Lyon prepares nine days of cinema history for the Lumière Festival
The October 10 to 18 programme spreads restored films, live scores and major screenings across the metropolitan area.
Lyon’s Lumière Festival opens on 10 October for nine days devoted to classic cinema, restored films and encounters around film history. The 18th edition runs until 18 October across venues in Lyon and neighbouring towns, with the Halle Tony Garnier hosting both the opening and closing events.
The festival’s large sessions show how broadly it defines heritage cinema. A Chaplin family film-concert is scheduled for 11 October, a live-score presentation of Metropolis for 15 October and a second film-concert on 17 October. The closing screening follows at the Halle Tony Garnier on Sunday afternoon.
A programme larger than its prize ceremony
Joel and Ethan Coen receive the 2026 Lumière Award on 16 October. Their presence is a major part of the programme, but the festival is not limited to a tribute. The city describes an event built around retrospectives, restored works, screenings introduced by filmmakers and critics, exhibitions and masterclasses.
Its geography is part of the experience. Lyon’s tourist office says the festival typically reaches 46 locations in 21 towns and offers around 170 screenings. That scale makes the programme accessible beyond one central venue, while also requiring visitors to allow travel time between cinemas.
Access across the metropolitan area
Public-access measures sit alongside the headline ceremonies. The Métropole de Lyon says it is distributing more than 700 tickets to young residents for selected screenings. The city lists a standard accreditation at €18 and a free accreditation for people under 26, with individual screening prices and availability handled through the festival box office.
This preview is based on the announced programme, not on reviews of films or events that have not yet happened. Guests, schedules and ticket availability can change. Anyone travelling for a specific screening should confirm the time and venue on the official site before departure.
The festival’s distinction is that it treats old films as a living public culture rather than a specialist archive. Silent cinema with live music, restored works and large communal screenings sit beside talks about filmmaking. From 10 October, Lyon will use its connection to the birth of cinematography to make preservation visible on screens across the city.
Sources & context
Reporting and reference material used for this article. Context sources do not independently confirm every news claim.
- Festival Lumière ↗Primary programme: opening, closing, award ceremony and major film-concert dates.
- City of Lyon ↗Official city context: festival mission, accreditation prices and heritage-cinema focus.
- Métropole de Lyon ↗Official regional information, updated 25 September: dates, edition number and youth-ticket initiative.
- Lyon Tourist Office ↗Visitor context: metropolitan venue network, approximate screening count and practical scope.
Written for WHIF from the linked material. This article does not claim on-the-ground reporting. Our editorial standards.