The animated feature *In Waves*, directed by Phuong Mai Nguyen, will open the 30th American French Film Festival in Los Angeles. Its selection is significant because it is the festival’s first animated opening film and highlights a creative exchange between American source material and French animation.

Adapted from AJ Dungo’s 2019 graphic novel, the English-language film follows a skateboarder and surfer whose relationship is tested by her cancer diagnosis. Will Sharpe and Stephanie Hsu provide the voices, while Netflix has acquired worldwide rights outside France; the festival runs from 3 to 8 November at the DGA Theater Complex in Hollywood.