Movies in Les Côteaux
En 2026 le cinéma dans les coteaux fête ses 30 ans, une aventure qui commence au début des années 90 à L’Isle-en-Dodon, elle se concrétisera en 1996 dans sa forme actuelle.
In 2026, the cinema in the hills will celebrate its 30th anniversary—an adventure that began in the early 1990s in L’Isle-en-Dodon and took its current form in 1996.
The festival’s movie nights
About twenty dates, a different village every night—the audience gathers… on average, more than a hundred people show up every night.
At 8:00 p.m.: a meal that’s different from the night before.
Around 10:00 p.m., at nightfall: the film screening.
Remember to make reservations for meals and to bring your own cutlery.
On the first night of the Festival du Cinéma dans les Coteaux, a concert and cocktail reception will be held in L’Isle-en-Dodon before dinner and the screening of the festival’s opening film.
Every year for the past 30 years, the number of spectators has been increasing. It has become an event that the public looks forward to.
It’s also a cultural and social event for small villages, offering tourists and locals alike the chance to see beautiful places and enjoy stunning views of the hillsides and the Pyrenees.
The birth of the film festival in the hillsides
The connection between the film industry and L’Isle-en-Dodon began in the 1980s and 1990s, when celebrities began buying castles or houses in the Comminges and Gers regions. One such example is Daniel Toscan Du Plantier, who purchased the Château d’Ambax.
He comes by from time to time and brings other celebrities with him, such as Isabelle Huppert, Marie-Christine Barrault… Louis Malle will be filming *Milou* in May in the Gers at the Château du Callaoué, where we see other celebrities arriving, such as Miou-Miou, Michel Piccoli…
Projects in collaboration with local officials began as early as the 1980s with the renovation of the movie theater in L’Isle-en-Dodon; staff were trained in film projection… Little by little, the idea of a film festival took root and grew, with the initial concepts improving each year until, in 1996, it evolved into what we know today—albeit with far fewer screening dates :
- In 1998 : 4 participating municipalities
- In 2000 : the number rose to 15
- In 2022 : 16
- Since then, 20 villages have been part of this wonderful cinematic adventure.
In 2022, Anan set the attendance record, with 200 people attending the meal and the film screening.
In 2024, Denys Granier-Deferre—director, screenwriter, and actor, and son of Pierre Granier-Deferre, himself a director and screenwriter—served as honorary president of the Festival du Cinéma dans les Coteaux.
L’Isle-en-Dodon and the Movies
Movies have always played an important role in L’Isle-en-Dodon; the movie theater (known as the “foyer populaire”) opened in 1935. It was a modern complex where theatrical performances and musette dances were held, as cinema was still in its infancy. It wasn’t until the 1950s that the municipality signed a contract for film screenings with Mr. Cazaux, a radio technician from Toulouse. He began offering screenings in L’Isle-en-Dodon on Wednesdays and Saturdays, using his own projector. Residents from the hills would take the bus down on Saturday mornings to go to the market and see a movie… sometimes they had to leave before the end of the film if they didn’t want to miss the bus !
A second movie theater, “Le cinéma Picot,” opened on Avenue des Pyrénées next to the Picot grocery store between 1950 and 1955. Audiences could choose between two different films, and each of the two theaters had its own audience. The arrival of television in homes gradually emptied the two theaters, which closed one after the other.
The community center hall is still used for local shows and events, but it is showing its age.
In 1977, the new municipality began investing in culture and tourism. In the 1980s, it carried out a project to create a second vacation village, and in 1985, it renovated and modernized the movie theater. A new partnership with Cinefol was signed, a projectionist was hired—it was a new era for the movie theater !
Later, Ciné32 in Auch will take over from Cinefol.
Today, the Le Régent movie theater in Saint-Gaudens is supporting the movie theater in L’Isle-en-Dodon, which collaborates on events such as the Rencontres du Film d’Art.
In June 2026, the movie theater in L’Isle-en-Dodon was designated a historic landmark Cinéma d’Art et Essai !
practical information
Contact :
L’Isle-en-Dodon Movie Theater
cinema@mairie-lisleendodon.fr
www.lislot.fr/cinema