Maverick French filmmaker Julia Ducournau (RAW, TITANE) returns to the body-horror genre with her latest film ALPHA, which made its debut in competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Set during the 80’s/90’s against the backdrop of a coastal French town, the dystopian drama follows 13 year-old protagonist Alpha (Mélissa Boros) who is suspected of contracting an illness that turns people to stone after she is tattooed with a dubious needle at a party. As the young girl and her single, doctor mother grapple with fear, trauma, and contagion, what transpires is an allegorical, melancholy meditation on grief, loss, and loneliness heavily influenced by both the COVID pandemic and the AIDS epidemic. ‘“Alpha’ is more evidence of [director Julia] Ducournau’s genius for evocative imagery and striking compositions, but it also suggests she’d benefit from boundaries to push against.” (New York Magazine / Vulture) “Far less extreme than the French filmmaker’s previous work, ‘Alpha’ is Ducournau dialled down, with its exploration of immigrant families, the destructive nature of drug addiction and Alpha’s struggles at school making it the most grounded in reality of her films. “ (Empire Magazine) ‘“Alpha’ is an inherently vulnerable film, no gross-out moments or big body horror showstoppers for us – or Ducournau – to hide behind. ‘Alpha’ is as thorny as her previous two features, but there’s something lonely and longing here too.” (Little White Lies) “A very personal and mournful rumination on the AIDS crisis, the loss of loved ones, our fear of death, and the succumbing nature of grief and loneliness. This is not feral or as violent as her previous features, but ‘Alpha’ is equally tantalizing in its observations of the flesh and how it taints the soul, and vice versa.” (InSessionFilm.com) ALPHA (Julia Ducournau, 2026 / 128 mins / PG) When 13-year-old Alpha (Mélissa Boros) is tattooed with a dubious needle at a party, she’s suspected of contracting an illness that turns people to stone.