A history of French cinema

Directors, from the pioneer Ali Ghanem to Mehdi Charef, Yamina Benguigui, Rachid Bouchareb, Hafsia Herzi or Lina Soualem, along with actors such as Jamel Debbouze, Rachida Brakni, Roschdy Zem or Sami Bouajila, have contributed to shaping a singular cultural history. Their pathways, between France and the Maghreb, have contributed to redefining the imaginary landscapes of French cinema over the generations. Their often pioneering films paved the way towards original stories, combining experience of exile, seeking identity and renewal of cinematographic forms. 

Rather than sticking with immigrant characters as they had previously been represented on screen, A History of French Cinema chooses to take the side of the artists who since the 1960s have written large swaths of French cinema history without that story ever being told.

Through excerpts from films, posters, on-set photographs, story-boards, iconic objects from the world of cinema like the César trophies or press clippings, A History of French Cinema offers a concrete and sensitive journey through this story. The exhibition creates a dialogue between widely recognised works and others that are less frequently shown, some of them restored or digitised for the occasion.  

The exhibition ends with a sequence that looks to the future : the upsurge in genre films, the importance of women, formal freedom, daring stories and the emergence of new voices that travel between the two shores. 

This exhibition is part of the Saison Méditerranée 2026.

Exhibition curators

• Clémentine Deroudille, exhibition curator, author, and filmmaker.
• Lucile Humbert Beldjoudi, audiovisual project manager at the Musée national de l’histoire de l’immigration., founder of the résidence cinéma Horizons.
• Supported by Chloé Dupont, exhibition coordinator at the Musée national de l’histoire de l’immigration.

Scientific committee

• Aurélie Cardin, founder of the Festival CinéBanlieue.
• Solange Poulet, founder of Aflam in Marseille.

^{Main photo : La Petite Dernière de Hafsia Herzi © 2025 June Films – Katuh Studio – Arte France Cinéma - ZDF - MK Productions - MK2 Films}