Festivals - 13th edition of the French Film Library Festival: Debra Winger and John Badham, contrasting portraits of a changing Hollywood

By Mulder, 28 january 2026

From March 11 to 15, 2026, the Cinémathèque Française will host its 13th edition of the Cinémathèque Festival within its walls and across 11 partner theaters, once again affirming its central role in transmitting and reviving the history of world cinema, with a program that combines prestige, reflection, and rediscovery. This edition will pay tribute to two major figures in late 20th-century American cinema, Debra Winger and John Badham, whose careers took radically different paths but are deeply revealing of the mechanics of Hollywood, both its brilliance and its dark side, in a spirit that reminds us how well the Cinémathèque knows how to connect heritage and contemporary resonance without ever succumbing to simple nostalgia.

A key figure in American cinema in the 1970s and 1980s, Debra Winger embodies a demanding and almost militant idea of the acting profession in a star system then at its peak, choosing her roles with rare artistic consistency and refusing to make any easy compromises. Her career has been marked by collaborations with major filmmakers such as Bob Rafelson, Alan Rudolph, Costa-Gavras, Karel Reisz, and Bernardo Bertolucci, all of whom testify to a relationship with cinema based on trust in the authors rather than solely on commercial logic. While the general public continues to associate her forever with the role of Emma in Terms of Endearment, a moving performance that left a lasting mark on the history of American melodrama, the Festival also chooses to highlight what goes on behind the scenes, the constant pressure exerted by the industry on actresses, their image, and their freedom. The screening of the documentary Searching for Debra Winger, directed by Rosanna Arquette, will enrich this tribute by offering an intimate and political look at an exemplary career and the difficulty of preserving a unique voice in an industry often hostile to female independence, a subject whose relevance still resonates powerfully today.

In stark contrast to this introspective trajectory, but equally revealing of his era, John Badham stands out as one of the great architects of popular American cinema in the 1980s, a director capable of capturing the spirit of the times with sometimes visionary acuity. With his second feature film, Saturday Night Fever, he created a manifesto that became a sociocultural marker of the late 1970s, on a par with Taxi Driver and Rocky, crystallizing the aspirations, frustrations, and raw energy of a youth in search of identity. Even more striking with hindsight, WarGames now appears to be a work of striking prescience, anticipating with astonishing accuracy the contemporary debates surrounding artificial intelligence, the automation of military decisions, and the fragility of control systems. As for Fire Down Below, a chronicle of an America under military surveillance, the film can now be viewed with a renewed, almost anxious perspective, as its themes echo current security and technological issues. As the Festival's guest of honor, John Badham will also offer a carte blanche selection of three films, providing a personal glimpse into his influences and his love of cinema, an invaluable gesture for understanding the intimate logic of a filmmaker beyond his iconic successes.

True to its DNA, the Festival de la Cinémathèque française does not forget its essential heritage mission, reserving a special place for the latest restorations and recently unearthed rarities, reminding us that cinema is also an art of preservation and transmission. This edition will pay tribute to several major figures and institutions, including filmmakers Aleksandar Petrović, Robert Bober, Anja Breien, and Pierre Zucca, as well as historian and archivist Naoum Kleiman, aptly nicknamed “the Russian Langlois” for his fundamental role in the preservation and dissemination of the world's film heritage. There will also be a focus on Kadokawa Pictures, a key player in Japanese cinema, as well as on the city of Brussels, highlighting the international outlook and constant curiosity that characterize the Festival's editorial line.

Finally, the opening day will be marked by a study day co-organized with the CNC, entitled “Cinema & Ecology – Reinventing Criticism, Questioning Practices,” a highlight that illustrates the Festival's desire to go beyond simply celebrating works to engage in a fundamental reflection on the cultural, critical, and environmental responsibilities of cinema today. In a context where ecological issues are becoming increasingly important for all cultural industries, this initiative is part of a dynamic dialogue between creators, researchers, and professionals, in keeping with the spirit of the Cinémathèque française. Tickets will go on sale on February 17, 2026, and given the richness and coherence of the program, there is no doubt that this 13th edition will be an unmissable event for film lovers, professionals, and all those who consider cinema to be a living memory, always in motion.

(Source: press release)