From NYC to Paris: CFF's Recap @ the Jeu de Paume
Building cultural bridges through climate cinema between New York and Paris
From April 24–26, during Earth Week 2026, CFF brought NYC climate x culture to Paris with a special program at Jeu de Paume, one of the city’s most iconic contemporary art institutions. At a moment when transatlantic collaboration feels more urgent than ever, the series asked what US-European climate collaboration could look like through the lens of film, art, and culture. The climate crisis is not only a political or scientific challenge, but also a cultural one, and we’re excited to build new connections with aligned institutions that make the conversation more visible, public, and alive.
The weekend brought together several standout films from CFF’s first two festivals alongside innovative new work, all in dialogue with Global Warning, the major exhibition by late photographer Martin Parr now on view at Jeu de Paume.
Across six programs, we screened 18 films and welcomed five CFF filmmakers for Q&As and conversations with audiences in Paris. Several screenings marked early previews and premieres in France, reflecting the importance of building cultural bridges that connect urgent, imaginative climate stories with the institutions and audiences that can help champion them all over the world.
Special thanks to Ecoprod for their critical work advancing sustainable film production in France and beyond, and for supporting the program as an ecosystem partner by helping connect us with like-minded filmmakers, artists, and organizations across France.
On Friday night, we welcomed back the opening film from our 2024 festival, Searching for Amani (2024, dir. Nicole Gormley, Debra Aroko), the CFF and Tribeca award-winning documentary that captures the deeply human impacts of climate change in Kenya. Co-director Nicole Gormley joined us for a post-screening conversation moderated by Agathe Duliscouet, Project Manager at ChangeNOW.
Following the screening, we hosted a reception featuring sustainable wines from Chêne Bleu, bringing together filmmakers, artists, curators, and people working across climate, culture, and cinema in Paris. Paul Picaud shared opening remarks; we’re especially grateful to Paul and the Chêne Bleu team for their generous partnership and support in helping make the evening possible. Check out their recent cameo in The Devil Wears Prada 2!
Our Saturday program began with Soft Rains, Hard Truths, a block of Narrative Shorts from CFF 2025, followed by a conversation with leaders in the French climate and film industry: Alissa Aubenque (Ecoprod, moderator), Dogan Kocer (Climate Spring), and Oriane Berthou (Nouvelle Séquence).
Following the shorts block, we then screened To Hold a Mountain (2026, dir. Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazić), which just had an award-winning run at Sundance, as well as screenings at festivals like Cinéma du Réel, earlier this year. We closed out the day with a French avant-première screening of Ghost Elephants (2025, dir. Werner Herzog), followed by a Q&A moderated by Charlotte Menut Pergola, with Juan-Carlos Salazar (Jeu de Paume).
Day 3 of the program kicked off with Tectonics, a selection of Experimental Shorts from CFF 2025, followed by a Q&A with filmmakers Maxfield Biggs, Tehya Jennett, Stéphanie Lagarde, and Mélia Roger, moderated by CFF’s Executive Director Alec Turnbull. And we ended the weekend with a bang, concluding with the avant-première of the award-winning, gripping, must-see feature documentary Yanuni (2025, dir. Richard Ladkani).
As with all CFF events, this ambitious program would not have been possible without the generosity of our sponsors and supporters. Huge thanks to Jeu de Paume for their partnership and for so warmly hosting us, and a very heartfelt thank you to the incredible team there — Juan-Carlos Salazar, Lilie Grodziski, Angelin Guillot, Constance Fournage, Malika Zengli, and Tessie Ackermann, among others — for their care, collaboration, and support throughout. Huge thanks to The Carmack Collective and Anew for sustaining support, Chêne Bleu for sustainable wine, Ecoprod for ecosystem support, and Studio Rodrigo for their continued innovative design.
We’ll see you back in NYC! Stay tuned for announcements about more upcoming programs soon. And don’t forget: our open call deadline for 2026 film submissions is tomorrow, Friday, May 12!