“Spectacular.”
VOICI

June 1940. As France collapses and signs an armistice, an almost unknown general refuses to surrender. Escaping to London, Charles de Gaulle sets himself an impossible task: convince the world that France’s fight is far from over. With little support and no army of his own, he struggles to rally allies and build a resistance. Gradually, soldiers, students and ordinary people across Britain, France and Africa join his cause, turning a lonely act of defiance into a movement.

De Gaulle I: Tilting Iron (La Bataille de Gaulle I : L’Âge de fer) is an ambitious historical epic blending wartime action, political intrigue and the human struggles behind a national legend. Directed by Antonin Baudry, filmmaker behind The Wolf’s Call, it stars Simon Abkarian as de Gaulle and Simon Russell Beale as Winston Churchill, alongside Benoît Magimel and Niels Schneider. Presented Out of Competition at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, this first chapter of a two-part saga brings the beginnings of Free France to life through fragile alliances, fierce determination and the refusal to accept defeat.

159 mins.