For three days, France and Botswana will share the same screen through film as Alliance Française de Gaborone brings audiences together for the France x Botswana Film Days 2026.
The cultural and language centre, which promotes the French language and Francophone cultures in Botswana, will host the film festival from Wednesday 23 to Friday 25 September. The festival will celebrate artistic work from both countries while offering audiences an opportunity to learn, be entertained and experience different cultural perspectives.
The festival’s headliner is Louise Courvoisier’s Vingt Dieux (Holy Cow), which tells the story of 18-year-old Totone as he suddenly finds himself responsible for his younger sister and their farm following the tragic death of their father.
The dramatic comedy won the César Award 2025 for Best First Feature and Best Female Newcomer awards, following the Youth Prize at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
The film is likely to resonate with local audiences, particularly as Botswana continues to grapple with foot and mouth disease and its impact on the farming community.
Young audiences will also get their own evening of entertainment during the ‘Family Night’.
Michel Ocelot’s animated feature Le Pharaon, le Sauvage et la Princesse (The Black Pharaoh, the Savages and the Princess) takes viewers across different eras and worlds — from an ancient Egyptian epic to a medieval legend from the Auvergne and an 18th-century fantasy.
Friday will be dedicated to local filmmakers, with five short films being screened: Nikita Mokgware and Bone Choene’s Keep Him Safe, Leatile Malets Monthe’s Chronicles of a Dance, Agnes Faith Ncube’s Ngwao Boswa, Neo Kebiditswe’s Fishing for Ngwana, and Tabona Linus Serumola’s The Last Ride.
Audiences will also have an opportunity to meet and engage with the filmmakers after the screenings.
Whether one is a cinephile, Francophile or simply a lover of cultural exchange, AFG is offering a rare opportunity to bring these interests together.
With Botswana-France diplomatic relations now entering their sixth decade, initiatives such as the France x Botswana Film Days help keep cultural exchange at the centre of the relationship.
They also give local filmmakers an opportunity to have their work seen by audiences beyond Botswana’s borders, making the festival more than just a celebration of film. It is also a space for cultural exchange and a window into the creative work being produced in both countries.
