La Venue de l’avenir is the latest feature film from Cédric Klapisch, co-written with Santiago Amigorena. This 2-hour and 6-minute comedy-drama, featuring an extensive cast spanning multiple generations, is scheduled to be shown out of competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, marking a first for the director in the official selection. The film will hit French theaters on May 22, 2025. It stars notably Suzanne Lindon, Abraham Wapler, Vincent Macaigne, Julia Piaton, Sara Giraudeau, Cécile de France, Zinedine Soualem, Paul Kircher, and Vassili Schneider.
Today, in 2025, about thirty members of the same family learn that they will inherit a house that has been abandoned for decades. Four of them – Seb, Abdel, Céline, and Guy – are tasked with taking stock of the property. Inside this timeless dwelling, they uncover surprising archives: old photographs, journals, paintings, and forgotten objects.
These remnants of the past lead them to follow in the footsteps of Adèle, a young woman who left Normandy at age 20 to move to Paris in 1895. The story then jumps between two eras, capturing the late 19th century — a time of the industrial revolution, the birth of photography, and the rise of Impressionism — and the year 2025. This clash of times prompts the characters to reflect on their family history, their ideals, and their relationship with progress.
The project taps into director Cédric Klapisch's longstanding fascination with Paris before 1900. From his very first short film, What Drives Me, he was already exploring this period. With The Arrival of the Future, he finally fulfills a longtime dream: creating a period costume film that pays homage to a lost Paris, inspired by photographers such as Eugène Atget, Charles Marville, and Nadar, whose images have shaped the visual imagination of the film.
The screenplay writing process began with extensive research conducted alongside Santiago Amigorena. Together, they explored Normandy and visited numerous museums—including Orsay, Marmottan, Le Havre, and Honfleur—while drawing inspiration from seminal texts like Scenes from the Bohemian Life by Henri Murger. This deep historical immersion informs the story, which weaves themes of family heritage and artistic legacy, questioning how painting and photography preserve the memories of people and places.
The film also explores a reflection on technological progress. The back-and-forth between 1895 and 2025 offers a perspective on material advancements and their repercussions, inviting viewers to question modernity through the critical eyes of some characters. Klapisch continues to develop a theme present in his recent works: transmission, now expanded to include both historical and aesthetic dimensions.
Recreating 1895 Paris proved to be a significant logistical challenge. Carriages, horses, omnibuses, and costumed extras all required meticulous planning, far from the more spontaneous methods typically employed by filmmakers. Visually, director of photography Alexis Kavyrchine crafted an aesthetic inspired by the autochromes and Impressionism, with framing that evokes Monet or Degas. Period scenes were shot using anamorphic lenses, while modern-day sequences feature sharper images, captured with spherical lenses.
The music, composed by Rob, serves as another bridge between the eras. For the first time, Cédric Klapisch works with this composer, who delivers an instrumental score that recalls both Debussy and Satie, while incorporating a modern sensibility. This soundtrack enhances the film’s introspective nature without overly emphasizing the emotional moments.
Premiered out of competition at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, The Venue of the Future symbolizes a major milestone in Cédric Klapisch’s career, as highlighted by Thierry Frémaux during the official selection press conference at the Festival de Cannes.
The Coming of the Future
Film | 2025
Release in theaters: May 22, 2025
Premieres on Canal+ on February 3, 2026
Dramatic comedy | Runtime: 2h06
Directed by Cédric Klapisch | Starring Suzanne Lindon, Abraham Wapler, Vincent Macaigne
Country: France
Through this intimate and historic portrait, The Arrival of the Future offers a contemplative exploration of time, memory, and lineage. It also revisits the ensemble cinema style beloved by Cédric Klapisch. The film balances contemporary observation with a sense of heritage, avoiding overt nostalgia, and features a meticulous direction that emphasizes the connections across different eras.
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