Moll, 2022, six César awards including Best Film). It’s one of the few recent French thrillers that knows how not to give you answers — the investigation into the murder of a young woman is deliberately left open, and this is deliberately chosen. A little awkward, just right.
Equally necessary is Dalva (Emmanuelle Nicot, FIPRESCI Cannes Prize, Semaine de la Critique 2022) — a film about a 12-year-old girl who begins to understand that the relationship with her father was, in fact, an abuse. Extremely difficult subject, treated without any moralizing sentence — which is, by the way, the only way such a film works.
Among the older titles, Des hommes et des dieux (Xavier Beauvois, Grand Jury Prize at Cannes 2010) remains one of the best European cinema proposals of the last two decades — sober, without grand gestures, with a force that comes precisely from what it does not show.
If you prefer something less serious: Le tout nouveau testament (Jaco Van Dormael, Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, Cannes 2015) is an absurd comedy with a memorable premise — God lives in Brussels, his daughter decides to change the order of the world. It’s not for everyone, but it knows exactly what it wants to be.
Rounding out the selection: Ava (Léa Mysius, Semaine de la Critique 2017) — a coming-of-age with real visual nerve, about a teenager trying to live intensely the last summer before she loses her sight; La mer au loin (Saïd Hamich, Semaine de la Critique 2024) — an exile drama more intimate than spectacular; and Le plus bel âge (Didier Haudepin)—a tender look at adolescence without grand pretensions.
The Costa-Gavras documentary: a good choice
Beyond fiction, the selection includes «À l’ombre du pouvoir, le cinéma de Costa-Gavras» — a documentary dedicated to the filmmaker who made film a political tool without sacrificing artistic rigor. At a time when “engaged” cinema is often confused with well-intentioned propaganda, Costa-Gavras remains a useful benchmark.
Where do you find all this?
TV5MONDE+ is a free streaming platform dedicated to Francophone films, series, documentaries and cultural programs — accessible online and via mobile and Smart TV applications. It’s not a new discovery, but it remains less visible than it deserves, partly because it doesn’t invest in the aggressive algorithms that the big platforms use to keep you on the site.
That, paradoxically, is also its advantage: it doesn’t suggest what you “might like” based on your history, but has an editorial selection that assumes you know what you’re looking for. For the Romanian viewer who does not constantly consume content in French, most titles are available with Romanian subtitles — which significantly changes accessibility.
The Cannes season is, in fact, the best time to try it — not because the selection is perfect, but because it is built with a visible criterion. Rarer and rarer thing.
