French musicals have built a unique cinematic language where music and narrative breathe as one—as seen in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, where all dialogue is sung. Above all, Jacques Demy and Michel Legrand’s collaboration proved how film and music can unite into a single artistic vision. Together, they opened a new chapter in French musical history. The 22nd JIMFF presents six landmark works in its French Musical, Evolution and Variations section. The lineup features Jean-Luc Godard’s A Woman Is a Woman, fusing French New Wave with the musical format; Jacques Demy and Michel Legrand’s classics The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort; Pierre Koralnik’s Anna, starring legends like Serge Gainsbourg, Anna Karina, and Marianne Faithfull; Christophe Honoré’s Love Songs, a modern take on the genre; and François Ozon’s beloved mystery comedy 8 Women. This section brings together these distinctly original masterpieces.​