The Red Balloon

The Red Balloon is a magical tale about the friendship between a little boy and a balloon in 1950s Paris. A boy finds a red balloon tied to a streetlight. From then on, the balloon follows him everywhere in the streets of Paris, causing surprise in the whole neighbourhood and jealousy among other children.

With very little dialogue, the film focuses on its poetic, visual storytelling, capturing the extraordinary nature of everyday and the beauty of childhood imagination. Set in post-war Paris, the greyness of the city contrasted with the vivid red of this magic balloon. Winner of Best Original Screenplay at the 1956 Oscars and the Short Film Palme d’Or at Cannes the same year, the film celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2026. This beautiful restoration of the film supervised by the director’s son (the film’s protagonist) offers a great opportunity to discover one of the greatest children’s films of all time.