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La Gradiva is a 2026 coming-of-age drama film co-written and directed by Marine Atlan in her feature film directorial debut. It stars Antonia Buresi, as well as newcomers Colas Quignard, Suzanne Gerin, and Mitia Capellier-Audat.

The film had its world premiere in the Critics’ Week section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival on 16 May 2026, where it won the section’s Grand Prize and was nominated for the Caméra d’Or and Queer Palm. It will be theatrically released in France by Tandem on 4 November 2026.

A French high school class travels to Pompeii for a school trip.

La Gradiva marks director Marine Atlan‘s debut feature film, which she co-wrote with Anne Brouillet. Atlan was inspired to create the film after reading Wilhelm Jensen‘s 1903 novel, Gradiva, to which the film’s title refers.^[1] She stated, “I wanted to create a kind of clash between the group of youngsters, their present reality, and the eternal nature of the [Pompeiian] ruins.”^[2] The majority of the cast comprises newcomers, however, Atlan personally approached actress Antonia Buresi to play the role of Madame Mercier.^[3][4]

Principal photography began in April 2025.^[5] The film was shot on location in Naples, specifically at the National Archaeological Museum; Torre del Greco; and Pompeii.^[6][7][8] Later that year, the students’ train journey was shot in Clermont-Ferrand over five days in October 2025. The two trains used in filming were provided by Train à Vapeur d’Auvergne [fr].^[9] The first cut of the film was four hours long, but was later trimmed to 145 minutes.^[1]

The film had its world premiere in the Critics’ Week section of the 79th Cannes Film Festival on 16 May 2026.^[10] Following its Cannes premiere, the North American distribution rights were acquired by 1-2 Special.^[11][12] It will be theatrically released in France by Tandem on 4 November 2026.^[7][13]

In his five-star review, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called the film “stunning” and “superbly acted and directed”.^[14] Cédric Succivalli of the International Cinephile Society also gave the film a five-star rating, finding that it “stay[s] lodged in the body like ash, like the imprint of a life cut short at the precise moment it was becoming itself”.^[15] Amber Wilkinson of Screen Daily called the film “an ambitious, layered work”, specifically noting the film’s realistic teenage dialogue and “avoidance of coming-of-age cliches”.^[16] Giving the film an A rating for IndieWire, Marya E. Gates called it a “wholly transporting story of youth”. She gave special praise to cinematography as well as the actors’ performances, specifically that of Colas Quignard.^[17] Fabien Lemercier of Cineuropa commended La Gradiva as a “multi-faceted and particularly accomplished first feature film”.^[18]

• La Gradiva at IMDb