Children Of The Resistance

Source: Studiocanal

‘Children Of The Resistance’

EXCLUSIVE: Studiocanal is launching sales at AFM for Oscar-nominated director Christophe Barratier’s Second World War-set family adventure film Children Of The Resistance about a group of 13-year-olds in Nazi-occupied France who form an undercover cell to resist the Nazis, sparking a quiet resistance movement in their village.

Based on a popular French graphic novel by Vincent Dugomier and Benoit Ers, the film is led by an ensemble cast that includes Artus, Gerard Jugnot, Pierre Deladonchamps, Julien Arruti, Julien Pestel and Vanessa Guide alongside a batch of newcomers who will portray the young teen protagonists.

It is produced by Christophe Cervoni and Marc Fiszman for Axel Films Production, whose credits include France’s successful Alibi.com and Babysitting franchises. Studiocanal co-produced with TF1 Films Production and will release the film locally on February 11, 2026.

Barratier is known for his films that explore history through the eyes of children, starting with his 2004 debut feature The Chorus (Les Choristes), which was nominated for two Oscars and three Baftas. Other credits by the director include musical comedy Paris 36 (Faubourg 36) and The War Of The Buttons, which was also set in Occupied France and revolved around youthful protagonists.

“I am irresistibly drawn to the period of the occupation,” Barratier tells Screen. “There is a reason there are thousands of films about the period – there are millions of stories to tell that all reveal so much about human nature.”

He adds: “Fables about the past are the best lessons for today’s global conflicts. If we make films set in the present day, they are political and didactic, but setting them in the past makes them universal lessons we can adapt to life today.”

Children Of The Resistance is based on the first two comics in a long series and takes place between the summer of 1939 and spring of 1941. The film shot in Burgundy, and Barratier revealed that he is already working on the screenplay for a sequel.

The family-oriented film features popular comedian Artus, best known for last year’s local box-office sensation A Little Something Extra, in a rare dramatic role, with Barratier adding: “There are moments of lightness and humour, and it is a story that in the end is about hope.”

That said, like The Chorus, “It is a very stylistically French story. If I wanted to make an American-style World War Two action film, it wouldn’t interest audiences overseas. The more French we are, the more we can tell stories like this that resonate everywhere.”

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