L’inconnu de la Grande Arche, the new film by Stéphane Demoustier, will be screened in the Un Certain Regard selection at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival before its release in French theaters on November 5, 2025. The filmmaker, who won awards for Borgo and La Fille au Bracelet, returns with a historical drama about the genesis of an architectural project emblematic of the Mitterrand presidency.
In 1983, François Mitterrand launched an international competition to erect a monument symbolizing French modernity: the Grande Arche de la Défense. Against all odds, Otto von Spreckelsen, a professor of architecture in Copenhagen, won the competition. Overnight, this unknown figure in France found himself at the helm of a mammoth construction project. But caught between idealism and realpolitik, the architect came up against the complexity of a system where art, politics, and ego were dangerously intertwined.
The film stars Claes Bang as Otto von Spreckelsen, alongside Sidse Babett Knudsen, Michel Fau, Swann Arlaud, and Xavier Dolan. Through a meticulous reconstruction of the Grande Arche construction site, Stéphane Demoustier explores the tension between artistic vision and political issues in a fresco that is both architectural and human.
Inspired by real events, The Unknown Man of the Grande Arche is in line with Demoustier's socially conscious auteur cinema, combining documentary precision with an emotional approach. The film is aimed at fans of political and historical dramas that question the place of creativity in the workings of power.
The Unknown Man of the Grande Arche
Film | 2025
In theaters November 5, 2025
Drama | Running time: 1 hour 46 minutes
By Stéphane Demoustier | Starring Claes Bang, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Xavier Dolan, Swann Arlaud, Michel Fau
Nationality: France, Denmark
The Unknown Man of the Grande Arche traces the genesis of a French architectural symbol through the portrait of a foreign designer confronted with power games and disillusionment.
To extend your theater experience, check out November's new releases, films currently showing, and our selection of historical films of the year.
This page may contain AI-assisted elements, more information here.
