The Best French Films, TV Shows, & Videos For Students
Use le septième art to boost student interest & engagement.
The most horrifying moment of my first year teaching? Not previewing a film for my French 4 class. We were reading *La Reine Margot* by Dumas, and I remembered a movie adaptation with Isabelle Adjani. I thought I’d show a few scenes, especially of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre. What I didn’t recall? The very unclothed nature of Catherine de Medici’s victims.
Cue me diving for the remote, failing, and freaking out as an unexpected scene unfolded. Years later, younger siblings of those students still teased me about it.
Since then, I’ve become much more selective with French films. To help you avoid a similar “Zut alors!” moment, here are some school-appropriate, PG-13 and under options for your classroom. Just be sure to preview them first, and a permission slip never hurts!
Why films and videos are so effective
Though they should be judiciously chosen, films, TV shows, and other videos are incredibly effective tools in your teaching arsenal. Teachers get to choose how they frame a film, deciding whether it’ll be used as a vocabulary builder, a sentence starter, a conversation prompt, a cultural exposé, and much more.
Students have a natural affinity for visual storytelling, which makes film uniquely effective at piquing their interest. Audiovisual mediums can help reach a wide range of learning styles and can help build empathy and emotional intelligence.
Additionally, French language films and videos can be invaluable tools to boost your students’ cultural savvy and increase access to a target language that isn’t very prevalent in the United States. Films, TV shows, and short-form videos can illustrate for students the actual people beyond the mime-and-poodle stereotypes and showcase the diversity of the French-speaking world. And Ratatouille doesn’t cut it, mon ami.
Watching authentic films and videos with subtitles can also:
- increase student auditory processing.
- improve listening comprehension.
- grow student vocabulary.
- introduce different accents and registers of speaking (like slang).
- incorporate culturally responsive instruction.
The best French films to use in class
Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis (2009) (Not Rated. Suggested 12+)
Synopsis: Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis follows Philippe Abrams, a French postal worker who lies to secure a transfer to a coveted position in a seaside town. When his ruse is uncovered, he’s instead transferred to a small town in Nord-Pas-de-Calais, where the cheese is as strong as the accents are thick.
Educational Value: Perfect for any unit on the different regions of France, Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis is particularly good at illustrating the misleading nature of stereotypes.
Streaming Platform: Amazon, Hoopla, Kanopy, and Plex
À la folie…pas du tout (2002) (PG-13)
Synopsis: This psychological thriller will have you on the edge of your seat as Audrey Tautou’s angel-faced protagonist transforms from a lovesick ingenue into quite the unreliable narrator.
Educational Value: It’s mostly a Halloween-season guilty pleasure, but I’ve successfully reviewed the passé composé and imparfait when asking students to summarize the story after viewing.
Streaming Platform: YouTube (w/ ads), Hoopla, Kanopy, Plex
Le Père Noël (2014) (Not rated. Suggested 10+)
Synopsis: The film follows the story of Antoine, a young boy who catches a burglar red-handed on Christmas Eve. Except our burglar is dressed as Santa, and Antoine is over the moon at having met the real Père Noël. Heartwarming hijinks ensue.
Educational Value: This one is excellent for that last week before winter break, with lots of holiday vocabulary and opportunities for student output addressing family traditions, childhood memories, and more.
Streaming Platform: Apple TV+
L’Italien (2010) (Not Rated. Recommended for 7+)
Synopsis: In this very underrated film that tackles themes of identity and belonging, Mourad is a French-Algerian car salesman who decides to pass himself off as Italian to find more acceptance in his career and social life. But when his father makes him promise to observe Ramadan, Mourad’s days pretending to be Dino the Italian may be numbered.
Educational Value: This film is rife with AP Themes and provides plenty of fodder for students to reflect on their identities and communities.
Streaming Platform: Apple TV+, Amazon, Fubo
Entre les murs (2008) (PG-13)
Synopsis: An excellent film recounting a year in the French equivalent of a Title 1 middle school, Entre les murs is based on the lead actor’s memoir of his time as a teacher. The film quietly (but effectively) explores empathy in education, cultural hegemony, and stereotyping.
