France de Meurs (Léa Seydoux) is an egocentric, fame-obsessed TV news anchor, whose stylised reporting from conflict zones and slick studio discussions have made her enormously popular. Her frenetic, glamorous life is derailed after a traffic accident where she injures a North African man with learning difficulties. In the aftermath, France attempts to step away from the limelight, but her fame, and a mysterious new romance, keep her in the public eye. The cinema of Bruno Dumont resists categorisation, moving between austere realism, offbeat musicals, and broad farce; France is another unpredictable turn, a satire of the media which flirts with the mainstream whilst retaining his uncompromising vision. DOM

Director’s note: This brilliant portrait digs deep beneath the layers of the news media, blurring lines between the ‘real world’ and our new digitised world.

Screening as part of the IFI French Film Festival, November 17 – 28.