La Gradivia
2026, 145 min.

Pre-premiere screening

Awards and selections: Cannes Film Festival 2026 – Grand Prix Ami Paris, Critics’ Week; TAURON New Horizons 2026 – Audience Award, International New Horizons Competition
Director: Marine Atlan
Cast: Colas Quignard, Suzanne Gerin, Matita Capellier, Antonia Bursei
Country: France, Italy

[IN-PERSON SCREENING]

A school trip to Pompeii becomes a journey into youth, desire and the passage of time.

Winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes’ Critics’ Week and the Audience Award at New Horizons, Marine Atlan’s “Gradiva” is a sensual portrait of youth on the threshold of adulthood. A group of French high school students travels to Naples and Pompeii, where, in the shadow of Vesuvius, first loves, fascinations and conflicts begin to emerge. Toni, James and Suzanne confront desire, loneliness and uncertainty about the future. Inspired by Wilhelm Jensen’s novella, the film combines a coming-of-age story with a reflection on memory and the passage of time.

In the media:

«A “Superbad” painted with the light brushstrokes of Alice Rohrwacher.»
— Maciej Roch Satora, Filmweb, read the full review

«Marine Atlan balances the bubbling energy of youth and the equally vibrant city of Naples with the seriousness of the themes she explores – from love and the need for closeness to class differences and the search for one’s own identity. She approaches them with immense empathy, never patronising her young characters, and in doing so goes far beyond the category of “coming of age”. A deeply moving, hypnotic experience.»
— Jakub Nowociński, Filmawka, Filmweb capsule review

«My favourite kind of French talky film, in which the story casually flows from one character to another; a great young cast, a wonderful teacher character, and a deceptive beauty to the images (but have the walls of Naples really been cleaned of the communist slogans of Napoli ultras lately??).»
— Klara Cykorz, Chaszcze filmowe – podcast, Filmweb capsule review

Marine Atlan

French director and cinematographer. She graduated from the cinematography department of La Fémis film school in Paris. As a cinematographer, she has worked on feature films, documentaries and animations. She directed, among others, the short films “Les amours vertes” (2016) and “Daniel fait face” (2018), both screened at the Premiers Plans Film Festival in Angers. “Gradiva” is her feature directorial debut.

Tags: coming of age, youth, desire, adolescence, passage of time