The Green Eyes (French: Les Yeux Verts) is a 2026 drama film directed by Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh, and co-written with Guillaume Laurant. A co-production between France, Belgium and Sweden, it follows the eleven-year-old refugee Chaya in Southwestern France, while her brother Nour suffers from resignation syndrome.
The film had its world premiere as the opening film of the 79th Locarno Film Festival on 5 August 2026.
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Synopsis
Chaya, an eleven-year-old girl, resides in a small village in the Landes region of France with her father, Rafi, and her older brother, Nour. After the family receives notice of eviction, Rafi departs abruptly, leaving his children without support. In the aftermath, Nour gradually enters a prolonged and unexplained sleep identified as resignation syndrome. Chaya attempts to revive him and begins exploring her own dreams in an effort to reach him.
Cast
Douae Butarbuch M’Zaouki as Chaya
Sayyid El Alami as Nour
Anamaria Vartolomei as Marion
Arcadi Radeff as Benjamin
Omar Aljbaai as Rafi, father
Production
Filming took place from 26 May to 16 July 2025 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and the South Region.
Release
The Green Eyes had its world premiere at the 79th Locarno Film Festival on 5 August 2026, as the opening film of the festival.
Paris-based Kinology acquired the international sales rights of the film and pre-sold it to Cinart for Benelux region, Filmcoopi Zürich, (Switzerland), Chantier Films Turkey, and MegaCom Film for the former Yugoslavia region (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia).
The film will be theatrically released in France on 11 November 2026 by Haut et Court.
Reception
Reviewing the film for ScreenDaily, at Locarno Film Festival, Amber Wilkinson praised the film for its atmospheric visual style and technical craftsmanship. She commended Victor Seguin's cinematography, noting the "majestic drone photography" and evocative camerawork "that feels in touch with the natural world, but also feels fable-like." Wilkinson also admired the film's immersive sound design. Criticizing narrative, Wilkinson opined that it was less successful than its visual ambitions. Albeit Butarbuch M'Zaouki delivered a compelling performance as Chaya, Wilkinson felt that the film's emphasis on imagery often overshadows its storytelling, with visual metaphors feeling "more manufactured than organic." She concluded that, despite its sincere emotional intentions, the film's "lightweight characterisation" and "hurried ending" make it "less affecting than it aims to be."