Here’s what not to miss at this year’s Festival Lumière 2024

It’s soon that time of the year again, when cinephiles gather to the birthplace of cinema and immerse themselves in the seventh art. 

Since its creation in 2009, Lyon’s Lumière Festival has become an unmissable event for film lovers, as it offers an exceptional programme which combines restored classics, captivating retrospectives and tributes to cinema icons. 

Tickets are already available for this year’s edition, which kicks off on 12 October, and as per its custom, the festival has made it a blissful nightmare when it comes to singling out a select few recommendations from its vibrant line-up.  

To say we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to screenings and special events is the death of understatement.

Over the course of eight days across several venues, including the famed Institut Lumière, nearly 400 screenings will take place, striking the perfect balance between eagerly-awaited 2024 avant-premieres and a rich selection of heritage films – considering the festival has built up quite the reputation as the place to be if you want to catch some restored classics on the big screen in the best possible parameters. 

Daunting though the task may be, Euronews Culture have got you covered with some tips…  

Huppert on top

This year, celebrated French actress Isabelle Huppert is the recipient of the prestigious Lumière Prize, following in the footsteps of previous illustrious winners such as Wim Wenders, Tim Burton, Jane Campion, Jane Fonda, Wong Kar-wai and Martin Scorsese.  

One of the highlights of this 16th edition will undoubtedly be the presentation of the Prix Lumière on 18 October.  

The festival announced that the actress is “one of the most famous and celebrated French actresses in the world and highlighted that her career “embraces an immense part of the history of contemporary cinema”.

No truer word has been spoken, as Huppert, 71, tallies more than 150 roles, countless awards, and has worked with the likes of Claude Chabrol, Jean-Luc Godard, Claire Denis and Michael Haneke. She becomes the third actress to receive the award after Catherine Deneuve in 2016 and Jane Fonda in 2018, and only the fourth woman to be granted the honour, after Jane Campion in 2021. 

Huppert devotees will not only get the chance to attend her masterclass on 18 October at the stunning Théâtre des Célestins but the opportunity to dive into her world with screenings of some of her greatest big screen performances. We recommend you book tickets to see Coup de Torchon (Clean Slate) by Betrand Tavernier, Josiane Balasko’s comedy Sac de noeuds (All Mixed Up), La Pianiste (The Piano Teacher) by Michael Haneke, her Oscar-nominated turn in Paul Verhoeven’s Elle, and the actress’ first time with Hong Sang-soo in In Another Country.  

Isabelle isn’t coming alone…

The festival has invited a wealth of prestigious guests, honouring their careers with tributes, presentations of their films, public meetings, previews and masterclasses. 

Celebs this year include filmmakers Xavier Dolan (Mommy, It’s Only The End Of The World), Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso, Ennio), Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall), and titan Alejandro Jodorowsky.  

Having worked with the mime Marceau and Salvador Dalí, the multi-disciplinary Chilean-French artist has excelled in many disciplines, including painting, theater and psychomagic – his very own method of healing. And there’s of course the 95-year-old’s contribution to the seventh art, with classics like the acid western El Topo (1970), the psychedelic The Holy Mountain (1973) and the surrealist horror film Santa Sangre (1989). All three films will be screening during this year’s festival for one night only at the Institut Lumière, and audiences will get the chance to hear Jodorowsky speak during his masterclass (19 October), during which he’ll discuss his upcoming book “Voyage Essentiel”. 

Joining this already impressive line-up will be iconic French singer / actress Vanessa Paradis (La Fille sur le pont, L’Arnacoeur), and the great Benicio del Toro.  

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From The Usual Suspects to 21 Grams, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas to Che Parts 1 & 2, the actor will be in Lyon to present some of his films and, like the aforementioned guests, will get his very own masterclass (on 14 October) to discuss cinema and his career. Don’t miss out on catching his collaboration with Steven Soderbergh on both Che films on the big screen once more. We’d also advise that a couple of tickets to Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, as well as Dennis Villeneuve’s panic attack inducing Sicario, are a must. 

The Fred Zinnemann retrospective

This year’s festival will also pay tribute to Fred Zinnemann, a titan of American cinema whose influence stretches from the early days of silent films to the advent of the New Hollywood.

Winner of six Oscars, Zinnemann shaped the careers of legends like Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brando and Meryl Streep. His extensive filmography, which includes such masterpieces as The Search (1948), High Noon (1952), A Man for All Seasons (1966) and The Day of the Jackal (1973), will be revisited through screenings of masterfully restored prints. 

