Presented in official competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, Julia Ducournau's new film, Alpha, arrives on VOD on January 6, 2026. Starring Mélissa Boros, Tahar Rahim, and Golshifteh Farahani, this drama with fantastical overtones continues the exploration of the body, mutation, and family ties that characterize the filmography of the director, who won the Palme d'Or in 2021 for Titane. Released in theaters on August 20, 2025, the feature film extends the sensory and disturbing universe unique to the author-filmmaker.
The story follows Alpha, a teenager living alone with her mother, whose life is turned upside down when she comes home one day with a mysterious tattoo. Julia Ducournau explores intimate themes: transmission, vulnerability, but also inherited trauma, in a contemporary setting where traces of health and social crises are evident. Through this portrait of a troubled family, the film explores the body and metamorphosis, a recurring theme in the filmmaker's work since Grave and Titane.
In this story centered on a mother-daughter relationship, Golshifteh Farahani plays a mother figure with no first name, reinforcing the anonymity and universality of her role. Tahar Rahim, preparing for a character in turmoil, lost more than 20 kilos for the shoot. Julia Ducournau anchors her story in real locations, notably in Normandy, between Le Havre and Pont-Audemer, while developing an imaginary world marked by physical and psychological transformations inspired by the concept of the "gisant," a psychoanalytic theory evoking the transmission of unresolved trauma.
This third feature film continues a thematic continuity: changing bodies, symbolic heritage, identity in crisis. The film is part of a tradition of auteur genre cinema, where form accompanies complex emotional trajectories. With its explorations of motherhood, illness, collective psychosis, and resilience, Alpha appeals to audiences who are sensitive to sensory dramas and demanding coming-of-age stories, in the tradition of filmmakers who explore the body as a narrative space, from David Cronenberg to Lucile Hadžihalilović.
Alpha
Film | 2025
Theatrical release: August 20, 2025
Available on VOD January 6, 2026
Drama | Running time: 2 hours 8 minutes
By Julia Ducournau | Starring Mélissa Boros, Tahar Rahim, Golshifteh Farahani
Nationality: France
Unveiled in competition at Cannes, where it won the CST Artist-Technician Award, the film confirms Julia Ducournau's loyalty to her long-standing collaborators, including cinematographer Ruben Impens, editor Jean-Christophe Bouzy, and composer Jim Williams. Inspired in part by her childhood memories and her Kabyle origins, the feature film also offers a look at stories passed down from generation to generation. Thanks to this combination of personal influences, sensory work, and symbolic writing, Alpha is part of a tradition of auteur cinema rooted in genre.
To go further, check out our selection of new VOD releases for January, our guide to streaming releases across all platforms, and today's selection of What to watch today on streaming.
