Claire Denis brings a stylish, propulsive vision to the screen with Avec Kim (2026), the 32nd commission of the prestigious Miu Miu Women’s Tales series. Established in 2011 by Miuccia Prada, the initiative exclusively invites women directors to explore themes of womanhood and vanity. Following its world premiere on September 5, 2026, at the 83rd Venice Film Festival within the Giornate degli Autori sidebar—where it screened in a double bill alongside Mona Fastvold’s short film Discipline—the project has launched on Miu Miu’s online platforms and rolled out for worldwide streaming on MUBI.
Written and directed by Denis, the largely dialogue-free short captures an ordinary sunny day filmed in Paris’ 12th arrondissement. Suzanne Lindon stars as an auto mechanic working under an old car in grease-stained overalls. After scrubbing off the motor oil, she transforms her look with dark leather and workwear-inspired Miu Miu outfits, setting out behind the wheel across Paris. Capturing those moments on the road demanded swift preparation: Lindon did not hold a driver’s license before being cast, prompting her to take an intensive two-week course and pass her driving test specifically to perform the film’s driving scenes.
Lindon’s journey leads directly to musician and visual artist Kim Gordon, who stars as a version of herself and composed the film’s original electric soundtrack. Rounding out the cast is Céleste Jiuge Leboucq. Behind the camera, Denis assembled a powerhouse crew featuring cinematographer Éric Gautier, editor Guy Lecorne, sound technician Jean-Paul Mugel, and producers Octavia Peissel and Max Brun.
Avec Kim represents the latest milestone in an artistic relationship between Denis and Lindon that has been steadily building. Denis first reached out to Lindon after seeing her 2020 debut feature Spring Blossom (Seize printemps), an effort Lindon began writing at age 15 and ultimately wrote, directed, and headlined. Lindon is the daughter of French actors Vincent Lindon and Sandrine Kiberlain; Denis previously directed Vincent Lindon in Friday Night (2002) and Both Sides of the Blade (2022).
Before taking the lead in front of Denis’ lens for Avec Kim, Lindon spent an entire year working alongside the director in Denis’ kitchen. Together with Andrew Litvack, they co-wrote the feature film The Fence (Le Cri des gardes), an adaptation of Bernard-Marie Koltès’ 1979 play Black Battles with Dogs. Starring Isaach de Bankolé, Matt Dillon, Mia McKenna-Bruce, and Tom Blyth, The Fence credited Lindon strictly as a co-screenwriter rather than an actor. That feature made its world premiere at TIFF in September 2025 and opened in French theaters in April 2026, setting the stage for their stylish return to the screen in Avec Kim.