What to Watch on ARTE in August 2025? Must-See Series, Films, Documentaries & Festivals

Why this guide matters

Every summer, ARTE offers what few broadcasters still dare to program: demanding series, global auteur cinema, powerful documentaries, livestream concerts, curated cycles, and bold political reinterpretations. In August 2025, the channel doubles down with strong content — available live, online, and on replay.

We’ve dug deep into the official ARTE Summer 2025 Guide, press kits, arte.tv, and ARTE’s print magazine to offer you a curated, critical, and completely exhaustive editorial selection.

📺 Series to watch in August on ARTE

Cry Wolf (Denmark, 2020)

📅 August 7 & 14 at 9:00 p.m. | Replay until October 12, 2025
👩‍🎤 Creator: Maja Jul Larsen | 🎭 Cast: Bjarne Henriksen, Flora Ofelia Hofmann Lindahl
A teenage girl accuses her stepfather. Is the truth so simple? Between social realism and domestic tension, Cry Wolfexplores secrets, taboos, and systemic violence in a society often seen as model.
🎯 Why watch it? A non-manichean, riveting family drama — praised at Series Mania.

Liv (Norway, 2023–2025)

📅 From July 18 to March 12, 2026
🏥 Three siblings working at a hospital in Tromsø, torn between medical emergencies and family secrets.
🎯 Why watch it? Five seasons of Arctic emotion in a sensitive, intimate Nordic medical drama.

The Actor (Iran, 2023/2024)

📅 From August 8
🎬 Three unemployed actors turn into private investigators in a changing Tehran.
🎯 Why watch it? The first internationally distributed Iranian series — a blend of dark humor and urban melancholy. Rare, subtle, and deeply contemporary.

Wolf Hall – Season 2 (UK, 2024)

📅 From August 21
👑 Mark Rylance returns as Cromwell, Henry VIII’s right-hand man.
🎯 Why watch it? Lavish period drama, Shakespearean tension, and psychological depth — political prestige at its best.

🎬 Films and Cinema Cycles

Marion Cotillard Retrospective

📅 Starting July 2 ; La Vie en Rose (La Môme) airs August 25
🧵 From Brother and Sister to Annette, Innocence and Two Days, One Night, this curated cycle highlights the boldest roles of France’s most chameleonic actress.
🎯 Why watch it? Cotillard reflects on her career in exclusive interviews — captivating and insightful.
➡️ Watch the full cycle

The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson)

📅 August 3 at 9:00 p.m. | Replay available for 30 days
🎭 Lavish set design, absurd humor, and an all-star cast.
🎯 Why watch it? Because it’ll make you laugh and cry at the same time — Anderson at his most poetic.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (Australia)

📅 July 30 at 8:55 p.m.
🚌 A flamboyant drag-and-disco road trip through the Australian Outback.
🎯 Why watch it? A cult queer classic — kitsch, moving, and proudly defiant.

Chien de la casse (Jean-Baptiste Durand)

📅 August 13 at 9:00 p.m.
🎯 Why watch it? For Raphaël Quenard — a raw and magnetic performance in this rural buddy drama, winner of Best First Feature at the 2024 César Awards.

Central Station (Walter Salles)

📅 Available until December 31
🎯 Why watch it? A deeply humanist melodrama and a cornerstone of Brazilian cinema, carried by a legendary performance.

The Lost King (Stephen Frears)

📅 August 1 at 9:00 p.m.
🎯 Why watch it? Sally Hawkins shines in this bittersweet feminist tale of historical redemption.

🎼 Must-See Documentaries

Louise by Charpentier – Aix-en-Provence Opera

📅 July 12 at 10:40 p.m. | Replay for 2 years
🎼 A powerful opera about female emancipation, staged by Christof Loy and conducted by Giacomo Sagripanti.
🎯 Why watch it? Elsa Dreisig is breathtaking in this landmark role. A masterful stage-to-screen experience.

Rebel Women of the French Revolution (Aux armes, citoyennes !)

📅 July 5 at 8:55 p.m. | Replay until September 4
👩‍🚒 Animated portraits of the forgotten female fighters of 1789.
🎯 Why watch it? A poetic and political reinterpretation, narrated by Romane Bohringer.

Guardians of the Revolution – Iran’s Power Brokers

📅 July 1 at 9:00 p.m. | Replay until January 27, 2026
🎯 Why watch it? A gripping investigation into the political-military elites who shape Iran from within.

🎤 Festivals, Concerts & Exhibitions

Montreux Jazz Festival

🎷 Featuring Kamasi Washington, Marcus Miller, Deep Purple, The Streets…
🎯 Why watch it? Because jazz pulses at every tempo. arte.tv/festivals

ARTE Summer Tour

🚌 Arles, Clermont, Lyon — free open-air screenings, karaoke, quizzes, sun loungers and culture.
🎯 Why go? To experience art and cinema live, outdoors, and together.

Beatmakers – Season 3 (Podcast)

📅 From July 30
🎧 Go behind the scenes of France’s most iconic pop tracks — from Aya Nakamura to Zaho de Sagazan.
🎯 Why listen? To discover the anatomy of a hit, told by its creators.

✊ Editorial Lens: A Summer of Resistance

ARTE’s 2025 summer feels like a cultural manifesto:

• Feminist narratives (Louise, Rebel Women, Cotillard, Cry Wolf)

• Historical reappropriation (The Actor, The Lost King)

• Music as emotional and political language (opera, jazz, Beatmakers)

• Stylized internationalism: Iran, Serbia, Norway, Brazil, Australia — ARTE remains proudly global and free-thinking.

💬 Community Call

👉 What series, film or opera moved you the most this summer on ARTE?
Drop us a comment or share this guide with your fellow cinephiles.
📩 Subscribe to our newsletter for future picks!

🎁 Download the full ARTE Summer 2025 guide here Arte Summer 2025