Filmlovers! (2025)
Filmlovers! (2025), directed by Arnaud Desplechin, starring Louis Birman and Dominique Païni.
score
Synopsis
What does it mean, to go to the movies? Why have people been going for over one hundred years? I set out to celebrate movie theaters and their manifold magic. So I walked in the footsteps of young Paul Dédalus, as if in a filmgoer’s coming-of-age story. Memories, fiction, discoveries come together in an irrepressible torrent of pictures.
- Noé BachCinematography
- Arnaud DesplechinDirector, Writer
- Laurence BriaudEditing
- Charles GillibertProducer
La trilogie Paul Dédalus
The franchise in release order. 4 films.
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Comment je me suis disputé… (ma vie sexuelle) 1996
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Um Conto de Natal 2008
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Três Lembranças da Minha Juventude 2015
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Loucos Por Cinema! 2025 · you are here
About the film
Filmlovers! (French: Spectateurs !) is a 2024 docufiction drama film written and directed by Arnaud Desplechin. It stars Milo Machado-Graner, Mathieu Amalric and Françoise Lebrun. It features the character of Paul Dédalus, who appeared in Desplechin's earlier films My Sex Life... or How I Got into an Argument (1996), A Christmas Tale (2008) and My Golden Days (2015). According to Desplechin the film is meant to "celebrate movie theaters and their manifold magic".
It had its world premiere in the Special Screenings section at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on 22 May 2024, where competed for the L'Œil d'or.
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Filmlovers! (French: Spectateurs !) is a 2024 docufiction drama film written and directed by Arnaud Desplechin. It stars Milo Machado-Graner, Mathieu Amalric and Françoise Lebrun. It features the character of Paul Dédalus, who appeared in Desplechin's earlier films My Sex Life... or How I Got into an Argument (1996), A Christmas Tale (2008) and My Golden Days (2015). According to Desplechin the film is meant to "celebrate movie theaters and their manifold magic".
It had its world premiere in the Special Screenings section at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on 22 May 2024, where competed for the L'Œil d'or.
Plot
A film lover celebrates the magic of cinema. Memories, fiction and discoveries intertwine in a rapid flow of cinematic images.
Cast
Production
Filmlovers! is Arnaud Desplechin's fifteenth feature film and is an essay film in homage to cinema. It features the character of Paul Dédalus, who is considered Desplechin's alter-ego and who first appeared in his film My Sex Life... or How I Got into an Argument (1996) and its prequels A Christmas Tale (2008) and My Golden Days (2015). In Filmlovers!, he returns to the character's childhood, and tells the story of how he got introduced to cinema: first as a spectator, then as a cinephile, and finally a filmmaker. The film is a hybrid of documentary and fiction that incorporates archival footage of film clips and stills as well as interviews with those who accompanied Desplechin in his experiences as a spectator. Ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to Italian neorealism, from the silent era to contemporary cinema, the film is a journey through the images that shaped Desplechin's filmmaking. Desplechin wrote the film's screenplay, in collaboration with Fanny Burdino. He also cited Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical film The Fabelmans (2022) as a source of inspiration. The film was produced by Charles Gillibert at CG Cinéma. It was co-produced by Scala Films, Arte France Cinéma and Hill Valley, with the participation of French fashion house Chanel.
Principal photography began on 17 July 2023 in Avion, Pas-de-Calais, where shooting took place for two days at the cinema Le Familia, which was transformed to resemble the 1960s and 1970s. Filming continued that same week in Roubaix and Tourcoing. Desplechin planned to shoot sequences in his former high school, in which a multimedia room bears his name. Filming then moved to Paris.
Release
The film was selected to be screened in the Special Screenings section at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 22 May 2024.
International sales are handled by Les Films du Losange, who also distributed the film in France on 15 January 2025.
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 10 critics' reviews are positive.
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Accolades
List of mentioned films
The film makes reference to several other films, including:
References
External links
Filmlovers! at IMDb
Text from Filmlovers! on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmlovers!
Trivia
- It premiered on January 15, 2025, a Wednesday.
- It runs 1h28 — a typical feature length.
- Its original title is "Spectateurs !".
- It is film 4 of 4 in the La trilogie Paul Dédalus franchise.
- As of September 20, 2026, it is available in Brazil by subscription on Reserva Imovision Amazon Channel.
- This film's quiz has 12 questions — enough to play more than once without repeats.
Production
- StudiosCG Cinéma, ARTE France Cinéma, Scala Films, Hill Valley
- CountriesFrance
- LanguagesFrench, English
- StatusReleased
Where to watch
Cast
- Louis Birman Paul (6 years old)
- Dominique Païni The Painter
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Clément Hervieu-Léger
Barthes reader -
Françoise Lebrun
The Grandmother - Sandra Laugier The Philosopher
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Olga Milshtein
Philosophy Student -
Milo Machado-Graner
Paul (14 years old) - Margaux Mussano La jeune fille ciné-club
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Sam Chemoul
Paul (22 years old) - Marilou Poujardieu Valérie
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Salomé Rose Stein
Sylvia -
Micha Lescot
Professor Censier - Soshana Felman The Philosopher
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Kent Jones
The American Friend -
Salif Cissé
30-year-old -
Mathieu Amalric
Paul Dédalus (The Filmmaker) - Flavie Dachy Delphine, la soeur
- Taos Hammoudi Etudiant en philosophie
- Noé Castanier Etudiant en philosophie
- Diane Weber-Seban L'ouvreuse 'Cris et chuchotements'
Quiz about this movie
Questions from the whole catalogue.
Play nowIf you liked this one
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A Cor da Amizade
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Dançando no Silêncio Drama from the 2020s
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O Último Soldado Drama from the 2020s
6.7
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Once in a Lifetime
7.4
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Fora de temporada Drama from the 2020s
6.3
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Mãos à Obra Drama from the 2020s
6.6
Crew
- Noé Bach Cinematography
- Arnaud Desplechin Director
- Laurence Briaud Editing
- Charles Gillibert Producer
- Romain Blondeau Producer
- Arnaud Desplechin Writer
Questions about this film
What is Filmlovers! about?
Filmlovers!: What does it mean, to go to the movies? Why have people been going for over one hundred years? I set out to celebrate movie theaters and their manifold magic. So I walked in the footsteps of young Paul Dédalus, as if in a filmgoer’s coming-of-age story. Memories, fiction, discoveries come together in an irrepressible …
Who directed Filmlovers!?
Filmlovers! was directed by Arnaud Desplechin in 2025.
Who stars in Filmlovers!?
The cast of Filmlovers! includes Louis Birman, Dominique Païni, Clément Hervieu-Léger, Françoise Lebrun and Sandra Laugier.
How long is Filmlovers!?
Filmlovers! runs for 88 minutes, or 1h28.
Where can I watch Filmlovers!?
Filmlovers! is available on Reserva Imovision Amazon Channel. Availability changes often: the list on this page is the most recent we received.
What is the correct order of the La trilogie Paul Dédalus films?
The La trilogie Paul Dédalus franchise has 4 films in the catalogue. In release order: Comment je me suis disputé… (ma vie sexuelle); Um Conto de Natal; Três Lembranças da Minha Juventude; Loucos Por Cinema!.
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Page updated on 09/15/2026.
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