Unifrance and the CNC - Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée took part in the presidential delegation on a state visit by French president François Hollande to Mexico from April 10-12, 2014.
Isabelle Giordano, executive director of Unifrance, Audrey Azoulay, associate executive director of the CNC - Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée, and the producers Gaël Nouaille Borsalino Productions and Charles Gillibert (CG Cinéma) traveled to Mexico to develop trade and movie industry partnerships with Mexican professionals. They met with Alejandro Ramirez, CEO of Cinepolis (the world's 4th largest theater operator), as well as the president of the IMCINE - Instituto Mexicano de Cinema Mexican Film Institute and a host of film directors and industry professionals who took part in the initiative.
The French president was accompanied by his Foreign Affairs Minister Laurent Fabius, Culture Minister Aurélie Filipetti, Education, Higher Education, and Research Minister Benoît Hamon, and Social Affairs Minister Marisol Touraine, along with a delegation of French business leaders.
In 2013, 24 French films were released in Mexican theaters. These titles, in addition to films released earlier but still showing on screens in 2013, attracted a total of 1,615,000 spectators and earned box office takings of €4,663,000. These figures rank Mexico as the 10th biggest market for French film exports in terms of admissions in 2013 (the top three countries in 2013: USA, China, and Germany).