Documentaries on cinema

Like last year, Lumière is screening a selection of never-before-seen documentaries to better deep dive into the history of cinema and its key players.

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Whatever you do, don’t miss out on these 2024 titles: Becoming Hitchcock, The Legacy of Blackmail by Laurent Bouzereau; Chaplin, Spirit of The Tramp by Carmen Chaplin; Jacques Villeret, drôlement tragique by Christophe Duchiron, which chronicles the life of the late French comedian; and our favourite, Her Name Was Moviola by Howard Berry, a cinematic love letter to the titular film editing machine which enabled creatives to create a language and rhythm within a film. 

Restored gems

For the past 15 years, the Lumière Festival has renewed its commitment and support for the cinema of yesterday and today, by paying tribute to its history and celebrating its diversity.  

The Lumière Classics label was created to showcase the year’s finest restorations of films from the 20th century and support their (re)discovery. 

Labeled films are presented exclusively at the festival in the “New Restorations” section, which highlights the extent of the work accomplished by archives, cinematheques, rights holders, studios and foundations. 

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This year, new restorations that have peaked our interest include Hitchcock’s 1929 film Blackmail; Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s The Small Back Room (1949); Robert Bresson’s 1971 film Quatre nuits d’un rêveur (Four Nights of a Dreamer); Sam Peckinpah’s Convoy; and Clive Barker’s cult 1987 horror film Hellraiser. Speaking of horror… 

The horror… The horror…

The Lumière Festival celebrates the horror genre this year with its yearly movie marathon evening at the Halle Tony Garnier. In 2024, the programme showcases four films that purport to represent benchmark moments in horror. The films presented are Hereditary by Ari Aster, Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, William Friedkin’s masterwork The Exoricist and Alexandre Aja’s The Hills Have Eyes. Aja will be on hand to host the evening on 19 October, following his masterclass on the same day.  

Elsewhere, we recommend you head to the cine-concert screening of the 1932 gothic classic Vampyr by Danish filmmaker Carl T. Dreyer on 17 October at the Lyon Auditorium. This recently restored version, presented for the first time in France, will be accompanied by the Orchestre National de Lyon, who will play Wolfgang Zeller’s score. Conducted by Timothy Brock, this live soundtrack will doubtlessly transport the audience on a unique sensory voyage within an ideal setting. What better way to enjoy this masterpiece, which was named by Andrei Tarkovsky as one of the essential works of cinema? 

Lastly, proving that Lumière have got all their bases covered this year when it comes to satisfying dreadheads and gorehounds, Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance (which won Best Screenplay at this year’s Cannes Film Festival) will be screening ahead of its French theatre release. Starring Demi Moore, this uniquely demented fairytale which refrequently out-Cronenbergs Cronenberg in the body horror department is one of our favourite films of 2024. It’s a gory parable about the fetishisation of youth and aging in the Hollywood system – a squirm-inducing update of Sunset Boulevard with nods to Brian Yuzna’s cult nightmare Society and significantly more flesh sacks being yanked out of backs and bellybuttons. It’s not for the squeamish, but it’s one of the unmissable avant-premieres at this year’s festival. Check out our full review.

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Cult movies

Whether they’re action thrillers, comedies or surrealist glories, the festival treats its audiences each year to a selection of screenings of cult classics. You may have seen them before, but only a fool would waste the opportunity to catch them on the big screen once more, to better appreciate these movies the way they were meant to be seen.

This year, festivalgoers will be treated to several treats, including Malcolm X by Spike Lee, David Fincher’s Se7en, Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive and David Lynch’s masterpiece Mulholland Drive – which would make for a superb double-bill with The Substance, come to think of it. 

So, get thee to Lyon, make your picks, and good luck securing some of these hot tickets. If you don’t manage to nab your preferred screening, fear not – considering the diverse program and the treat that is the 6th “Salon du DVD”, the DVD market at the festival village, you won’t find it hard to find a screening, event or goodie that’ll make your festival. 

This year’s 16th edition kicks off with the opening night at Halle Tony Garnier on 12 October with an homage to Greek-French director Costa-Gavras and the screening of 1946 French film Un Revenant by Christian-Jaque, which – rather appropriately – was shot in Lyon.  

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The Festival Lumière takes place in Lyon from 12 – 20 October. Check out the full programme here.