A History of French Cinema: the exhibition at the Museum of the History of Immigration

The National Museum of the History of Immigration explores the influence of Maghrebi immigration on French cinema. The exhibition A History of French Cinema is on view from October 30, 2026 to March 31, 2027.

Jamel Debbouze, Mehdi Charef, Hafsia Herzi, Ali Ghanem, Roschdy Zem, Lina Soualem... Since the 1960s, Maghrebi immigration has enriched French cinema, offering fresh perspectives, new stories, and new faces to the world of cinema. The National Museum of the History of Immigration investigates the influence and significance of Maghrebi directors, filmmakers, actresses and actors in French cinema.

The exhibition Une histoire du cinéma français, héritages maghrébins unfolds from October 30, 2026 to March 31, 2027 at the Musée de l'Histoire de l'Immigration. This journey is divided into three broad periods: the 1960s to the 1980s, 1980 to 2000, and the 2000s to 2020. The museum aims not to dissect the immigrant figure in cinema, but to highlight the immigrants and children of immigrants who helped create this cinema, the films that have shifted our gaze on the other.

Through cinema, these creators have highlighted questions of identity, of memory, and of shared culture... Art enables a dialogue between generations and between peoples, the transmission of another perspective, of traditions that can evolve and adapt... It is thanks to films that audiences have been able to discover and see colonization, the involvement of African soldiers in World War II, and life as an immigrant in France in a new light... These narratives help broaden our horizons and keep personal stories alive.

Across the decades, Maghrebi cinema has shifted its focus and its impact on the 7e art and French society. At first, the museum tour centers on exile, the lives of immigrant workers, the birth of cinema in newly independent countries, and the inequalities they face. From the 1980s onward, the children of Maghrebi immigrants recount their own experiences, living between two cultures. It’s also the era that sees TV comedy stars like Jamel Debbouze and Smaïn rise to prominence. After 2000, themes continue to evolve. Filmmakers and actors explore transmission, memory, and the intimate. Women gain visibility and voice in this world of cinema, offering fresh creations and new narratives.

Six decades of cinema, hundreds of artists and works in short and feature formats... The Museum of the History of Immigration aims to shine a light on a significant slice of this French Seventh Art. To do this, the museum brings together film posters, clips, on-set photographs, storyboards, press archives and iconic cinema objects. The route features both well-known, essential films and more obscure or rarely screened works.

This exhibition should appeal just as much to cinema lovers as to amateurs d'Histoire moderne. See you this autumn to discover it at the Museum of the History of Immigration.