Aude Hesbert, who is currently director of the Paris Cinéma Festival, has been appointed as UniFrance Film's director of artistic initiatives in the USA and English-speaking Canada. Ms. Hesbert will also be in charge of coordinating the French Cinema Lessons held in foreign universities and film schools.
Aude Hesbert will take up her duties on May 12, while continuing to serve as artistic director of the next edition of the Paris Cinéma Festival.
Ms. Hesbert is a graduate of the Sciences Po Institute in Paris and holds a Masters degree in cinema studies and a DESS diploma in the management of cultural institutions. She began her career in 1998 as communications director at the Forum des Images in Paris. In 2002, she joined the Cannes Directors' Fortnight as director of its Film Office. In 2003, she worked in association with the Palm Springs International Film Festival in the USA, after which she was invited by the City of Paris to take part in the launch of the Paris Cinéma Festival, working alongside the event's president Costa-Gavras, then Charlotte Rampling. Since 2007, she has been in charge of the festival's artistic direction and raising its international profile through programs focusing on films from other countries (such as South Africa, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Mexico, and the Philippines), as well as developing the visibility of the Paris Project co-production market.
