The Birthday Party (2026 film)
2026 film by Léa Mysius
The Birthday Party (French: Histoires de la Nuit, lit. 'Night Stories') is a 2026 French drama film written and directed by Léa Mysius. It is based upon the novel of the same name by Laurent Mauvignier. It stars Hafsia Herzi, Benoît Magimel, Bastien Bouillon, Monica Bellucci, Tawba El Gharchi and Paul Hamy.
The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on 22 May, where it was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won CST Award for Best Young Female Artist-Technician. It was theatrically released in France by Le Pacte on 16 September.
Premise
Thomas, Nora, and their daughter Ida live on a remote marshland, with limited social contact apart from their one neighbor. As they plan a surprise birthday party for Nora, strange disturbances begin to occur.
Cast
Hafsia Herzi as Nora
Benoît Magimel as Franck
Bastien Bouillon as Thomas
Monica Bellucci as Cristina
Tawba El Gharchi
Paul Hamy as Flo
Alane Delhaye
Servane Ducorps
Tatia Tsuladze
Production
In October 2023, it was announced Léa Mysius would write and direct an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Laurent Mauvignier, with Jean-Louis Livi and Marie-Ange Luciani set to produce. In June 2025, it was announced Hafsia Herzi, Benoît Magimel, Bastien Bouillon, Monica Bellucci and Paul Hamy had joined the cast of the film.
Principal photography commenced on 2 June 2025 in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
The public source identifies “The Birthday Party (2026 film)” as 2026 film by Léa Mysius. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Birthday, Party and film.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “The Birthday Party (2026 film)”, the useful work is to connect “2026 film by Léa Mysius” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q139078113. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2026, 2023 and 2025.
Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “The Birthday Party (2026 film)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow The Birthday Party (2026 film) primary sources, The Birthday Party (2026 film) archive and Birthday research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Birthday Party (2026 film)”?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
- How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “The Birthday Party (2026 film)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.