La Gradiva

Nordic Premiere 

Tuesday 8.9. at 5:30 PM, Teltta 
Wednesday 9.9. at 5:30 PM, Alō 

Fiction, 2026, France, Italy

Director and screenwriter: Marine Adlan
Duration: 2 h 25 min
Themes: Naples, school trip, queer
Language: French, Italian, English subtitles
Age rating: suitable for all ages

This film about French high school students' school trip to Naples and the ruins of Pompeii became a highlight of the Cannes Film Festival in the spring. The vibrant travel and coming-of-age story, starring young actors, and Marine Atlan's feature debut, deservedly won the Critics' Week Grand Prize at Cannes.

Five-star reviews came from critics like Peter Bradshaw, chief critic for The Guardian, who praised the film as "astonishing" and lauded the brilliant acting and direction. The young characters in La Gradiva glow with astonishing naturalness and intensity. Charismatic queer teenager Toni (Colas Quignard) chases an illusion of his lineage, while the outsider Suzanne (Suzanne Gerin) experiences an awakening akin to the eruption of Vesuvius. The passionate emotions of the youths, from jealousy to sexual tensions, surface amidst the landscapes of Southern Italy and antiquity.

This noteworthy work of the year will be experienced in Karhupuisto before its general release. In its home country, France, the film will arrive in cinemas in November.

The film is part of the France Day program.

Other credits:

Starring: Colas Quignard, Mitia Capellier-Audat, Antonia Buresi, Suzanne Gerin
Co-screenwriter: Anne Brouillet
Cinematography: Pierre Mazoyer, Marine Atlan
Editing: Guillaume Lillo
Sound Design: Paul Guilloteau
Production Design: Anna Le Mouël
Costume Design: Francisco Terra
Music Supervision: Hippocampus
Producer: Inès Daïen Dasi
Production Company: Les Films du Poisson