Educational Value: This is a great film to use in any unit about school, immigration, and identity.
Streaming Platform: Apple TV+, Amazon
Indochine (1992) (PG-13)
Synopsis: Winner of the 1992 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, Indochine tells the story of Eliane (Catherine Deneuve), a second-generation colonist and plantation owner outside of then-Saigon. Wealthy and powerful, Eliane’s relationship with her adopted Vietnamese daughter is increasingly strained as political tensions flare and an independence movement begins to take hold in the region.
Educational Value: Indochine is an excellent illustration of history and culture for French 4, any pre- or post-AP class, or — if time allows — AP itself. Older students may pick up on the central mother-daughter relationship as a metaphor for France’s ties to its (former) colonies.
Streaming Platform: Apple TV+, Amazon, Fubo
The best French TV shows to use in class
Parts Unknown (Senegal and Lyon episodes)
Synopsis: The late Anthony Bourdain blended culinary tradition, culture, and history into each episode of his CNN travel show Parts Unknown, making it an excellent show for students. The Senegal and Lyon episodes include interviews with Youssou N’Dour (Senegal) and Paul Bocuse (Lyon) as well as Bourdain’s attempts at speaking his father’s native tongue.
Educational Value: Though they’re in English, these are excellent episodes to pair with cultural readings. When I taught out of T’es Branché?, I always used the Senegal episode for Lesson 3C in Level 2 and the Lyon episode for Lesson 2B in Level 3.
Streaming Platform: Apple TV+, Prime Video, Hulu, Sling TV, Max, discovery+
Nailed It! France
Synopsis: France’s worst bakers compete on Nailed It! to see who can come the closest to recreating an elaborate dessert. When it’s time to unveil their creations, each contestant must proudly proclaim that they “nailed it!” (“C’est du gateau!” en français) while their desserts crumble and melt before viewers’ eyes.
Educational Value: This show’s pure silliness does wonders for lowering the affective filter, and students may pick up on some (family-friendly) slang.
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Tales of Africa
Synopsis: Six 16-minute episodes of Tales of Africa depict animated retellings of African stories from different regions of the continent.
Educational Value: The language in each is easy to understand and will help boost listening comprehension.
Streaming Platform: Netflix
House Hunters International
Synopsis: Students love to hate-watch as beer-budget Americans set their sights on champagne-taste lodgings in Paris and beyond.
Educational Value: House Hunters International can provide a great introduction to housing in other countries, and episodes are quite short.
Streaming Platform: Amazon, HGTV Go, Apple, YouTube, Hulu
The best short-form French videos to use in class
French Connections, France 24
Synopsis: These wonderful short-form videos from France 24’s English channel introduce viewers to various aspects of French culture. Recent episodes have covered the TGV, La Poste, and France’s love of swimming pools.
Educational Value: These videos are a great supplement for culture readings and lessons. Excellent to use as a conversation starter, writing prompt, or to introduce the topic of an IPA.
Streaming Platform: YouTube
TikTok
Synopsis: Meet your students where they are, digitally. Suggest that they follow some of these TikTok creators suggested by the American Association of Teachers of French.
Educational Value: TikTok provides language exposure outside of class.
Streaming Platform: TikTok
My Language Town™ videos
Synopsis: Each unit of T’es Branché?’s third edition kicks off with student-focused objectives and engaging cultural videos. These videos, seamlessly integrated into the eBook, showcase native speakers sharing personal anecdotes and posing thought-provoking questions related to the unit’s theme.
Educational Value: These videos provide comprehensible input tailored to each unit’s theme.
Manie Musicale
Synopsis: Every March marks the start of Manie Musicale, a March Madness-inspired bracket of the best (school-appropriate!) French music videos. Students get to fill out their brackets beforehand and vote in the international contest every few days. Sometimes artists get involved, too, and record videos thanking their new student fandoms.
Educational Value: Manie Musicale is primarily an opportunity to engage with Francophone culture. Many songs have simple lyrics that students find easy to memorize, making it a great way to get kids engaged with the language outside of class. Teachers interested in using Manie in their classrooms should visit the site and register in late January/early February.
This content originally appeared on Carnegie Learning’s blog.
