L'inconnu de La Grande Arche preview screening at UGC on October 7, 2025

The film recounting the story of the construction of La Grande Arche will be previewed by the director and one of the actors on Tuesday, October 7 at UGC La Défense.

Who was Otto von Spreckelsen? The film L’Inconnu de La Grande Arche, which will be released in theaters on November 5, 2025, tells his story and, above all, the story of the construction of the iconic Grande Arche. In the meantime, a preview screening is scheduled at the UGC cinema in the business district on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, in the presence of Stéphane Demoustier and Xavier Dolan.

In 1983, French President François Mitterrand launched an international architecture competition, reviving the idea of Georges Pompidou and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, who wanted to build a monumental architectural work on the historic axis of Paris. More than 420 anonymous projects from around the world were submitted in response to the competition, but only four were presented to the President of the Republic.

The jury and François Mitterrand chose a project by Danish architect Johan Otto von Spreckelsen, who proposed an open cube to form a large arch. It took several years for the project to come to fruition, as the architect faced numerous difficulties, particularly of a political nature. The architect eventually resigned in 1986, when the project was taken over by Jacques Chirac's government, and died a few months later without seeing his project completed, which was not inaugurated until 1989.

On Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at 9 p.m., the film recounting the architect's career will be previewed at the UGC cinema in La Défense. This exceptional screening will be attended by director Stéphane Demoustier and one of the main actors, Xavier Dolan.

Stéphane Demoustier began his career directing documentaries for the Ministry of Culture. He left his position to pursue a career in cinema. He founded his production company with one of his sisters and directed his first short and feature films in the 2010s.

Xavier Dolan is a Quebec director, screenwriter, editor, producer, and actor. He became known to the general public with the feature film J'ai tué ma mère (I Killed My Mother) in 2009, when he was only 20 years old. Since then, he has enjoyed immense success and received numerous international awards for his films.

Want to see a preview of this film? Head to the Paris La Défense Instagram account for a chance to win two tickets.

For more information

Practical information: 
Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at 7 p.m.
UGC La Défense
Parvis de La Défense – 92800 Puteaux