| Years active | Late 1990s–present |
|---|---|
| Location | Mainly Europe, especially France |
| Major figures | Gaspar Noé, Catherine Breillat, Lars von Trier, Claire Denis, Bruno Dumont, Philippe Grandrieux |
| Influences | European art cinema, Exploitation film |
New French Extremity describes a range of French transgressive films made at the turn of the 21st century that sparked controversy, and provoked significant debate and discussion. were notable for including graphic images of violence, especially sexual violence and rape, as well as explicit sexual imagery.
Despite the word "French" in term that primarily filmed in France, the films cannot be described as part of a movement or a wave, tends moreover to apply to individual films rather than filmmakers, with many directors only making a single film that might be considered more extreme. Rather, the term was adopted by critics, scholars, and viewers to describe a cinematic trend for graphic sexual and violent imagery, especially not only in France but across Europe more generally beginning in the late 1990s.