Du fioul dans les artères 
2026, 91 min.

pre-premiere screening

Awards and selections: Cannes Film Festival 2026 – Critics’ Week, Queer Palm
Director: Pierre Le Gall
Cast: Alexis Manenti, Julian Świeżewski
Country: France, Poland

[IN-PERSON SCREENING]

Can love survive when every road leads somewhere else?

Étienne’s life unfolds between warehouses, border crossings and motorway parking lots. Everything changes when he meets Bartosz, a Polish truck driver who, despite the harshness of everyday life, can still see the possibility of happiness. But the feelings growing between the two men must confront the relentless logic of work and a life constantly on the move. “Flesh and Fuel” is a tender, melancholic story about love, loneliness and the search for intimacy in a world that constantly pushes people apart.

In the media:

«”Flesh and Fuel” confirms that Le Gall is a director worth watching. His sensibility is empathetic without being sentimental; political, but never heavy-handed. He portrays queer characters as multidimensional people rather than symbols of suffering. The film leaves a feeling of hope – not because the world is kind, but because it believes that even in such a world, there is still room to find and create tenderness.»
— Edin Čusto, Flicker Magazine, read the full review

«It starts out as social realism, but quickly turns into an (erotic) fantasy about love in the freight industry and intimacy under late capitalism. The melodramatic formula works beautifully in telling a story about the loneliness of a life dominated by overwork.»
— Michał Piepiórka, capsule review, Filmweb

«(…) I cannot help but praise Alexis Manenti’s captivating performance as Étienne, who perfectly portrays a man unexpectedly struck by Cupid’s arrow and, probably, experiencing the first true love of his life.»
— Basia Gruba, SKVOT MAG, read the full review

Pierre Le Gall

French screenwriter and director. Growing up in the countryside, he dreamed of a life on the road before going on to work in television, theatre and film. He co-wrote the animated short “Scars We Love” (2024), which screened at Cannes and was nominated for a César. “Flesh and Fuel” is his feature debut, exploring themes close to him: time, the road and love.

Tags: love, truck drivers, road, queer