France · 2025 · PG · 88 min · English
In-person Intro + Q&A with Director Ugo Bienvenu
Acclaimed French illustrator and graphic novelist Ugo Bienvenu makes his luminous feature debut with Arco, carrying his unmistakable humanist-futurist voice to the big screen. Known for his crisp linework, expressive color, and expansive worldbuilding, Ugo translates his graphic sensibilities into cinematic scope — vast yet intimate, imagined yet recognizable.
The year is 2075. Ten-year-old Iris witnesses a mysterious kid crash-land from high in the sky. His name is Arco, and he comes from a far-future colony in the clouds, where time travel is a rite of passage. Iris and her trusted robot caretaker, Mikki, befriend Arco, determined to do whatever it takes to help him return to his own time — all while staying one step ahead of a terrific trio of bad-guys intent on uncovering his secrets.
Much like its rainbow-caped adventurer, Arco lands with a gleam of hope for the future, even as the past slips beyond reach. Premiering at Cannes and honored with the Annecy Cristal Award for Best Feature, it threads together tender friendship, collective memory, and the forces of a shifting planet — showing us that when moments and places fracture and vanish, true connection is the compass guiding us home.
